ILLINOIS STATE E-LUMNI NEWS
Volume 2, No. 2 September 30, 2002
YOU VOTED - IT NOW HAS A NAME!
Thanks to the 1,161 alumni who took a moment to place their vote for the new name of this E-newsletter: the ILLINOIS STATE E-LUMNI NEWS. Every one of the top ten name suggestions received a substantial number of votes (and even "Bird Droppings" and "Bob" received their share of votes!!), but E-LUMNI NEWS was a clear winner. Thanks to the following alumni who came up with it when we asked for suggestions:
Bob Benham '80, James Bergman '95, Ruth (Sheldon) Fox '67, Robert Hible '93, '00, Amanda Kerner '00, Sharon (Terrill) Keutzer '66, Edward McLenna '90, Kevin Moore '80, John Werthwein '76, M.S. '78, Nancy (White) Woods '88.
If you know them, say thanks! And Alumni Services will be sending each of them a little token of our appreciation...
SPECIAL FEATURE: HOMECOMING 2002 - CATCH THE REDBIRD SPIRIT!
It's here! Homecoming week -- an opportunity to take time out of your busy lives to come back and catch up with your alma mater and your Illinois State friends. We look forward to seeing you sometime this week, September 30 through October 5, 2002! There's plenty to do to make the trip well worth your while! A few special items of note:
-- The Alumni Royalty are King, Bill Small '39, Indianapolis, and Queen, Bev (Smith) Lindsey '45, Rockford. (Bev was the 1944 ISNU Homecoming
Queen!) There will also be a student King and Queen soon to be announced.
-- More than 40 alumni are being honored as special guests on Alumni Day, Friday, October 4 -- these alumni will be speaking to classes or visiting with students and faculty. Check with your contacts in your major department to see if someone's coming back! Alumni are welcome as guests at these presentations.
-- Alumni Day guests and and alumni chapter and club award winners will be honored at the Homecoming Luncheon on Friday at noon in the Ballroom of the Bone Student Center. Keynote speaker is Erin Moore '87, Communication graduate, who is a "professional jump roper" (and speaker). Erin was highlighted in the last alumni magazine. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.
-- Hospitality Headquarters is open Homecoming weekend, Friday 3-7 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. If you need a place to meet others, rest, have a drink or snack, or just join in the general excitement, stop by the Circus Room in Bone Student Center. You can collect Homecoming souvenirs and purchase T-shirts or sweatshirts! Pre-ordered tickets and shirts as well as packets for Reunion participants can be picked up at the HQ.
-- Parade steps off at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 5, from the corner of College & University.
-- Football tailgating starts after the parade. Stop by the Alumni Tailgate Tent and Barbecue Bash, catered by Famous Dave's. Lunch is $6 per person payable at the tent. Located in the tailgating "tent city"
north of Hancock Stadium.
-- The Redbird football team takes on Southwest Missouri State at 2:30 p.m.
-- Finish the day with Reggie's Homecoming Bash -- dance to four different bands, laugh at a comedian, eat, drink and celebrate! All venues are throughout the Bone Student Center. Tickets are $10, available at the doors.
For additional details on all these activities, please see the Homecoming Web site: www.IllinoisState.edu/homecoming.
Come on back, and catch that Redbird spirit!
ILLINOIS STATE MOVES UP IN U.S. NEWS RANKINGS (Information provided by Illinois State University Media Relations)
It sent quite a ripple of pride through the campus a couple weeks ago when the annual U.S. News & World Report rankings of higher education institutions were published. Why? Because Illinois State University has moved up in the world! This year's rankings found ISU taking the step from Tier 4 to Tier 3 among national universities with doctoral programs.
Two short years ago, Educating Illinois, Illinois State University's action plan for distinctiveness and excellence, called for the University to advance to the next level in the U.S. News & World Report rankings. Illinois State has accomplished that goal several years before its deadline!
Rankings are based on academic quality and excellence. Factors considered include assessment by administrators at peer institutions, retention of students, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources, alumni giving and graduate rate performance (the difference between the proportion of students expected to graduate and the proportion who actually do).
"College rankings are just one measure - but an important measure of a University's success - and the U.S. News & World Report rankings are among the most widely recognized," said President Victor Boschini.
"This... sends a clear signal that Illinois State is achieving greater national recognition."
Illinois State also ranks 4th in the country for students graduating with the least debt. According to the rankings, Illinois State students who received loans averaged just over $9,600 in debt.
For more information on the rankings and to see where other universities fall, visit the Web site at www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/ranknatudoc_brief.php.
SIGN UP FOR ILLINOIS STATE "NEWS ON DEMAND"
(Information provided by Illinois State University Media Relations)
Would you have liked to have received the story above on the day Illinois State announced it? Then you might be interested in a new service for alumni and friends of the University -- "News on Demand," an E-mail listserv provided by the Media Relations office. By subscribing, you'll receive an E-mail message several times each week with brief descriptions of news stories and links to the latest press releases. A quick scan of the E-mail can tell you whether you want to read further.
To subscribe, send an E-mail from the address where you want to receive messages to
. Leave the subject heading blank. In the body of the message, type ONLY the following:
subscribe newsondem and (Make sure there's no automatic signature added.) An automated process will register your subscription and send you a confirmation E-mail. Be sure to save the directions for commands on how to manage the subscription in the future!
QUICK REMINDERS:
-- The Vidette is looking for alumni stories! If you're interested in telling yours for possible publication, contact Vidette editor Erick Bieritz at for details. You can read the Vidette online at http://www.dailyvidette.com.
-- The Alumni Association and its chapters and clubs offer events and activities for alumni all over the country throughout the year. Be sure to check our online Events Calendar and bookmark it -- check back often!
http://www.illinoisstate.edu/alumniservices/events.shtml
UPCOMING EVENTS
Details on alumni events can be found on our Events Calendar Web page.
