Alumni News

Frances Herrick '67, B.S.
Frances is currently living near the beautiful Smoky Mountains! She is also teaching second grade at Sacred Heart Cathedral School in Knoxville, Tenn.

Kay F. Ward McDuffie '07, Ed. D.
Following retirement from the Chicago Public Schools, Kay taught an online class for Indiana Wesleyan University. She also worked as a professional development provider for Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company. Currently, Kay is a clinical assistant professsor at Purdue University Calumet in Hammond, Ind.

Elyse Heinrich '08, B.S. Special Education
Elyse is currently a Vision Itinerant teacher working on the Windward side of O'ahu, Hawaii. She works with students from pre-school to high school and adapted living adults. Elyse is teaching Braille almost daily to a 3rd grader and high school student whose vision is degenerative. She has learned how to surf, work on the 'aina (land), and has learned a lot about Hawaiian culture through the Kahua Program for teachers who are new to the islands and the education system.

Angela Cartee '99, B.S. Special Education
Angela currently teaches special education in Red Bud, Ill. She specializes in learning and behavior disorders, and loves her job.

Courtney Slusarek '07, B.S. Education
Since June Courtney has been working for the Tazewell Mason County Special Education Association (TMCSEA). She spent the summer working at TMCSEA's Schramm Educational Center, a multifaceted facility committed to providing high quality services to students with severe disabilities. In the Fall, Courtney started a satellite program at Midwest Central Primary School, a TMCSEA K-8 self-contained special education program, using a functional curriculum to teach five students.

Pauline Ginsberg '72, Counseling and Guidance
Since retiring from Utica College on December 31, 2005, Professor Emerita of Psychology Pauline (Polly Kipp) Ginsberg has co-edited the Handbook of Social Research Ethics (September 2008) with Donna M. Mertens of Gallaudet University.

Michael Surma '73, B.S., '78, M.S. Educational Administration
Michael was recently appointed superintendent of the Henry County School System in suburban Altanta, Georgia. During his thirteen years with the Henry County Schools, Michael has served in various administrative roles within the central office of the school system. He also served as the education lobbyist for the school system in the Georgia State Legislature. Prior to his move to Georgia, Michael worked for nearly 20 years at Illinois State University Laboratory Schools as a teacher, assistant principal, and director of the Laboratory Schools. Michael and his wife, Marygrace, have been married for 36 years and met at ISU. Marygrace is also an ISU graduate ('72, B.S. in Special Education, '78, M.S. in Educational Administration). She is the teacher education program coordinator at Clayton State University in suburban Atlanta.

Beth Wienckowski '06, Early Childhood Education
Beth is an early childhood teacher in Hawthorn School District 73 in Vernon Hills, Illinois. She is also working towards a Master's degree in School of Teaching and Learning at National Louis University.

Robert Battey '05, Elementary Education
Robert teaches second grade in Plainfield District 202. He and his wife, Susan (Post) Battey, '05, have two children, Maria and Charlie. Robert is currently seeking his Master's in Administration.

Cathryn (Millhouse) Flones '91, Education
Cathryn graduated with a Doctorate in Education (Ed.D) in School of Teaching and Learning from Aurora University on May 4, 2008. She currently teaches seventh grade life science in Algonquin, IL.

Arvis Myron '82, Education
After graduating from Illinois State, Arvis moved to Texas as a master electrician. After the oil bust, he moved to New Mexico for a year then returned to his hometown of Tuba City, Arizona. There, he teaches social studies at the junior high level and coaches at the junior and senior high level. Major accomplishments in his coaching career include coaching the high school boys state cross country champions (1999), junior high girls state champions (2006), and junior high individual boy's cross country and 1600 meters champion (2006-2007). His future plans include working towards a Master's degree and teaching at the high school level. Arvis invites his classmates (1978-1982) to contact him.

Lynell (Friend) Fischer '02, Education
Lynell is currently a financial education specialist for Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Greater Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast. In May 2008, she and her husband, John, will begin working for New Destiny for Children in Jinja, Uganda, where they will oversee the staff, including teachers, and become an American voice to make known the needs of the center and the children.

Felix Chu '93, Ph.D. in Education
Felix is a librarian at Western Illinois University. His recent publications include Bridging the LIS-Practitioner Gap: Some Frames for Research (pdf) (June 2007. Library Philosophy and Practice) and There's another way to do it : reflections on librarianship (2005. Lanham, Md.: Scarecrow Press).

