Bob Page ’79, president and CEO of the University of Kansas Health System, was named Ingram’s inaugural Executive of the Year 2021. Page says that an executive cannot simply decree cultural change. It must be lived, and demonstrated by example. He was also IWU’s 2013 Distinguished Alumni Award winner.
Read more on Ingram’s 2021 Executive of the Year: Bob Page from Ingram’s
As a member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Corps Band, trumpeter and cornetist, Amy McCabe ’01 performed at the inauguration of President Joe Biden. McCabe joined the band in 2006, and has performed at two inaugurations for former President Barack Obama, one for former President Donald Trump and one for President Joe Biden.
Read more on Bonfield native performed at Biden’s inauguration from the Daily Journal
Marcus Dunlop ’08, a partner at HG Vora Capital Management, LLC., was recently appointed to ODP corporation’s board of directors. The ODP Corporation is a leading provider of business services and supplies, products and digital workplace technology solutions.
Read more on The ODP Corporation Appoints Marcus B. Dunlop to Board of Directors from Guru Focus
The collection, “Women’s Rights are Human Rights,” is on display in the Atrium Gallery of the IWU Ames School of Art. Instructional Professor and Gallery Director Carmen Lozar joined WGLT’s “The Leadoff” to discuss the exhibit.
Read and listen more on Provacative Posters At IWU Highlight Women’s Rights from WGLT radio
IWU Associate Professor of Psychology Ellen Furlong explains the physical, psychological and social benefits that President Joe Biden’s dogs, Major and Champ, can bring to the working environment of the White House. Dogs in the workplace have been proven to decrease stress, improve work satisfaction, and even enhance employee cohesion and communication.
Read more on Dogs can make stressful workplaces better for people. Even the White House. from Popular Science
From National Hall of Fame sports writer Dave Kindred ’63, his memoir Leave Out the Tragic Parts: A Grandfather’s Search for a Boy Lost to Addiction pieces together the emotional journey of his grandson’s fatal struggle with alcoholism. His writing offers a painfully honest yet sympathetic portrayal of addiction.
Read more on Kindred ’63 Authors Memoir on Grandson Lost to Addiction from Illinois Wesleyan
The social scene at Illinois Wesleyan is still thriving safely amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with a roster of limited capacity in-person events along with virtual and hybrid activities that – in some cases – have produced even higher attendance figures than pre-pandemic times.
Read more on Physically Distant Student Life Brings New Levels of Engagement from Illinois Wesleyan
Dr. Greg Poland ’77 said individuals’ unwillingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine often boils down to misconception and not understanding the science. Dr. Poland is currently the director of the Mayo Clinic’s Vaccine Research Group.
Read more on IWU Alum Leading Mayo Clinic Vaccine Research On COVID Misconceptions from WGLT Radio
Among 180 recipients of state funding to promote racial healing efforts, IWU used a grant to host a virtual anti-racism and racial justice workshop featuring the performing arts company BrownBody. The event was part of IWU’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Celebration.
Read more on IWU, Project Oz, YWCA Seek To Foster Racial Healing from WGLT Radio
Artwork from Bob Ward ’60 was featured in an exhibit, “Art in the Time of Coronavirus,” at the Union Museum of Art and History in Farmerville, Louisiana. Ward is a practicing and exhibiting artist who specializes in acrylic on canvas painting.
Read more on ART provides creative outlet during pandemic from The Farmerville Gazette
Zoe Bouras, a 2018 Illinois Wesleyan graduate who moved to the U.S. from England when she was 10 years old, has returned to Central Illinois to help immigrants, like herself, thrive. Bouras currently serves as the communications and development coordinator for The Immigration Project.
Read more on Global Citizen Bouras ’18 Advocates Locally for Immigrant Rights from Illinois Wesleyan
Scott Shields ’83 is an associate producer of the documentary Finding Courage. Finding Courage tells the story of Yifei Wang, a former Chinese Communist Party journalist living in exile in San Francisco and seeking justice for her family. Already the winner of multiple awards on the film festival circuit, Finding Courage is available for streaming at SwoopFilms.com. A song from the documentary, “Courage is Found,” is also receiving awards consideration.
