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Volume 17 • Number 4 • Spring 2017
Days of May: Inside the infamous flagpole standoff that put ISU on the brink
On May 19, 1970, the Illinois State University campus reached a boiling point leading to what has become known as the “flagpole incident.”
Season of celebration: Unique ceremonies enrich graduation
As a transfer student, LaCrisha McAllister ’14 was struggling.
Birthing dreams: Alumna achieves family, career success through surrogacy
Illinois State alumna Zara Griswold is in the business of creating families. The agency Griswold created with Staci Swiderski helps couples who cannot physically reproduce their own child navigate the expensive and legally complicated process of using gestational surrogacy with egg and sperm donation to have a baby.
Alumni Association honors seven award recipients
The Illinois State University Alumni Association honored seven award recipients at Founders Day celebrations on February 16, as well as during a dinner program.
Milner receives $268,000 grant to save circus history
The largest grant in the history of Milner Library at Illinois State University will ensure a wealth of circus history will be preserved.
Where are they now? Marie DiGiammarino
Marie DiGiammarino always envisioned teaching, but never anticipated making Illinois State her professional home for nearly 30 years.
Mail to the Editor: May 2017
The following letters to the editor appeared in the May 2017 issue.
Conference champions: Top Valley honors go to men’s basketball coach, player
After leading the Redbirds to a regular-season championship for the first time in nearly two decades, head men’s basketball coach Dan Muller was named the 2017 Missouri Valley Conference Coach of the Year. Senior Paris Lee also captured top honors when named the MVC Larry Bird Player of the Year and the Defensive Player of the Year.
ISU Olympian inducted into Hall of Fame
Former ISU basketball star and Olympian Charlotte Lewis ’78, ’01, is a 2017 inductee into the Missouri Valley Conference Hall of Fame. A Redbird student-athlete from 1974 to 1978, she died of a heart attack at the age of 52 in 200
Freshman runner at NCAA championships
Derrius Rodgers made Illinois State University history as the first 60-meter runner to ever qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships held during the spring semester.
Loyal Redbird couple honored
Sandi (Platta) ’67 and Steve Adams received the 2017 Joseph F. Warner Golden Redbird Award.
Five athletes competed at U.S. volleyball tryouts
The strength of ISU’s volleyball roster was proven during the spring semester, when five team members were chosen to participate in the U.S. Women’s National Team Open Tryouts held in Colorado.
A NEW alumni service, online book club available
Be a part of this free book club to enhance professional skills, leadership abilities, and network with other Redbirds.
Plan for Homecoming 2017 and nominate royalty
Illinois State is celebrating its many legacies this year at Homecoming 2017. Plans are underway for the fall celebration that is set for October 16-22.
Annual alumni meeting set for June 24
Alumni are invited to the Alumni Association annual meeting at 9:30 a.m. on June 24 in the Alumni Center.
Proudly he served: Alumnus honored with Congressional Gold Medal
Agriculture classes that would prepare him for farming are what drew Ivan Maras ’52 to the University seven decades ago.
Pause for applause
Please applaud these Illinois State alumni’s accomplishments.
How we met: Kelsey Wallace and Alex Nagyivan
Kelsey Wallace and Alex Nagyivan, both 2009 graduates, completed a management and quantitative methods class together their junior year. But that’s not when their romance started.
Redbird legacy: Family’s Redbird ties extend across 3 generations
Barbara (Dunn) Raycraft finished high school in 1953 and chose teaching over nursing and secretarial work—which were the career options for young women at the time.