William B. Albion '76, Elementary Education
William is principal of Gault Street Elementary School, an urban Los Angeles school. In collaboration with Pepperdine University, he established a Professional Development School.  The PDS concept benefits the school's instructional program while providing superior teacher training.

Laura Simms Viergutz '73, Life Science Education
Laura is the chair of the Science Department at Don Estridge High Tech Middle School, where she teaches sixth and seventh grade science. She holds National Board Certification in Early Adolescence Science and was one of five finalist for Palm Beach County's Economic Council's William Dwyer Award for Excellence in Education. She has taught in Palm Beach County for nine years.  Before moving to Florida, she taught third grade and Kindergarten for ten years in northern California.

Jessica (Seder) Zanton '99, B.S.E. Special Education
Jessica, her husband, Dave, and daughter, Ambrie, are living in Thomasboro, Illinois. She is in her second year as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Special Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Dave is a school social worker. (Submitted September 2007.)

Donna Snyder Stipek '76
Donna is a computer science teacher for the School District of Palm Beach County, Florida, where she has taught 18 years. She was recently named a recipient of the "I Make a Difference" award for excellence in teaching. This award is given to only 14 of the 12,000 teachers in Palm Beach County each year. (Submitted August 2007.)

Michelle Prestia '05
Michelle is happy to announce that after a year and a half of hard searching that she has been hired by Silver Bluff Elementary School in Miami, Fla., as a kindergarten teacher of a bilingual program. She will teach the English portion of the day to two groups of students, while another teacher teaches the students in Spanish.(Submitted July 2007.)

Emmary (Searby) Roemer '01, B.S.E.
Emmary and Aaron Roemer are married and have one child. Emmary is a K-12 special education teacher and also teaches "Survey to Exceptional Children" at Lincoln Christian College. Aaron, who is also an ISU graduate, is a forensic scientist for the Illinois State Police. (Submitted Summer 2007.)

Earnest G. Jones '60, B.S.E.
Earnest retired in 1988, after serving 29 years as a junior high teacher of history and English in Springfield District #186. At present, he is serving as president of "Friends of the Jacksonville Developmentally Disabled" of the Jacksonville Developmental Center. (Submitted Summer 2007.)

Robert L. Hawthorne II '71, M.S. Educational Administration
Robert is retiring as an educator after 38 years. He was a central office administrator and an elementary school principal for 34 of these years. He has taught and coached in Chicago and Rock Island, and was an assistant football coach at ISU. He was a fellow in the Education Policy Fellowship Program at ISU. (Submitted Summer 2007.)

Vito Vitulli '98, B.S.E. Special Education
Vito worked for six years as a behavior management/emotional impairment specialist for the Department of Defense Schools in Frankfort, Germany. His current assignment is in Naples, Italy. He tries to model his teaching after his favorite ISU instructor, Peggy Swerdlik. (Submitted Summer 2007.)

Edward Stokes '64
Edward Stokes passed away in March 2002. He graduated in Agriculture Education in December 1964. (Submitted Summer 2007.)

Jeff Van Harlingen '02, B.S.E.
Jeff is in his fifth year as a middle school teacher at Madison Junior High, Naperville District 203. He also coaches basketball and football. (Submitted Summer 2007.)

Mary K. Stenger '83
Mary has been teaching high school physical education for nineteen years. Currently, she teaches at Ottawa Township High School in Ottawa, Illinois. (Submitted March 2007.)

John Tenny '73, '74
John Tenney retired as director of the graduate School of Education at Willamette University in 2000. He held the position 13 of the 20 years he was employed there. In 2001, John wrote a software program called eCOVE Classroom Observation Toolkit, which is a collection of tools for gathering data on best practices in the classroom during an observation. The program now is in 45 states and about 25 countries, from Tibet to Nome. He is currently working on the DataBased Edition of eCOVE, and presenting throughout the country. (Submitted March 2007.)

Kacie Pointer '05
Kacie Pointer is teaching junior high special education at Franklin Middle School in Springfield, IL. Her concentration is on Language Arts and Literature for grades six, seven, and eight. She loves it! (Submitted March 2007.)

Allyson Goddard '05
Allyson Goddard is in her second year teaching at John T. Pirie, a Chicago Public School. She began as a second grade teacher and now teaches third grade. (Submitted March 2007.)