Listen to the song “Courage is Found” here
Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts Julie Ballard will be among participants in the Chicago Dance History Project’s Interview Marathon on Jan. 31. The seven-hour Interview Marathon represents decades of dance history personified in more than 40 interview subjects.
Read more on Chicago Dance History Project Announces Interview Marathon Schedule from Broadway World
Dr. Robyn (Heins) Zehr ’04 was named Estes Park Health’s chief of staff. In this role she will “serve as a liaison between the providers and the administration at EPH, trying to make sure all needs are met on both ends”.
Read more on Inside People: Dr. Zehr is new EPH Chief of Staff from Estes Park Trail Gazette
R. Forrest Colwell Endowed Chair and Professor of English James Plath explored conspiracy theories in history and literature and discussed his edited volume, Critical Insights: Conspiracies.
Read more and listen to the full podcast on Our Lies: Jenny Offill and James Plath on Conspiracy Theories in History and Literature from Literary Hub
Taylor Williams ’18 graduated a semester early from Southern Illinois University School of Law on Dec. 12, 2020. A Bloomington area native, Williams will return to Bloomington to work at a local law firm. She also received the McLean County Bar Association Scholarship in December, prior to her graduation.
Read more on 2020 Scholarship Recipient Taylor Williams from McLean County Bar Association
B. Charles and Joyce Eichhorn Ames Professor of Physics Gabriel Spalding delivered a talk entitled, “Shaping Light in Time & Space,” for the winter meeting of the American Association of Physics Teachers.
Listen to the full talk here
Assistant Professor of Nursing Amy Funk was selected as a member of the U.S.-Russia Social Expertise Exchange COVID-19 Response Public Health Working Group (PHWG). Four Americans and four Russians were selected for participation in this initiative. The goal of the group is to develop ideas for a bilateral project aimed at addressing health priorities in the U.S. and Russia including: promoting safety and self-care among at-risk populations in both countries, developing innovative solutions for disease detection and case management, and providing health-related services to vulnerable populations
Read more on U.S.-Russia Social Exchange
Madeline Johnson ’24 was chosen to sing the solo in an international collaboration between Glyndebourne Youth Opera (outside of London, England) and Minnesota Opera’s Project Opera.
Read more and watch the full video on Watch: The Place Beyond Tomorrow from Glyndebourne
Josefina Bañales ’14, with Professor and Chair of Sociology and Anthropology Meghan Burke and former IWU professor Kira Hudson Banks, has published “The impact of a diversity intervention on White college students’ colour-blind racial attitudes,” in the journal Whiteness and Education. Bañales is now Assistant Professor in Developmental Psychology and the Learning Research and Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh.
Read the full article on The impact of a diversity intervention on White college students’ colour-blind racial attitudes from Taylor & Francis Online
Former IWU men’s basketball coach and current Lewis University coach Scott Trost was among those included in the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021.
Read more on Ridgeview’s Rodney Kellar leads IBCA Hall of Fame awards from The Pantagraph
As the pandemic forces many small businesses online, IWU students assist the Small Business Development Center of McLean County at Illinois Wesleyan in offering support, particularly with web design and social media strategies.
Read and listen more on Pandemic Pushes Smaller Retailers Online from WGLT Radio
Retired IWU Professor of Economics Mike Seeborg offered insight on the surge in retirements due to COVID-19.
Read and listen more on COVID Drives Retirements, But It’s Not Best Time For Everyone from WGLT Radio
Ryan Jumper ’00, now an associate judge in the Third Judicial Circuit, was featured in a “Where are they now” spotlight, where they discuss his journey from a three sport athlete to a career in law.
Read more on WHERE ARE THEY NOW?: Parents, coaches were role models for Jumper from the Edwardsville Intelligencer
Raven Stubbs ’13 is the new program director for PlayMakers Laboratory, a Chicago nonprofit offering educational programming focused on storytelling, theatre and social-emotional skills.
Read more on Raven Stubbs Named PlayMakers Laboratory’s New Program Director from Broadway World Chicago