Seven MacMurray College Nursing students were inducted into the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing on Saturday, April 8, at the Prairie Heart Institute in Springfield, Ill.                                                                    

The following students were inducted: Natalie Foster of Warrensburg, Ill., Brooklyn Hatalla of Thayer, Ill., Paulena Hopson of Chicago, Ill., Lauren Peterson of Ashland, Ill., Laren Sanford of Greencastle, Ind., Brennen Wells of Clay City, Ill. and Jenna Wisneski of Freeburg, Ill.

This membership is presented to nursing students in the upper 35% of their class and have at least a 3.0 grade point average.

Pictured from left to right: Laren Sanford, Natalie Foster, Brennen Wells, Brooklyn Hatalla, Lauren Peterson, Jenna Wisneski and Paulena Hopson.

Fourteen MacMurray College student-athletes were inducted into the national Chi Alpha Sigma Honor Society.

The following students were inducted: Nick Balkenbusch of Pocohantas, Ill., Marshall Corbin of Louisiana. Mo., London Gulley of Bay Minette, Ala., Collin Hopkins of Decatur, Ill., Trevor Knipe of Nauvoo, Ill., Elizabeth Kruemmelbein of Bunker Hill, Ill., Jacob Lee of Waukee, Iowa, Nathan Luft of Clinton, Ind., Ryan Meddows of Trenton, Ill., Christopher Pakeltis of New Lennox, Ill., Riley Spencer of Paris, Ill., Cydny Saxer of Jacksonville, Ill., Cory Steinhart of Clifton, Ill., and Danny Williams of Carrolton, Ill.

This membership is presented to students achieving a 3.4 GPA while also participating in NCAA athletics. Chi Alpha Sigma was created to recognize college student athletes that excel on the field of competition as well as in the classroom.

Seven MacMurray College business students were inducted into the Sigma Beta Delta International Honor Society on April 25.

The following students were inducted: Klay Hickey of Virden, Ill., Daniel Hirstein of Springfield, Ill., Emily Lascody of Springfield, Ill., Fred Lomprez of Springfield, Ill., Nicholas Poole of Jacksonville, Brittany Spicer of Bismarck, Ill., and Jakob Voss of Payson, Ill.

This membership is presented to business students with a grade point average that ranks in the top 20 percent of their graduating class.

Pictured from front to back: Brittany Spicer, Emily Lascody, Fred Lomprez, Klay Hickey, Daniel Hirstein and Nicholas Poole. Not pictured, Jakob Voss.

MacMurray College will hold its 166th annual Commencement ceremony on Saturday, May 13, at 10:30 a.m. in Annie Merner Chapel. Jacksonville native Kathryn Thomson, vice president and associate general counsel for Amazon, will give the keynote address.

“I am delighted to be coming back to Jacksonville to give the commencement address at MacMurray,” Thomson said. “My family’s ties to MacMurray go all the way back to the turn of the 20th century, so I feel like Mac is in my DNA.”

Thomson said her commencement address will urge the graduating class to use the tools provided by their MacMurray education to embrace transitions and challenges in the future. “Harkening back to the commencement address that Eleanor Roosevelt gave at MacMurray 70 years ago, I will also advise the graduates that the most effective way to tackle the demands and opportunities of the future is to continue to learn and be curious.”

As VP and general counsel for Amazon, she advises the company on all aspects of transportation and logistics in the United States and abroad with the aim of improving the customer experience.

Before joining Amazon, Thomson was a partner for Morrison and Foerster, a leading global law firm, and was chair for the firm’s transportation group. Thomson went to the law firm after working for the U.S. Department of Transportation as general counsel and chief counsel for the Federal Aviation Administration where she helped shape national transportation law and policy. Thomson was in private practice for 19 years in Washington, D.C. before joining the government in 2009.

The Class of 2017 includes 127 undergraduates. MacMurray will confer Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Science in nursing, Bachelor of social work, Associate of Art and Associate of Science. An Honorary Doctor of Commerce, Accounting and Business degree will be bestowed upon Russell Patton, a 1966 MacMurray graduate. Thomson will also be given an Honorary Doctor of Law.

