The College of Education will induct the following five alumni into its Hall of Fame, and present its Outstanding Young Alumni Award during Homecoming on Friday, October 3.
Visit Illinois State University’s Homecoming site for more 2014 event information, including College of Education alumni tailgate tent and the Redbirds’ football game.
Hall of Fame Inductees
John Avendano
John Avendano, Ph.D. ’03, earned his doctorate in higher education administration from Illinois State University in 2003 while serving as vice president of student development and services at Illinois Central College (ICC) in East Peoria. Avendano said his own experience as a student athlete at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove ignited his academic and professional aspirations. He currently serves as the president of Kankakee Community College (KCC).
Thomas Eddy
Thomas Eddy ’75, M.S. ’77, Ed.D. ’97, attended Illinois State and its Laboratory School system for 21 years, from kindergarten at Thomas Metcalf through doctoral level classes with the Department of Educational Administration and Foundations. During his career, he served the Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 for 37 years as teacher and assistant basketball coach, dean of students, assistant and associate principal, assistant superintendent, and deputy superintendent.
Kathleen Kane
Kathleen Kane ’75 earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from Illinois State University in 1975. After teaching four years in Pontiac and Rantoul, she relocated to Idaho and began working at the Pocatello School District, where she continues to serve as a special education teacher for children ages three-to-five. She also serves as a consultant for the Pocatello Head Start program, collaborating with support staff to carry out new interventions and curriculum designs.
Linda Rosendall
Linda A. Rosendall ’70 earned her bachelor’s degree in education from Illinois State University in 1970, where she studied under the late Evelyn Rex, a nationally regarded expert in the field who taught special education at the University for 30 years. Rosendall served in several administrative and mentoring capacities in the area of low vision and blindness in Maryland, including director of statewide and school services, where she supervised the Maryland State Instructional Resource Center and outreach services to state vision programs.
Carl Wenning
Carl J. Wenning, Ed.D. ’07, earned his doctorate in education from Illinois State in 2007. Wenning joined Illinois State in 1978 as the director of the Planetarium. During 22 exemplary years of service in this role, approximately 250,000 P-12 and secondary students and community members attended his planetarium programs. From 1994-2008 he transformed the former physics teacher education major with just five students into a nationally recognized program now among the largest in the country.
Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipient
Peter Richey
Following six years of military service, Peter Richey ’08 earned his bachelor’s degree in middle level education from Illinois State University in 2008. His is a sixth, seventh, and eighth grade math teacher at Churchville Middle School in the Elmhurst Community Unit School District. Drawing from his military background and experiences, he created a Veteran’s Day assembly for his school. At the event, students and community guests are educated on the history and ongoing service provided by the nation’s armed forces.
