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From left: Dean Olson,
Student Speaker Catherine Carter,
and President Bowman | Over 1,100 students of the College of Arts and Sciences received their hard-earned degrees this past Friday evening as part of the University’s 147th annual commencement. President Bowman, Provost Presley, Dean Olson and College faculty and staff were joined by several University dignitaries including Carl Kasten, Chair of the Board of Trustees, in congratulating the Illinois State University College of Arts and Sciences Class of 2006. “If one phrase could adequately describe your tenure at Illinois State it would have to be 'a time of momentous change.' Not only has the college, the university, the country, and the world changed during your time at ISU, but you have changed as well," Dean Olson told the graduating class. "As a student of the College of Arts and Sciences, you became educated in the arts, the sciences, and the social sciences, thus opening your eyes to wonderful new bodies of knowledge. And perhaps most importantly, you learned how to tackle problems, take chances, make choices, and find solutions in your everyday life—and to do so intelligently."
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| Dr. John P. McHale |
John P. McHale, Assistant Professor of Communication, and the School of Communication will receive the inaugural 2006 Walter Cronkite Civic Engagement Leadership Award, which recognizes leadership in encouraging young Americans to engage with current events and participate in the democratic process of adding their voice to public dialogue via the nurturing and creation of student “issue films.” Film Your Issue, an annual film competition supported by the American Democracy Project, will present McHale with the Cronkite Award at a reception at the United Nations in
New York City
on June 19. “It is a great honor for the School of Communication and our students to be recognized with this award, but this work would not be possible without the leadership and support of the Provost, Dean Olson,or Larry Long, Director of the School of Communication,” said McHale. “It is exciting to be part of the Illinois State community at a time when university administration is dedicated to nurturing a strong commitment to political expression in our students.”
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Clifford Dykstra, newly appointed chair of the Department of Chemistry,is the author of the feature article appearing in the May 25, 2006 issue of the Journal of Physical Chemistry, one of the leading journals in the field published by the American Chemical Society. Dykstra also designed the cover art for the issue, which is pictured here. Professor Dykstra's primary research focuses on electronic structure theory, molecular properties, and weak interaction phenomena, and his most recent research relates to hydrogen fuel technology, for which he has a significant NSF grant proposal pending. According to Dykstra, "the article is about quadrupolar molecules, in particular, hydrogen, and how it interacts, short of chemical bonding, with other molecules." Dykstra coauthored the article with students who worked in his lab as undergraduates.
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Professors of Philosophy
Michael Gorr, Kenton Machina,
and Chair James Swindler |
At the end of this academic year, the College celebrates the retirement of seven faculty members. Retiring are Lucia Getsi, Distinguished Professor of English; Michael Gorr, Professor of Philosophy; Victoria Harris, Professor of English; Kenton Machina, Professor of Philosophy; Otis Rothenberger, Professor of Chemistry; Russ Rutter, Professor of English; and James Webb, Professor of Chemistry. Combined, these faculty members have served the College for over 200 years! We wish them well.
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| Dr. Alan Lessoff | Alan Lessoff, Professor of History, was awarded the 2006 Henry-Russell Hitchcock Book Award by the Victorian Society in America for his book Adolph Cluss, Architect: From Germany to America. This award honors the book that has made the most significant contribution to nineteenth century studies in 2005 and will be presented to Lessoff at the Victorian Society’s Annual Meeting in St. Louis in May. Lessoff coedited this book with Christof Mauch, director of the German Historical Institute in Washington D.C. and professor of modern history at the Anglo-American Institute of Cologne University.
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| Ricia Chansky | Ricia Chansky, first-year doctoral student in English Studies, will deliver a scholarly paper she authored to a prestigious global audience this summer at the International Auto/Biography Association Conference held at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany in July. Chansky’s interdisciplinary paper is entitled “Navigating the Maze: Life Writing in Visual Breast Cancer Journals” and it synthesizes theories of the body, illness, and trauma narratives through a framework of art therapy. Chansky’s paper argues that the journals work as personal therapeutic devices—community spaces that educate patients, families, and friends about the disease, and humanize patients to the medical community.Chansky holds an M.A. from Emerson College in Writing, Literature, and Publishing and a B.A. in Political Science. Before beginning her doctoral studies at Illinois State, Chansky taught composition, media studies and film studies at George Washington University. Her dissertation will focus on visual literacy.
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| CASNews | Following this issue, CASNews will begin its regular summer schedule of monthly publication, with issues published on the third Monday of June and July. Please look for summer issues of CASNews on June 19 and July 17. Weekly publication will resume with the beginning of fall classes on August 21.
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