The Commencement ceremony is free and open to the public, if tickets are available. To reserve a ticket and to find out if space is available, call 217-479-7024, or email joanne.ford@mac.edu.

MacMurray College’s 166th Commencement ceremony was held on May 13, 2017 where 127 graduates crossed the stage in Annie Merner Chapel.

The keynote speaker was Kathryn Thomson, vice president and associate general counsel for Amazon. Thomson was awarded an honorary Doctor of Law. MacMurray also awarded an honorary Doctor of Commerce, Accountancy and Business to Russell Patton, owner and president of Byerly RV Center. Both Thomson and Patton are lifetime trustees of the College.

See the entire Class of 2017.

See photo galleries of Commencement.

MacMurray College recently purchased the old Franklin Elementary School building on the corner of South Clay Avenue and Franklin Drive located across from Freesen Football Field on campus.

The College’s initial plan is to use the property for a new fitness center and weight room that will be ready for students to use this coming fall semester. Additional plans for the building are still under discussion and will be a part of the campus master facilities plan once completed.

“We are excited to move forward on this project,” Marcy Jones, director of communications and marketing, said. “Plans for the property are still in the development stage so we will have a better understanding of how we will fully utilize this building as the summer progresses.”

MacMurray College has developed an academic relationship with the Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute (CIRI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

The College’s Criminal Justice and Homeland Security Division Chair Bruce Liebe furthered the partnership concept by hosting David M. Nicol, director of the Information Trust Institute and Randall J. Sandone, CIRI executive director, at MacMurray College.

“Your perspectives and insights were most valuable and we are delighted to have you as a CIRI Partner Institution,” Sandone said. “We look forward to integrating your program into our ongoing CIRI research, education and workforce development initiatives.”

The Institute conducts research and education that enhances the resiliency of the nation’s critical infrastructures, and the businesses and public entities that own and operate those assets and systems.

CIRI is one of 10 Centers of Excellence established by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Office of University Programs.

“I envision joint research efforts, internships and faculty professional development opportunities among the mutually beneficial outcomes,” said Liebe. “Critical infrastructure resiliency will continue to be a challenge for government, private sector and non-profit organizations for the foreseeable future and collaboration is needed to reduce overall risk.”

For more information, visit the Homeland Security Program website. 

Pictured: MacMurray College Provost Beverly Rodgers, David M. Nicol, MacMurray College President Mark Tierno, and Bruce Liebe

For eight weeks this summer, MacMurray College President Mark Tierno will be living in an RV, crisscrossing the United States, “rallying the alumni army,” as he says.

The President’s MacNation Tour will officially begin on June 1 with a kick-off party on the President’s Lawn located at 339 East State Street in Jacksonville from 4:30-6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and appetizers and beverages will be served. During the event, President Tierno will give an overview of the tour at 5:30 p.m. and then unveil the RV, which will be uniquely wrapped for the MacNation Tour.

On his trip, President Tierno will visit over 30 states, hosting alumni events in 30 cities which include stops in Southern California, the Pacific Northwest, the Heartland, East coast and all throughout the South. To see if President Tierno is coming to a city near you, go to www.mac.edu/macnation.

“The energy and commitment of our alumni and friends are vital for the future success of the College,” Rikki Langan, director of advancement and alumni relations, said. “The MacNation Tour is a fun way to build excitement and to let the world know why MacMurray College is such a special place.”

The MacNation Tour will wrap up with a welcome home party in Jacksonville on July 26. For more information about the tour visit the MacNation Tour 2017 website at www.mac.edu/macnation or contact Rikki Langan, director of alumni relations, at 217-479-7030 or at rikki.langan@mac.edu.

MacMurray College is proud to announce the addition of the Lincoln Land Community College Transfer Scholarship, a renewable $500 per year scholarship for those students who transfer to MacMurray from Lincoln Land. The new transfer scholarship is available for the Fall 2017 semester.

