Illinois State alumni Jim and Carole (Czerniak) Mounier have always been part of the Redbird family, but for 30 years they were more like long-lost relatives.
A drive to give back: Alumni couple makes record-setting gift
Category: Features
Age no obstacle for globetrotting alum Ron Williams
Cycling across America would be the ultimate accomplishment for most, but not Dr. Ron Williams. The 76-year-old Illinois State alumnus has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro and Mt. Rainier alongside his family.
Extreme makeover: Department shifts from home ec to high-tech
The professional and academic focus in Family and Consumer Sciences has shifted gradually, coinciding with the transition of women to the workplace and keeping pace with technology.
Illinois State eyes future as online courses reshape higher ed
The educational format known as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) allows students from India to Indiana to take free courses from professors at the world’s most prestigious universities.
FCS alum Victor Lee has designs for a bright future
Victor Lee exemplifies the excellence of ISU’s Department of Family and Consumer Sciences today. He completed rigorous courses and real-world projects that prepared him for a national win.
Alums are driving force in preserving Route 66
Preserving the iconic piece of Americana requires a labor of love. The passion and projects of Terri Ryburn and Fred Walk have formed a significant and lasting intersection between Route 66 and the University.
Year after tornado, Washington student thankful for scholarship
For Kristin Kouri, the two hours after a tornado struck her hometown felt like three weeks. That’s because the Illinois State University junior couldn’t reach her family immediately after the twister leveled their neighborhood in Washington one year ago.
Alum’s investment will shape College of Business
Gary Gemberling spent his career creating. He launched his own companies and used his expertise to help other businesses build their own success. Now Gemberling is turning back to his alma mater for his next creation.
Homeless teen is educator because of donors’ dollars
Dakota Pawlicki would later graduate from Illinois State debt-free thanks to scholarships. Today he’s an educator. “ISU felt so much like home to me because it was like the community that got me there,” he says.
Stats behind the stories
The record-breaking private support of $19.5 million included cash, pledges, estate gifts and gifts-in-kind for the fiscal year ending June 30. These funds will be used to support new and continuing scholarships, endowed faculty positions, academic programs and special funds that provide emergency student support.
