The Board of Trustees at Illinois State University approved the naming of several rooms in recognition of alumni, faculty, and staff of the University who have offered generous financial support. Four are located in the newly constructed Nursing Simulation Center, one in Braden Auditorium, and one in Stevenson Hall.
Barb Dallinger Crew Room
Room 36 in Braden Auditorium will now be known as the Barb Dallinger Crew Room. Dallinger, B.S. ’81, M.S. ’01, is a 30-year employee of ISU and has devoted her life to ISU. Beginning her work at Illinois State in 1991 in the College of Fine Arts, she went on to hold various positions in the Division of Student Affairs, including the following departments: University Housing Services, Campus Dining Services, the Dean of Students Office, the Bone Student Center/Braden Auditorium, and Event Management, Dining, and Hospitality, until her retirement in 2022. She has worked with groups such as PRIDE, the University Program Board, and the InfoCentre staff at the Bone Student Center/Braden Auditorium. She is also credited with creating the LGBTQA+ Alumni Network, which has served hundreds of ISU alumni.
With a reputation of mentoring and impacting the lives of countless students, Dallinger received the Illinois State University Distinguished Service Award, the Neal R. Gamsky Quality of Student Life Award, and numerous Division of Student Affairs STAR Awards. She was one of the founding members and served as the chair of the Triangle Association, a faculty/staff affinity group that is now known as the Queer Coalition.
Pam and Dan Kelley Family Student and Staff Work Room
The staff and student work room in the newly constructed Nursing Simulation Center will now be known as the Pam and Dan Kelley Family Student and Staff Work Room. The space will be a dedicated area for the students and staff to plan simulation scenarios, review upcoming assignments, and collaborate.
Graduating in 1970 from Illinois State with a degree in agriculture, Dan Kelley has been a longtime and well-respected leader in agribusiness. He is the former chairman of the Board and president of GROWMARK, Inc., a local agriculture supply and grain cooperative. Over the years Kelley received numerous awards and accolades for his work, including receiving the Director of the Year award from the National Council of Farmer Cooperatives. Kelley, with his two brothers and son, currently operates a grain farm in Normal.
Dan Kelley has been a proud Redbird leader as well, serving on Illinois State University’s Alumni Association Board including as president. He has been an active member on the ISU Foundation’s Board of Directors since 2015 and he and Pam led the successful Redbirds Rising campaign as committed campaign co-chairs.
The Kelleys have a personal desire to make sure there are well-educated nurses, and they have been donors to Illinois State University’s Mennonite College of Nursing for many years.
Beth and Jay Mathews Innovation and Technology Room
One of two innovation and technology rooms in the newly constructed Mennonite College of Nursing Simulation Center will now be known as the Beth and Jay Mathews Innovation and Technology Room.
Beth Mathews, ’77, and husband Jay Mathews have been engaged donors to the Mennonite College of Nursing (MCN) for several years.
A respected nurse practitioner, Beth Mathews has worked closely with the faculty at MCN on educating nurses in primary care settings. An official Redbird Bell Ringer in 2019, she believes in the values of Mennonite College of Nursing and champions its role in addressing the nursing shortage.
The couple, who live in Champaign, often come to campus to take part in college and University programs, including the Lincoln Dinner and official alumni activities. As members of the 1857 Society, the Mathews were recently featured in Illinois State University’s STATE Magazine as influential Redbird philanthropists.
William and Betty Duff and Robert and Mary Neubrander Administrative Faculty Office
An administrative faculty office in the newly constructed Nursing Simulation Center will now be known as the William and Betty Duff and Robert and Mary Neubrander Administrative Faculty Office. This naming reflects and recognizes the generous financial commitment of Judy and David Neubrander.
Dr. Judy Neubrander, Ed.D., FNP-BC, has been the dean of the Mennonite College of Nursing at Illinois State University since 2016. Neubrander is a tenured nursing professor who has over 20 years of academic experience. Under Dr. Neubrander’s leadership, ISU’s nursing college has had many successes including:
- Creating a student Leadership Academy for senior students to help them thrive in the workforce
- Hosting a year-long, community-wide celebration of our 100th Anniversary as a nursing school
- Reinvigorating the transcultural program by creating a public health experiential program in Panama for our students
- Starting the first clinical trials at Illinois State
- Launching a 10-year partnership with a major hospital system that will create a new nursing campus location in Springfield
- Securing major federal grants to increase diversity in nursing, support nursing in rural areas, and expose nurses to primary care sites, especially within clinics and offices serving patients with little access to healthcare
- Maintaining nursing licensure pass rates that far exceed state and national averages
For several years, Neubrander has passionately pursued the idea of building a new nursing simulation center to support the college’s ambitious plans for growth, as she is keenly aware of the need for more nurses.
Smith Family Conference Room
A conference room in the newly constructed Nursing Simulation Center will be known as the Smith Family Conference Room. This naming reflects and recognizes the generous support of Steve Smith for the new facility.
Smith has been a proud Redbird, engaged alum, generous donor, and committed volunteer to Illinois State University for many years. He received his Bachelor of Science in public relations in 1989, and a Master of Science in communications in 1993. He is currently the CEO of Association Management Center in Chicago, which supports and advises healthcare associations across the country.
Reflecting a longtime interest in healthcare and older adults, Smith has held executive positions at the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. An active member on the Illinois State University Alumni Association Board of Directors, he is highly respected for his knowledge of best practices in governance and board development.
In 2016, Smith was inducted into ISU’s Division of Student Affairs Steve and Sandi Adams Legacy Hall of Fame. In 2022, the Mennonite College of Nursing asked Smith to help advise and facilitate its newly created Dean’s Cabinet. He created the Smith Family Geriatric Nursing Scholarship in the Mennonite College of Nursing in 2022 to support a nursing student pursuing a career in oncology, geriatrics, or palliative care.
Seelinger/Trites Conference Room
Room 140 in Stevenson Hall will now be known as the Seelinger/Trites Conference Room in honor of Distinguished Professor of English Dr. Roberta Seelinger Trites and Emeritus Professor of Mathematics Dr. George Seelinger.
The careers of Trites and Seelinger have been marked by a dual commitment to advancing their respective fields and serving the College of Arts and Sciences and the University.
Since joining ISU’s Department of English in 1991, Dr. Trites has become a leading expert in the field of children’s and adolescent literature, publishing five scholarly books, co-editing two additional volumes, earning the prestigious International Brothers Grimm Award, which recognizes prominent international contributions to the study of children’s literature, and receiving the Children’s Literature Association’s Anne Devereaux Jordan for Outstanding Achievement in Children’s Literature. She earned the rank of Distinguished Professor of English in 2013. During her career at ISU, Dr. Trites served as associate dean and acting dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, interim chair of the Department of Management and Quantitative Methods in the College of Business, and interim associate vice president for Academic Administration in the Office of the Provost.
Dr. Seelinger served as department chair of the ISU Mathematics Department from 2002 until his retirement in 2022. During his 20 years supporting students, faculty, and staff, Dr. Seelinger oversaw and helped implement programs that have continued to advance the mathematical sciences at ISU, including establishing new programs in undergraduate statistics, a biomathematics master’s program, an undergraduate research program in mathematical sciences, and ISU’s newest interdisciplinary major, Data Science, which was also approved at the May 2023 Board of Trustees’ meeting. In 2009, ISU’s Mathematics Department became a Center of Actuarial Excellence, increasing ISU’s national and international prominence in that area, too. Additionally, Dr. Seelinger played a vital role in developing international partnerships, improving standards for transferring math credits among public colleges in the state, and creating statewide transitional math programs for high school students in Illinois.
