Pause for Applause: Winter 2025

Appears In




Illinois State: Winter 2025

Influential executive

Dr. Charlene Aaron, M.S. ’06, was named to Fierce Health-care’s 2024 “Most Influential Minority Executives in Health-care.” Aaron is the president and chief academic officer of OSF HealthCare’s two colleges of nursing, Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria and Saint Anthony College of Nursing in Rockford. Aaron was recognized for her work in addressing the nationwide nursing shortage as OSF HealthCare’s nursing colleges enjoyed a 42% growth in enrollment last year. She’s championed diversity in nursing, with particular emphasis on encouraging men to enter the field. Aaron has been a member of the Illinois Association of College of Nursing since 2016, serving as its president for the past two years.

Prized poet

Red Hawk (aka Robert Moore) ’66, M.S. ’67, won the 12th annual Bitter Oleander Press Library of Poetry Award. It included a cash prize and publication of his work, Book of Lamentations, which was selected from more than 350 entries and published last January. An emeritus professor of English at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, Red Hawk is the author of 12 books and the winner of four national poetry competitions. Central themes in his work include nature, spiritualism, love, and consciousness. He wrote his first poem, “Black is the Color of Sorrow,” as an Illinois State University freshman.

Lone Star star

D.A. Weibring ’75 was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame as part of its 2024 class. The Quincy native—and Texas resident for the past 45 years—owns an impressive resume of 13 professional victories, including five each on the PGA and Champions tours. Weibring was previously inducted into Illinois State Athletics’ Percy Family Hall of Fame, the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame, and the Illinois PGA Hall of Fame. The founder of Golf Resources (Weibring/Wolfard Design), he has been involved in design, renovation, management, and agronomic consulting for more than 100 courses, including the Illinois State University course that bears his name.

Perfect form

Lou Cella ’85 was the sculptor of a statute of Chicago Cubs Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg unveiled outside Wrigley Field last June. Cella has previously immortalized Cubs’ legends Ernie Banks, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, and Harry Caray, as well as notable crosstown players Carlton Fisk, Paul Konerko, and Frank Thomas of White Sox fame. Cella’s work extends beyond Chicago and outside baseball; he’s responsible for works of Barry Sanders, Ken Griffey Jr., and Bart Starr. His work exists on Illinois State’s campus, too, in the form of the iconic Doug Collins-Will Robinson statue outside CEFCU Arena. A native Chicagoan, Cella works out of the Fine Art Studio of Rotblatt Amrany in Highwood.