Oct. 6, 2002

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. -- Three Illinois Wesleyan University graduates will be honored during IWU's annual Homecoming festivities the weekend of Oct. 4-6 on campus.

Actor Richard Jenkins of Cumberland, R.I., a 1969 graduate, will be awarded the school's Distinguished Alumnus Award and Shaye R. Mandle of Aurora, Ill., a 1993 IWU graduate, will receive the Robert M. Montgomery Outstanding Young Alumnus Award.

Carl F. Dixon of Kenilworth, Ill., a 1970 graduate, is the recipient of the IWU Alumni Association Loyalty Award.

• Details on the honorees

The Homecoming awards will be presented on Saturday at the 11:45 a.m. alumni luncheon in the Shirk Center, one of a number of events planned for Illinois Wesleyan graduates during the weekend.

The 2002 Homecoming king and queen were selected from among the following seniors (front row, from left): Kristin Gregory, Amy Krupa, Cameo Kaisler, and Jessica Clemmensen. Back row: Zachary Meier, P.J. Hoffman, Andy Rowland, and Peter Thoresen.

Student Homecoming Activities

"Remember the Past. . . Live the Future" serves as the student theme for the Homecoming celebration. Among the festivities are a lip sync contest at 9 p.m. on Monday (Sept. 30) in the Main Lounge of the Memorial Student Center, with a student talent show scheduled for 8:30 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 2), staged in Westbrook Auditorium of Presser Hall.

The Homecoming king and queen coronation will be at 7 p.m. Thursday (Oct. 3) in the Hansen Student Center, and the annual Titan Games, competitions among students in living units, get underway at 6 p.m. Friday (Oct. 4) at the IWU football stadium. A fireworks show will begin at dusk Friday, following the Titan Games.

The student Homecoming dance will begin at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 5) at Bloomington's Radisson Hotel, Veteran’s Parkway and Brickyard Dr.

Alumni Homecoming Activities

An alumni golf tournament and a 5-K run are among the activities scheduled. The 11th annual golf tournament will begin at 11 a.m. Friday with a shotgun start at Prairie Vista Golf Course, 502 Sale Barn Rd., Bloomington. The entry fee is $75 and includes greens fees, cart rental, lunch, and prizes.

Open to the public as well as alumni is the 11th annual Titan 5-K run/fun walk, which will begin at the IWU track, just north of the Shirk Center, at 8 a.m. Saturday with an entry fee of $15, which includes a tee shirt.

To sign up for the alumni events, contact Mary Bible at (309) 556-3091.

Also on Friday, a series of free lectures will be presented in the "Back to College" program, covering topics being discussed in student classrooms. The 50-minute programs, with presenters, times, and locations, are:

• "Alumni as Mentors", Warren Kistner, director of the IWU Career Center, 10 a.m., The Ames Library, Beckman Auditorium.
• "The Role of Government in Technology," Shaye Mandle, 10 a.m., Davidson Room, Memorial Student Center
• "Highlights from our Best Internet Workshops," Tim McKeown, technology training coordinator, 11 a.m., The Ames Library, Beckman Auditorium
• "Mid-term Continued Deadlock," Tari Renner, professor and chair of political science, 11 a.m., CLA 100. This course will examine the prospects for change or political stalemate in the 2002 Midterm Elections.
• "Multiplying People - Dividing Resources," R. Given Harper, associate professor of biology and co-director of environmental studies, 1 p.m., The Ames Library, Beckman Auditorium
• "All You Need is Love: The Beatles and the Spirit of the 60s," W. Michael Weis, professor and chair of history department, 2 p.m., The Ames Library, Beckman Auditorium
• "A Pilot’s Perspective on World War II," Air Vice Marshal William Harbison, 3 p.m., Davidson Room, Memorial Student Center. Harbison, whose wife is a 1947 IWU graduate, talks about his experiences as a WWII pilot for the British airforce and his rise to Air Vice Marshal (the equivalent of a major general) and his post as vice president in charge of the Washington, D.C. operations of British Aerospace.
• "Actors Talk," featuring Richard Jenkins ‘69 with Dennis Brown ‘67, 4 p.m., The Ames Library, Beckman Auditorium

Alumni Homecoming Activities

The 11th Annual Titan 5K Run/Fun Walk kicks off the Saturday events beginning at 8 a.m. with campus tours beginning at 9 a.m.

"A Short Historical Overview of IWU Past and Present Libraries" will be presented by associate University librarian Kristin Vogel in the Beckman Auditorium in the lower level of the Ames Library at 9 a.m. At 10 a.m., IWU biology professor and associate dean of the faculty Tom Griffiths will give a presentation on "The Professors of IWU" at the Center for Natural Science in the Anderson Auditorium (C101). Griffiths will speak on some teaching and resaerch being done by members of the IWU faculty across many disciplines.

Throughout the morning the IWU Titan Band will be performing on the Sheean Library steps and there will be family activities, including a classic car display and music from a barbershop singing group. At 9:45 a.m. there will be a dedication and ribbon cutting for the Class of 2002 bench, which will sit adjacent to the Class of 1902 bench on IWU's Eckley Quad, just south of Stevenson Hall.

A complimentary Homecoming luncheon will be provided at the Shirk Center beginning at 11:45 a.m.

Following the morning activities, the Titans take on North Park in the Homecoming football game at 1:30 p.m. at Illinois Wesleyan Stadium. At 4:30 p.m. the Franklin Park Brass Quintet will perform in the Westbrook Auditorium at Presser Hall.

On Sunday at 10 a.m.there will be a Homecoming chapel service presented by IWU chaplian Dennis Groh, followed by the 11th annual Minority Alumni Network Chapel and Recognition Program, also at Evelyn Chapel.

At 1 p.m. Sunday there will be an alumni softball game at the IWU field.