Professor Emeritus Gerlof Homan, Reverend Kelley Becker, and Professor Emeritus Joseph Grabill.
Kelley Becker, associate minister at First Christian Church in Bloomington, is the 2016 recipient of the Grabill-Homan Community Peace Prize from the Illinois State University Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies Program. The award recognizes individuals in Bloomington-Normal for achievements in peacemaking, leadership, initiative, activism, and inspiration within the community.
Compassion and inclusivity are the hallmarks of Becker’s work within the Bloomington-Normal community. As associate minister at First Christian Church, she oversees outreach programs that include the West Side Back to School Block Party, an annual multi-church event that provides school supplies for local children. A passionate advocate for the disenfranchised, Becker also ministers to local homeless persons and helps lead efforts to provide housing solutions for chronic homelessness in Bloomington-Normal.
Becker also leads efforts to improve relations and communication between citizens and local police; enhance respect and inclusivity for African American, Latino, and LGBT citizens; promote greater understanding between people of various faiths; and support improvements in mental health care in the community. She holds leadership roles for Not in Our Town, the Advocate BroMenn Delegate Executive Committee, and INtegRIty Counseling.
The Grabill-Homan Community Peace Prize is named for Joseph L. Grabill and Gerlof D. Homan, Illinois State emeritus professors of history, who helped to establish the University’s interdisciplinary Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies Program. The prize includes a plaque and a monetary donation to an established scholarship or program at Illinois State chosen by the recipient.
For more information, contact Dawn Beichner, co-director of Illinois State’s Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies program, at (309) 438-8278.