“Lincoln Land Community College and their students are an important part of our community,” Tressman Goode, director of admissions, said. “We are committed to supporting their students who are looking to continue their education. We also understand that cost is a significant factor in students’ college choice. This new scholarship is just one way MacMurray is providing a quality education at an affordable price.”

To be eligible, Lincoln Land Community College must be the last college the student attended full-time. This scholarship may be combined with the Academic Achievement Scholarships ranging from $12,000 to $20,000 per year, and the Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship of $1,000 per year.

Students may contact the Office of Admissions at 217-479-7056 or visit www.mac.edu for more information.

MacMurray College is seeking community entries for the college’s annual homecoming parade that will take place on Saturday, October 21, at 10 a.m. in Jacksonville.

To register an entry for the parade, please contact Bambi Rockwell, student life specialist, at (217) 479-7123 or bambi.rockwell@mac.edu.

The parade will step off on the corner of Clay Avenue and State Street. It will progress west down State to the Central Park Plaza, take a right around the square following Sandy Street south to College Avenue where it will head east back to campus.

MacMurray College hosted its second annual Downtown Amazing Race on Saturday, Aug. 26, a fun-filled event to help familiarize new students with Downtown Jacksonville.

Students were divided into groups and raced from business to business around the downtown square. At each location, the students were presented with a challenge they had to complete before they could move on to the next business. The group that completed all the tasks the quickest won a prize.

The college would like to thank all the businesses that contributed and made the event possible: Bill Wade Photography, Frozen Penguin, Hair On The Square, Illinois Theatre, Inner Harmony, JR’s Barber Shop, Just Good Trade, Our Town Books, Taylor Mercantile, Times Square Sewing and Trone Appliances.

Click here for more photos of Downtown Amazing Race.

MacMurray College first-year students Sarah Dawdy, Margaret Doss and Savanna Long were among 19 local college students awarded Jacksonville Promise Scholarships Tuesday during a ceremony hosted by Illinois College.

The 2017 award recipients received scholarships of up to $2,000 toward tuition and fees for the current academic year. The Jacksonville Promise is a locally established scholarship dedicated to promoting the educational opportunities available in Jacksonville.

Doss told the Jacksonville Journal-Courier, “I’m very grateful for Jacksonville Promise,” she said. “I’m glad to see there is an organization like this helping local students.”

Read the full story in the Jacksonville Journal-Courier.

MacMurray College is pleased to announce that David Hawsey has accepted the position of Vice President of Institutional Advancement and Enrollment Management.

Hawsey served in an interim enrollment management role at MacMurray starting in July and quickly impressed the staff with his vast knowledge of higher education. He accepted the newly created position in August.

“The MacMurray Family is not just a phrase, it is a real feeling you get once you understand the clear focus the faculty and staff have on our students,” Hawsey said. “While most colleges boast of being student-centered, MacMurray delivers a quality education in a handcrafted way that I have not experienced at other colleges and universities.”

Hawsey has served seven other colleges and universities over a 28-year career in higher education in fundraising and enrollment roles at Drexel University, Juniata College, Pacific Lutheran University, Penn State, Albion College, Emory & Henry College and most recently as VP for Enrollment Management and Marketing at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, N.C.

A Navy veteran who served two tours in the Middle East during the American hostage crisis in Iran, Hawsey worked in software development and corporate communications before beginning his career in higher education.

President Mark Tierno said, “I am confident that David’s skills will assist us all in moving the College’s ambitious strategic plan forward. His role will be crucial in optimizing efforts in institutional advancement, marketing and recruiting to ensure a strong future for MacMurray College.”

MacMurray College has reorganized its academic structure by creating a two-school model – the School of Professional Studies and the School of Arts and Sciences – with senior directors overseeing each school.

“The two-school system will be a better fit for a college of MacMurray’s size,” Provost Beverly Rodgers said.

Previously, the College’s academic structure included seven divisions with faculty members, known as division chairs, handling the administrative workload as well as normal classroom responsibilities.

