Highlights
Beloved Professor Dies
Professor Elizabeth Oggel, who taught English at IWU from 1945-1969, died on January 22, 2010 at the age of 105 . . . just a month short of her 106th birthday. A former student of hers, Dr. Larry K. Uffelman, Professor Emeritus of English at Mansfield University, voiced sentiments that are no doubt shared by Professor Oggel’s former students. “Elizabeth was one of a kind,” wrote Uffelman, who returned to Bloomington for Professor Oggel’s 100th birthday party and led all of her former students in a recitation of the opening lines of The Canterbury Tales.
Koehl '82 Becomes District 90 Superintendent
The O'Fallon Dist. 90 school board began a search for its new superintendent in December and after a month of screening a lot of quality applications and interviewing six promising candidates the members compared notes and walked down the hallway from the office of retiring superintendent Nancy Gibson, Ph.D., to offer the job to Assistant Superintendent Todd Koehl, Ed.D.
'79 Alum returns to the Minnesota Opera
Soprano Brenda Harris returns to the Minnesota Opera's "Roberto Devereux" this week to sing Elisabetta (Elizabeth I) -- a role ranked among the most difficult in bel canto repertory.
'83 Alumna Named Teacher of the Week
STILLMAN VALLEY (WREX) - A teacher's care and concern for her students doesn't just end when school lets out. Our "Teacher of the Week" made sure a little preschool student struggling with health issues didn't miss out.
'83 Alum Seeks Nomination in Governor Race
Choice abounds for Republican voters poised to pick the next GOP candidate for governor in the Feb. 2 primary election.
Seven candidates crowd the race, and each hopes Illinois voters are ready to embrace the GOP in light of former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich's removal from office under a cloud of corruption charges one year ago.
'78 Alum Travels to Romania
THREE RIVERS — Ted Bierdeman experienced salvation as a young man when he was just out of college and struggling with alcohol and drug abuse and an addiction to pornography, he says.
That was in 1978, and his new faith quickly led to freedom from his addictions and a ravenous spiritual curiosity. As a new Christian, Bierdeman was hungry — starving, he recalls — for God’s Word, and one biblical message struck him profoundly.
“After I became a believer, I absolutely dove into the New Testament, and the parable of the Good Samaritan really, really spoke to me,” said Bierdeman, now 55 and living in Three Rivers.
That parable from the Gospel of Luke has guided Bierdeman’s spiritual walk ever since. He has ministered to prisoners and orphans in Russia three times and is now preparing himself for a mission to Romania that he hopes will last for a decade.
Bierdeman, a medical social worker and musician, plans to use both his professional training and his piano music to reach out to the people of the Transylvanian city of Targu Mures, which, like most of Romania, has a large gypsy population and some residents suffering from extreme poverty.
IWU Alum Dave Kindred Recipient of 2010 PGA Award
Dave Kindred, a 1963 Illinois Wesleyan graduate who for more than 40 years has captivated readers by bringing them closer to many of the greatest performers and personalities in sports, has been named the recipient of the 2010 Professional Golfers' Association (PGA) Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism.
Barbara Nathan Named 2009 Healthcare Executive of the Year
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumna Barbara Nathan was named the 2009 Healthcare Executive of the Year by the American Academy of Medical Administrators (AAMA). Nathan received the award during the 2009 AAMA Annual Conference in Las Vegas on November 19.
IWU Alumnus Wins Concerto Competition at the University of Kentucky
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alum Michael Lawton, a graduate of the class of 2008, was recently declared one of two winners in the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra’s Concerto Competition.
Last year, Lawton, currently a graduate student at the University of Kentucky (UK), was encouraged by his clarinet professor to memorize a concerto piece over the summer.
Lawton chose to perform “Premiere Rhapsodie” by composer Claude Debussy. Initially, Lawton said the piece did not captivate him, but as he began to practice and listen to recordings, he found he truly enjoyed it. “At times it is ethereal while at other times it requires great technical facility, moving seamlessly from one palette of color to the next. It’s really quite beautiful,” said Lawton.
Lawton, who was one of the winners of Illinois Wesleyan University's annual Henry Charles Memorial Concerto/Aria Competition during the 2006-2007 school year, is currently in his second year of earning a master’s in clarinet performance at UK. He will graduate in May of 2010 and hopes to return to Illinois and begin his career as a full-time music educator.
“My training at Illinois Wesleyan prepared me to be both a strong musician and academic,” said Lawton, who noted his admiration of Illinois Wesleyan professors such as Assistant Professor of Music Roger Garrett. “I attribute a significant portion of my success at the University of Kentucky to having studied with him.”
Contact: Kristin Fields, ’12, (309) 556-3181
Alumnus Honored for New Book of Poetry
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Wesleyan University alumnus Richard Spilman is the recipient of the Sacramento Poetry Center Award for his book In the Night Speaking (SPC Press, 2009).
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