Joseph Kerke '72
Mr. Joseph Kerke retired in June 2006 after teaching high school chemistry for 31 years. He taught at Harlan High School, Simeon Vocational High School, and Kenwood Academy High School in the Chicago Public Schools, and at Hillcrest High School in Bremen High School District 228, Country Club Hills. He participated in the Peoria Urban Teacher Education Program while at ISU and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. (Submitted January 2007.)

Jeff Van Harlingen '02
Jeff Van Harlingen is in his fifth year as a middle school teacher at Madison Junior High in Naperville's District 203. He also coaches basketball and football. Jeff earned a Master's Degree in Educational Administration from Benedictine University. (Submitted December 2006.)

Ernie Baston '82
Ernie Baston began teaching in Colorado 23 years ago. He now has a master's degree in early childhood/special education and is co-founder and president of a non-profit early childhood foundation called The Learning House Foundation for Early Childhood Development. He has developed a hands-on math and science enrichment program for 5- to 8-year-old children and facilitates workshops for parents and early childhood educators and professionals. He speaks at conferences and is coauthor of A Handful of Lightning, a book of science experiments. The Learning House Foundation is raising funds to build a new school. The long-term goal is for the Learning House is to become a national resource for adults who care for young children. Anyone wishing to make a donation may contact Ernie Batson at school at (970) 266-0844.

Marcia A. "Tod" Garihee '45, M.S. '50
Garihee passed away in September 2005. A teacher for 36 years, she taught at Polo Community High School in Polo, Illinois; Normal Community High School; Grants Junior High School, Grants, New Mexico; Albuquerque Indian School in Albuquerque, New Mexico; New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas, New Mexico; and the University of Albuquerque. She retired from the University of Albuquerque in 1982 as associate professor and co-chair of the Department of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation.

Linda Goodrich Henkel '70
Henkel retired in May 2005 from Warrensburg Latham School District. She taught first grade and Reading Recovery for 30 years. She and her husband Ralf (who works for Ameren) have a son (serving in Iraq) and a daughter. She now plans to spend time babysitting three grandchildren.

Anthony F. "Tony" Kardis '61, M.S. '62
Kardis retired from full-time science teaching several years ago after a rewarding 37 years career at Ladue High School in St. Louis County, Missouri. He was chair of the science department the last 30 of those years. He is proud of his students' accomplishments. They received hundreds of awards and scholarships. Mr. Kardis received the Missouri Presidential Science Award twice, the Monsanto Science Award, the Emerson Electric Excellence in Teaching Award, the Missouri Academy of Science Outstanding Science Teacher Award, and the Manufacturing Chemists Association Award as the Outstanding Chemistry Teacher in the Midwest. He is still active in teaching a summer program for outstanding high school science students at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The students come from all over the United States. During the year he does volunteer work for political candidates and as a genealogist. He has published two genealogy works on the Internet.

Jennifer R. (Ingles) Krause '98
Jennifer Krause and husband Tim are the parents of two preschool children. She is a stay-at-home mom and is working on a master's degree in curriculum and instruction.

Sarah Robison '05, Special Education
Robinson is working at the Charleston Transitional Facility, a private, not-for-profit organization that provides residential and developmental day programming services and support to adults with developmental disabilities living in Illinois. Ms. Robison is a developmental instructor responsible for supervising programs, community integration, and developing goals for individuals.

Linda Searby '99, Ph.D.
Searby has been an assistant professor in the Department of Leadership Studies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham since August 2005. She served 10 years as a principal in Fieldcrest, Mt. Pulaski, and Springfield, Illinois. She has also served as adjunct faculty in the Departments of Educational Administration and School of Teaching and Learning at Illinois State. She sends greetings to all her friends and former professors at Illinois State and reports that it's warmer in the South.

Phyllis Smith '71
Smith retired in May 2005 from the Wheaton Community School District 200. She has accepted a full-time position as assistant professor of education at Trinity International University, teaching courses in reading, social studies, and educational psychology. She writes that she feels blessed to impact future educators.

Sandra Winn Tutwiler '78, M.S.E.
Tutwiler is chair of the Department of Education at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Her recent publications include Teachers as Collaborative Partners: Working with Diverse Families and Communities (2005), Lawrence Erlbaun Associates; she is also guest coeditor of a special edition of Educational Studies, 37(1), 2005: Contradiction of the legacy of Brown vs. Board of Education, Topeka, 1954.