January 13, 2025

News for and about the Illinois Wesleyan community

35th Annual Gospel Festival Honors Message of Martin Luther King, Jr. 

The community is invited to reflect and celebrate through music, dance and spoken word during the 35th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Holiday Gospel Festival at Illinois Wesleyan University on Saturday, Jan. 18. 

IWU’s Shirk Center Celebrating 30 Years of Athletics, Community

The Shirk Center at Illinois Wesleyan University, a cornerstone for Titan athletics and a hub for sports and community events in Bloomington, celebrated its 30th anniversary. 

The Pantagraph

Internationally renowned opera singer Jack Waddell '63 passed away on Jan. 1. He was a graduate of Bloomington High School and held a longcareer as a singer, stage actor and vocal coach. In 2023, he was honored by the American Theatre Wing with an award for "Unsung Hero of Broadway." Also reported by Deadline, WGLT Radio and WEEK TV.

WGLT Radio

IWU welcomed Jared Wiliamson as the new head football coach during a news conference on Thursday, Jan. 9. Also reported by The Pantagraph.

WGLT Radio

Illinois Wesleyan women’s basketball coach Mia Smith speaks of her commitment to the sport, having won her 500th Titan game last year, and the strength she gains from family support.

Campus Events

Campus events can be found in MyIWU under the Events & Calendars tab.

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Ruth Cashin Monsell '68, the most recent biographer of Frances Perkins, was invited to a special ceremony at the White House in December where President Joe Biden signed a proclamation making the Frances Perkins Homestead the newest National Monument. Monsell's book, Francis Perkins, Champion of American Workers, highlights Perkins' work as the first woman to serve in a Presidential Cabinet under Franklin D. Roosevelt. 

A poem by Diego Baez '07 titled "Inheritance" was featured in a recent episode of the Poetry Unbound podcast. Director of Esports Cora Kennedy received the Phill Alexander Game Changer Award at the Scholastic Esports Awards, which is granted to individuals or teams whose actions have celebrated diversity and inspired others by challenging norms in esports.



Yoga will not return until Monday, Jan. 27. We will be excited to get Kim Hayes back from Blooming Life Yoga!

Namaste - my soul honors your soul. I honor the place in you where the entire universe resides. I honor the light, love, truth, beauty and peace within you because it is also within me. In sharing these things we are united, we are the same, we are one. 

Campus Weekly is an electronic newsletter from Illinois Wesleyan's Office of Communications, edited by Julia Perez, assistant director of communications. To submit items of interest, email webedit@iwu.edu.