Jean Ann Dargatz administrative aide, MCN My husband and I are employees and graduates of Illinois State University. We have donated to several funds, including the College of Education and the Dorothy E. Lee Scholarship, which supports nontraditional female students. Most recently we have been donating to Mennonite College of Nursing. Since I began working for MCN over a year ago, I have learned a great deal about the College, its innovative programs and its highly qualified students. In light of a national nursing shortage, we have chosen to donate to Mennonite as a way to support quality nursing care.
Sally Bulkley Pancrazio, '60 emeritus dean of College of Education More than 50 years ago, I applied to one university in Illinois, and only one. My favorite teacher had told me that "if you want to be a teacher, you'll go to ISNU." So, I did. At the age of 17, following high school graduation, I showed up on the ISNU campus during the fall of its centennial, in 1957, when Dr. Bone was being inaugurated as president.
At Walker Hall, One North corridor, I met friends who would remain friends all these years. I would have the privilege and pleasure of returning to what became ISU the year I finished doctoral studies for a temporary position -- and then again decades later, I would return yet again as a department chair and later become dean in the College of Education. I am grateful to Illinois State for both providing an education and a site for professional achievement.
It seems like I was always coming home to Illinois State University. And, Illinois State University always gave me a warm welcome back. There were many people who always made me welcome --students, faculty, and staff alike. On our retirements from our profession, my husband, Jim, and I wished to provide a thank you to the University and the College that I called home so often. It was easy to make an annual pledge to the University to provide support in two areas close to our hearts.
First, the Charles DeGarmo Scholars program in the College of Education recognizes, honors, and supports outstanding education students at all levels. The program is named for an outstanding educator at ISNU; the education building is also named for him. Recipients awarded DeGarmo Scholarships represent the best of the best. They become teacher and school leaders and college and university presidents. We know that such scholarship support can make the difference in the best students having the resources to finish their education and enter the profession. I urge all ISU educators -- on campus or in the nation's schools and colleges -- to donate to the Charles DeGarmo Scholars as a way of ensuring that these outstanding recipients get the chance they deserve.
Second, my husband and I fully recognize that without the Arts, our world would lack the capacity to express its humanity in creative and original ways. Illinois State University is known nationally for offering its summer Shakespeare plays in an idyllic setting. Part of our pledge to the University supports the Shakespeare Society endowment so that this summer jewel in the crown of Theatre can continue. Education and the arts are intrinsically woven as well; both are enriched by each other. We urge our colleagues on campus -- regardless of college affiliation -- to remember the arts as an education outreach. Shared support and participation in the arts enhances our sense of community and understanding human motivations.
I give in two ways, one to Milner Library’s Japanese pottery collection and WGLT. I am passionate about art, simple beauty, functionality and preserving the lively spirit of creativity. Having Japanese pottery available to the public opens the community’s eyes to world of beauty and thought. Many forms of pottery in Japan have changed little for hundreds of years. This display has a profound aesthetic impacting offering Central Illinois the opportunity to experience Eastern art culture in our own backyard.
My passion for WGLT is its ability to be the finger on the pulse of cultural activities for Bloomington/Normal and local communities. If you’d like to find out what is going on locally, WGLT knows. The staff is a mixture of characters with diverse interests and programs are always delivered in a positive beat. WGLT is committed to the community to provide many fun events. I don’t know how they do all that they do.
Krzysztof Ostaszewski mathematics professor I give regularly to the Department of Mathematics, where I work. If I were richer and my daughter were not in college now, I would give more. This is entirely out of gratitude. This Department is such a good place to work, with an atmosphere of respect and support that you rarely can find. I also give to the Actuarial Program, which I direct. My intention is to motivate alumni to give. I also give books that I do not use to the Milner Library and to the Department of Mathematics library. I do not want students to feel that if they cannot afford books then there is no hope for them. Books have become expensive, and as an author I appreciate that, but I do feel for our students, especially foreign students from poor countries, who really struggle sometimes.
Alan Lessoff, history professorI have an amount deducted each month for the History Department's foundation account. Professors generally cannot afford large contributions, especially if they are preparing for their own children's college. But in this way, we make a public statement that our departments are not simply the place we work, that we have a professional stake in them as lively places for education, intellectual activity, and public service. Illinois State University is a rightly proud place with a significant role over a long time in the educational climate of Illinois and the Midwest. The history program in particular has gained a great deal of stature in history education, history research, and service to the public. The current faculty want to signal to the public that we are dedicated to maintaining the department's strengths and visibility, and this is a concrete way to send such signals.
Jennifer McIntosh, manager, Laboratory Dining Services When I came to work at Metcalf, I saw firsthand the students I had been working with over the years and the ones I work with now get a chance to begin to use their education. I also saw the students of tomorrow going to Metcalf. And I saw what a great opportunity and what a great place Metcalf was. I felt I wanted to put my giving where education would continue for others to learn and grow.