“That proved to be unwieldy,” Rodgers said. “With the two schools, we will have two senior directors reporting directly to me, handling the day to day, allowing faculty members to focus on the classroom and their students.”

Bruce Liebe, assistant professor of criminal justice and homeland security, will lead the School of Professional Studies, and RJ Stewart, President Joseph R. Harker professor of philosophy and religion, will lead the School of Arts and Sciences.

“The new two-school structure will foster a dynamic and creative working relationship between the professional programs and traditional liberal arts programs and curriculum,” Stewart said. “It will also help the academic program areas run more efficiently, and will enhance communication between all constituents of the college.”

Liebe said the college is making great strides forward to further improve the administration and operation of the college.

“In the end, this will benefit the students by enhancing the product we deliver,” Liebe said. “In turn, their academic experience will likewise be enhanced.”

The new academic structure has been fully implemented for the 2017 Fall Semester.

The Western Illinois FCA and MacMurray College will host former Major League Baseball pitcher and motivational speaker Dave Dravecky at two separate events in Jacksonville on September 26 and 27. Dravecky will share his message, “The Pitch that could be Heard Round the World,” at both events.

Dravecky will be the featured speaker at the Western Illinois FCA fundraising banquet on Sept. 26, at 6:30 p.m. at Hamilton’s in Jacksonville. Individual tickets can be purchased by calling 217-370-2008 for $25 each. Ticket includes dinner at Hamilton's and the opportunity to hear Dravecky share his story. For more information and to see a video from Dravecky, go to www.westernilfca.org.

The former San Francisco Giant pitcher will also be the featured speaker at MacMurray College on Sept. 27, at 11 a.m. in Annie Merner Chapel. Dravecky’s presentation will kick-off the college health fair. The event is free and open to all students and groups from the area high schools. Reservations can be made by calling Gina Hamilton at 217-479-7160 or at gina.hamilton@mac.edu.

Dravecky was first thrust into the public spotlight when his career took off as a Major League Baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres (’82-’87) and San Francisco Giants (’87-’89). Shortly after realizing his lifelong dream, Dravecky was diagnosed with cancer, a desmoid tumor, in the deltoid muscle of his pitching arm. Dravecky has been speaking professionally since 1991, delivering motivational messages to a wide variety of audiences across the country.

The MacMurray College Applebee Gallery will feature “A Novel of Thank You,” a mini retrospective of works and paintings by Springfield artist and MacMurray alumnus Michael Houser. The opening for the art exhibit is Saturday, October 7, from 5-7 p.m., with a gallery talk by Houser at 6 p.m.

Houser will display his most recent works influenced by writers and musicians who have played an important part in the development of the arts. Earlier works from his days as a student at MacMurray College under the tutelage of his professor, Larry Calhoun, will also be included.

The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Dr. Norman L. Foster, M.D. ‘73 said he appreciates the liberal arts education he received at MacMurray College now more than ever.

The ways it has come into play for the Director of the Center for Alzheimer’s Care, Imaging and Research (CACIR) and Professor of Neurology at the University of Utah are, though, “completely unpredictable,” he admitted.

• Recently reading a book on phenomenology, the philosophical study of the structures of experience and consciousness, summoned for Foster the memory of former MacMurray philosophy professor and author Richard Palmer.
• At the University of Utah, Foster team-taught, with an ethnologist and a music composer, an undergraduate course on Aging and Alzheimer’s, an interdisciplinary approach that included literature, anthropology, music and medicine.
• The development of what may be a groundbreaking dementia care mobile device, which recently got another round of funding from the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health, has put to use Foster’s marketing and business skills.

Foster may have known walking into MacMurray that he wanted to be a physician, but “I don’t know if I would have attended so many theatre performances or so many concerts if I hadn’t been exposed to all the disciplines and all the academic areas (I was exposed to),” he said.

