ILLINOIS STATE E-LUMNI NEWS - Volume 3, No. 1
July 24, 2003

BUDGET NEWS: IT COULD HAVE BEEN WORSE
It could have been worse. That's probably the best and easiest way to describe the budget climate at Illinois State, as the University moves from one fiscal year to the next. On the positive side, Interim President Al Bowman announced that despite state budget woes, good planning will allow Illinois State to make modest pay raises available to faculty and staff members. Keeping salaries competitive is a top priority for the University and Dr. Bowman is certainly walking the talk. The General Assembly also authorized Illinois State to spend more than $22 million to make infrastructure improvements to Stevenson and Turner Halls. Both buildings will receive wiring and technology upgrades as well as new fire alarm systems.

Still, legislators cut another $7.2 million from the University's budget. Since 2000, Illinois State has lost more than 17 percent of its state funding. That means an eight-month-old hiring freeze will continue. As of today, the University has 171 fewer employees than last year at this time, since non-faculty employees who retire and resign are not being replaced. Class sizes are a bit larger and some support services are also being curtailed. Full details on Illinois State's budget situation are available at the University's Media Relations budget update Web page.

CHICAGO TEACHERS PIPELINE: ILLINOIS STATE TO PREPARE TEACHERS FOR CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Illinois State will be making some news in Chicago next week. President Bowman will join Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., City Collges of Chicago Chancellor Wayne Watson and Chicago Public Schools CEO Arne Duncan to announce an exciting new plan to recruit and train teachers for inner-city schools. It's called the Chicago Teachers Pipeline, and as the largest producer of teachers in the state, Illinois State will play a major role.

Chicago Public Schools high school students with an interest and aptitude for teaching will be identified and recruited by Illinois State professors. They'll make campus visits and our teachers will visit them in Chicago. The students will have a special admissions arrangement at City Colleges and Illinois State, and will be mentored throughout their academic experience. The plan is to pump more qualified teachers into the schools that need them the most.

ANNOUNCING ALUMNI ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING, CONSTITUTION CHANGES
The annual meeting of the Illinois State University Alumni Association will be held Saturday, September 13, 2003, at 1:30 p.m. in the Old Main Room of the Bone Student Center on campus. All alumni are welcome to attend.

Alumni with active membership in the Alumni Association may vote on the election of members of the Board of Directors as well as proposed constitution changes, which can be viewed at the Alumni Association's Constitution Web page.

For more information on this meeting or the constitution changes, please contact director of Alumni Services Barbara Todd '79, M.S. '84, (800) 366-4478, or (309) 438-ALUM.

WELCOME TO OUR NEWEST ALUMNI!
'SEASONED' ALUMNI, SHARE YOUR WORDS OF WISDOM
For most of you who just graduated in May, this is your first-ever issue of the ILLINOIS STATE E-LUMNI NEWS. Welcome! We hope you'll enjoy these bi-monthly (that's every-other-month) E-newsletters.

To our more 'seasoned' (that's OLDER) alumni . . . Take just a moment and think about what one, best tidbit of advice you'd like to share with these new alumni as they embark on their post-college lives. What do you wish someone had told you when you were on your own for the first time?

To submit your entry for the TOP TEN ILLINOIS STATE ALUMNI WORDS OF WISDOM FOR NEW GRADS, please E-mail Julie Goodlick '81, M.S. '85, senior assistant director in Alumni Services. Your entry must be 75 words or less and include your complete name, degree year, and E-mail address. Authors of complete entries will have their names submitted for a drawing for a free ALUMNI ASSOCIATION GOLF SHIRT (white with red and black trim, full-color logo on left pocket)!

The top ten (give or take a few) words of wisdom will be published in the September, 2003, issue of the E-LUMNI NEWS.

SEEKING NOMINATIONS AMONG ISNU GRADS FOR THE HOMECOMING ALUMNI KING & QUEEN
Do you know an individual who graduated from Illinois State (Normal) University 50 years or more ago who is a terrific supporter of the University? Consider nominating him or her to be the 2003 Homecoming Alumni King or Queen! Each year, a student Homecoming King and Queen are selected, and the Alumni Association also names an Alumni King and Queen from among our most loyal alumni.

Nominations are due August 30th. For details and a printable nomination form, go to the Homecoming Web site and click on 'Homecoming Royalty Nomination Form.'

HOW'S THE ALUMNI WEB SITE DOING?
In our last issue of the E-LUMNI NEWS, we announced the launch of the all-new and improved Alumni Web site (www.IllinoisState.edu/alumni). We encouraged you to register on the site, look at the new features, and have some fun looking up old friends in the Online Directory. And you responded! A few facts:

-- Of the 152,400 living Illinois State alumni, 11,645 (nearly 8 percent) of you have registered your information on the Alumni Web site since its beginning -- a pretty good turnout comparatively (so far).

Just since the mid-May launch
-- more than 800 of you updated and provided new information;
-- 40 of you have posted your photo to your profile page (c'mon, we need more photos!);
-- nearly 15,000 searches for fellow alumni have been made!

If you haven't been there, you're missing out. So take a look, update your profile, load a photo for others to look at . . . and enjoy!

ASK ALUMNI SERVICES

QUESTION: Hi, Alumni Services. I just graduated in May and I am wondering if I get to keep my ISU E-mail address? Can I get free E-mail as an alum? --- Carolyn L. '03, Chicago

ANSWER: Congratulations, Carolyn, and welcome! For new alumni, the University will allow you access to your student E-mail account for up to four months via Webmail. Notices will be sent to the account when it's about to expire. As for free E-mail for alumni: We formerly offered a version of this service that did not get many users and so was discontinued. HOWEVER -- we are beginning to explore some additional options to allow graduates an Illinois State alumni 'affinity' E-mail address. Stay tuned!

QUESTION: I read about alumni chapters in the alumni magazine, and I've received mailings about chapter events. How do I become a member of the chapter in my area? And, do I have to be a member to attend an event? --- Mickey Silbeloc '96, Lombard

ANSWER: If you live in an area where an alumni chapter has been established, Mickey, you are automatically considered a member of the chapter and should receive communications from the group at least once a year. If you wish to receive all the chapter's communications, you may contact the chapter representative listed on the group's Web page. Of course, all alumni are welcome to attend any chapter or regional event (unless indicated otherwise, which is rare), whether it's in your community or even in another state. And bring a friend!

QUESTION: Whoo hoo! My son is going to Illinois State in the fall! I'm so excited for him. But this will be my second in college and we sure could use some extra financial assistance. Does the Alumni Association offer any scholarships for my kids? ---Anonymous '74, Mattoon

ANSWER: Hey, congratulations, Anonymous! You're a legacy family! In fact, there is a scholarship you'll want to look into for your son: the Student Alumni Council / Marion H. Dean Legacy Scholarship, for the son or daughter of an Illinois State graduate. The application deadline is September 2nd, so take a quick look at the Scholarships Web page. Good luck!

UPCOMING EVENTS
Details on alumni events can be found on our Events Calendar Web page.