IWU Panel to Recall Vietnam War/Civil Rights Era

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - A roundtable panel of Illinois Wesleyan alumni and faculty will recall their activities and conflicts surrounding the Vietnam War and Civil Rights era on Tuesday, May 14 at 7 p.m. in the Davidson Room of Memorial Student Center, 104 E. University St., Bloomington.

The program is free and open to the public.

The panel will explore the effects of the Vietnam "conflict," race relations, the faculty perspective, and "Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll."

Kate Duis, class of 2004 will be the moderator for a panel of five, which will include Phyllis Barker, class of 1973; Pamela Muirhead, class of 1968 and a member of the IWU faculty since 1972; Mark Sheldon, class of 1970; Paul Bushnell, professor of history and a member of the IWU faculty since 1966 and Michael Weis.

Weis, professor of history, who became a member of the IWU faculty in 1988, is teaching the course, "Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll," as part of May Term 2002 at IWU. May Term provides an intense, focused, high-energy three weeks of study tempered by co-curricular experiences that are themselves artistically or intellectually stimulating, and this course is related to this year's theme, The Courage to Dare."

Weis, also teaches courses on United States Foreign Relations, Post-World War II America, and Latin American history. He received his Ph.D. from Ohio State and is the author of Cold Warriors and Coups d' Etat: Brazilian-American Relations, 1945-46, as well as numerous articles on inter-American relations.

Barker, who is now the Director of the Safer Foundation in Chicago, has been Director of Volunteer Services at Metropolitan Family Services (Chicago) since 1995. Metropolitan Family Services provides support programs for more than 80,000 families annually. More than 700 volunteers perform tasks including mentoring, tutoring, Big Brother/Big Sisters, and special projects. 

From 1992-1995, Barker was Director for Alumni Relations for Roosevelt University. She is a founding member of the IWU Minority Alumni Network and has been instrumental in developing activities for students and alumni, the recruitment of minority students for IWU and networking and career development efforts for graduates. Muirhead, who is an associate professor of English, is co-director of the Bloomington-Normal Black History and Cultural Consortium. She is also a recipient of the Award for Teaching Excellence and Campus Leadership, sponsored by the Associated Colleges of Illinois and the Sears, Roebuck Foundation; member of the Langston Hughes Society, American Civil Liberties Union; and a teacher for the emotionally disturbed adolescents at the Elgin State Hospital. Muirhead has been a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer and teacher in Sri Lanka.

In May of 2001, Sheldon was appointed President of the IWU Alumni Association. He received a Master's Degree in Chinese Studies and International Relations from the East-West Center, University of Hawaii. He lived in Asia for 20 years, most recently servicing at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) as director of the Hong Kong-America Center, director of the Academic Links, and honorary lecturer and advisor of CUHK's International Asian Studies program. He is a member of the IWU Board of Trustees.

As a graduate student at Vanderbilt University Bushnell became involved in the sit-in movement in Nashville, Tenn., and was a member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). He brought his experience of protest in the cause of racial justice to IWU just as the Vietnam War was escalating, and has made issues surrounding the 60s, a part of classroom study.