The Jacksonville, Ill. native also got a sage piece of advice at his dorm orientation at Michelson Hall.
“(The presenter) told us that this was a rare opportunity to define who we were,” said Foster. “I remembered that.”
A biology and chemistry major who trained at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Foster spent two-plus decades as a faculty member at the University of Michigan where he founded the state’s first dementia clinic before helping establish CACIR.

Foster, who is also a Senior Investigator at The Brain Institute at the University of Utah, has carved out an international reputation in the field of neurology with his research focused primarily on brain imaging. Foster and his colleagues have recently shown that positron emission tomography (PET) imaging that produces 3-D color images of the functional processes within the human body can help distinguish between Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia.

An active version of the Memory Care Partner, a smartphone application and tablet computer Foster and a team of researchers developed that will provide guidance to patients and families with concerns about memory loss, is currently being tested.

The goals, said Foster, are to help people “better navigate the often daunting process of seeking quality memory loss care” along with providing patients “a high quality of life and keeping social connections.”

“These are difficult discussions to have,” acknowledged Foster, concerning the subject of memory loss. “This is a threat to self-image. It’s disruptive. It requires changes in lifestyles that people are unwilling to take.

“With Memory Care Partner, we’re trying to reach people before they meet the clinical threshold.”

Foster, a presenter at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in London earlier this summer, said he’s convinced that time he spent as a youth with older neighbors and his ability to easily communicate with them shepherded his way to the field.

“I’m challenged intellectually by complexity. I rush towards it,” admitted Foster, who received the College’s Young Alumni Award in 1983 and Honorary Doctor of Science in 1995. “I’ve always been attracted by doing things that can make a difference.

“Between those two things, how much more can you ask for?”

- Story by Steven Spearie ’87

This year’s Homecoming theme, “Bringing the Spirit Home,” wraps up the year-long MacNation celebration including this summer’s MacNation Tour. Homecoming festivities kick-off on Oct. 20 and continues through Oct. 22. It will include a variety of events including the popular and traditional Torchlight Parade and pep rally, the annual parade, a movie shown at Freesen Field, athletic events and much more. All are welcome to attend any of these events. Let’s come together to bring the spirit home.

This year’s events include:

• The Michalson Monster 5K Run/Walk beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21. Registration begins at 7 a.m.
• The Homecoming parade beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday at State and Clay streets. It will progress west down State to the Central Park Plaza, take a left around the square following Sandy Street south to College Avenue where it will head east back to campus.

The parade marshal this year is Mrs. Illinois U.S. Continental Andrea Moore, Class of 1995.

• Student organizations will be selling food along with activities for children sponsored by the MacMurray Alumni Association Board just southwest of the tennis courts. Join us on campus after the parade on Saturday starting at 11 a.m. for food and fun for all ages.
• MacMurray Athletics take the field against Fontbonne University starting with women’s soccer at noon, and men’s soccer at 2 p.m.
• The undefeated Football team will be facing off against Eureka College on Freesen Field. Kickoff is at 1 pm.                                                                                             
• The Athletic Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony will be from 6-8 p.m. in Thoresen Recital Hall in the Putnam/Springer Center.
• A worship service will be held on Sunday, Oct. 22 at Annie Merner Chapel, beginning at 10 a.m.

View the entire schedule of events for the MacMurray Homecoming on our website.

The MacNation Choir Concert was held Wednesday, Nov. 1, in Annie Merner Chapel. The concert featured music from MacMurray’s past and present, including performances by the MacMurray College Choir and the premiere of “MacNation,” a song written by MacMurray alumnus Jeff Davidsmeyer ’85 as well as a lesson about MacMurray’s past from College Archivist Lauretta Scheller.

Jacksonville, Ill. – The Illinois Central Management Services will hold a workshop at MacMurray College on the second floor of the Gamble Campus Center on Wed., Nov. 15, from 11-11:50 a.m.

The workshop will provide information and resources to assist with placing an employment application with the State of Illinois. Representatives from State of Illinois agencies such as Central Management Services, Department of Revenue and Department of Human Services will be in attendance.

Registration is required. To register email careerservices@mac.edu or visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/W2MB3WK.