Julia Visor
Julia Visor
The University Center for Learning Assistance (UCLA)/Minority Student Academic Center was dedicated in memory of Dr. Julia Visor on Friday, Feb. 20. The Julia N. Visor Academic Center will provide support for student retention and include group tutoring, one-on -one writing assistance and workshops to enhance student study techniques and academic skills.
Visor, who served as coordinator of UCLA from 1997 to her untimely death in 2001, was a powerful advocate for the center and was devoted to the success of all students. She acted as tutor and mentor with a particular passion for helping first-generation college students make the transition to higher education and become successful graduates of Illinois State University.
As a faculty member of the English Department, Visor taught courses in composition and rhetoric and in African American literature, serving as a mentor and advisor for many graduate students working in those areas.
In 1996, she was recognized with the David A. Strand Award for Diversity Achievement. She is also recognized by the Julia N. Visor Award in the Department of English for the best undergraduate essay on the sociopolitical dimensions of any aspect of English Studies, a competition designed to encourage student research on issues of racism, colonialism and cultural diversity in literary and cultural studies, rhetoric, linguistics and education.
Alumni who want to make a donation to the Visor Center can do so by clicking on Giving and putting Julia Visor Center in the comment section.
