Curtis White received his B.A. in 1973 from the University of San Francisco, his M.A. in 1974 from The Johns Hopkins University, and his Ph.D. in 1979 from the University of Iowa. He has received two Illinois Arts Council Fellowships, and received a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship. He has achieved a national and international reputation as a fiction writer and social critic, and has published seven books of fiction, two books of non-fiction, and is currently writing a new book on “spirit and disobedience.” He has published over twenty-five short fictions in literary magazines all over the country as well as in Germany and Vietnam. In addition to these publications, White has also published over thirty essays in scholarly and popular journals including Harper’s and The Village Voice. He has been the recipient of many awards, including a Top Ten Books of Non-fiction, for his work The Middle Mind in 2003. “Curtis White has long and virtuously produced strong, engaging, independent fiction without commercial aspirations or motivation, and has encouraged and assisted many students to follow a similar course,” wrote the Arts and Sciences Lecturer selection committee. “His message and critique of our condition have earned our attention, and the invitation to be an Arts and Sciences Lecturer offers an apt opportunity to share this critique with his colleagues.”

Radheshyam Jayaswal received his B.S. in 1973, his diploma in Analytical Methods in 1974, and his M.S. in 1980 from Bombay University. He then received his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1985. He joined the Department of Biological Sciences at Illinois State University in 1988 as an assistant professor. Jayaswal’s expertise is in bacterial genetics, and his research program focuses on molecular biology of disease-causing (pathogenic) bacteria. He has published approximately 60 articles in peer-reviewed journals including the Journal of Biological Chemistry and the Journal of Bacteriology. He also has obtained over $1.4 million in external funds to support his research. In addition, Dr. Jayaswal has served on the Department Facility Status Committee (DFSC), serving as Head of the Genetics and Microbiology Section, and as the Director of the Biotechnology MS Sequence, and he is currently a member of the University Curriculum Committee. “Radheshyam Jayaswal has devoted his research efforts to the highly significant study and understanding of the molecular biology of pathogenic bacteria, especially drug resistant forms of Staphylococcus aureus,” wrote the selection committee for Jayaswal. “He has been a highly influential mentor and teacher to students at all levels, from undergraduate to postdoctoral, and an energetic collaborator with other leading researchers in the field.”

The Arts and Sciences Lecture, alongside the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarly Achievement, is the highest honor bestowed on a faculty member by the College.