Alice Deck
Alice Deck, nominated by a faculty mentee, joined the English department’s faculty in the 1980s and later became affiliated with the African American Studies program. She retired in 2011. As a teacher, Alice was a source of support for numerous students within and beyond her departmental affiliations. Alice was a sounding board, research advocate, phenomenal mentor, and essential stakeholder in the lives of countless students. She demonstrated a love, respect, and appreciation for everyone, and despite limited external recognition, Alice dedicated her working life to support students, faculty, and staff at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Arlene Torres
Arlene Torres received her Master’s Degree in 1987 and her PhD in 1995, both from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois. While at the U of I, she held positions as faculty and administrator. Arlene provided compassionate support, and was a leading advocate for the interdisciplinary scholarship of many students, faculty, and staff while at Illinois. An pioneering scholar in African American Studies and Latina/Latino Studies, Arlene has earned global recognition for her work, and continues to mentor countless students, faculty, and staff. She is currently University Dean for Recruitment and Diversity at the City University of New York.
Barbara A. Yates
Barbara A. Yates was the founding and first Director of the Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program (WGGP), serving from 1980 to 1985. She received her PhD in comparative education and history from Columbia University. She is a Professor Emerita in Comparative Education at the University of Illinois and a pioneer in the field of women in international development. Barbara established WGGP through interdisciplinary efforts of the Committee on Women in Development on campus and funding from a Title XII Strengthening Grant of the Foreign Assistance Act.
Iris Chang
Iris Chang graduated from the University of Illinois in 1989 with a degree in Journalism. Prior to coming to the University of Illinois, she was a student of the University High Laboratory High School. While an undergraduate, she was on staff at the Daily Illini. As an alum, she wrote for the New York Times producing six front-page articles in one year. In 1997, she wrote the best-selling book, The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War II, which remained on the New York Times Bestseller list for 10 weeks. The success of this book made her a public figure.
Jeanne Gang
Jeanne Gang graduated with a degree in architecture in 1986. As an alum, she is an architect and MacArthur Fellow who founded the firm Studio Gang Architects in Chicago and New York. Her work is well known, most notably including the Aqua skyscraper, the largest project ever awarded to an American firm headed by a woman, and the Nature Boardwalk at Lincoln Park Zoo. She was an International Rotary Fellow and has won several other awards, including being named 2016 Woman Architect of the Year by The Architectural Review.
Larine Cowan
Larine Cowan came to the University of Illinois in the 1980s. She is the former director of Office of Diversity, Equity, and Access (ODEA) as well as Assistant chancellor, and contributed to knowledge, building, strength, research and programs to promote diversity and equity programs in the workplace for the University. She received her Ph.D. from U of I in Educational Policy, Organization, and Leadership (EPOL) while working in ODEA. She served on the Committee on the Status of Women at one point and was influential in the community as well as the university. In her honor, ODEA bestows the Larine Y. Cowan award to four individuals each year, in four different categories: Advocacy for LGBTQ Affairs, Excellence in Access and Accommodations, Leadership in Diversity, and Teaching and Mentoring in Diversity.
Leslie Erganian
Leslie Erganian received her Master of Fine Arts in Photography from the University of Illinois in 1982. While a graduate student, she won the Outstanding Teaching Award in 1981 and 1982. As an alum, she has become a well- known artist and photographer with several exhibitions, publications, and television appearances. Right after graduation, Leslie displayed her work at the Phyllis Needlman Gallery in Chicago. The exhibition included a series of hand painted self-portrait photographs exploring female fairy tale mythology. Leslie established her own label, Lost Continents, in 1996, creating functional art, interiors, and props for clients in the entertainment industry as well as for stores in the Silicon Valley area.
Mary Temple Grandin
Mary Temple Grandin graduated with a PhD from the College of ACES in 1989. Mary is a well-known professor of animal sciences, but she is best known for being one of the first individuals on the autism spectrum to speak out about her experience with autism. She has authored several books and articles, both about her personal experiences as well as research regarding livestock. In her research, she was one of the first scientists to discover animal sensitivities to visual distractions in handling facilities. Temple developed a major piece of handling equipment, known as a center track (double rail) conveyor restrainer system for holding cattle during stunning in large beef plants. In 2010, Mary was named one of Time Magazine’s most influential people in the world. She has received numerous awards and honorary degrees, and in February 2017, she was named to the National Women’s Hall of Fame.
May Berenbaum
May Berenbaum joined the Entomology Department at the University of Illinois in 1980. She has been Head of the Entomology Department since 1992, and Swanlund Chair of Entomology since 1996. May is a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2009, she received the Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award from the American Advancement of Science. May has received several other awards, but most recently President Barack Obama awarded the National Medal of Science to her at a White House ceremony on November 20, 2014.
Mildred Trent
Mildred Trent joined the staff of the College of Education and Office of Diversity around 1984. A constant source of encouragement, Dean Trent was a gracious leader, mentor, educator and friend to students, faculty, staff, administrators, parents, and community members throughout the extended University of Illinois system. Dean Trent motivated others to achieve their highest potential. She welcomed everyone from diverse educational and socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities and cultures, abilities, and identities. Her daily life demonstrated a respect for humankind and a true love for the University of Illinois.
Ollie Davis Watts
Ollie Davis Watts, an alum of the University of Illinois, joined the College of Fine and Applied Arts faculty in 1987. She is the founding director of the Black Sacred Music Symposium (1991), held biennially on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus with participants from across the nation. In 1993, Ollie received the College of Fine and Applied Arts Outstanding Faculty Award, an Appreciation and Recognition Award from the UI Alumni Association, and was named the Alumna of the Year by the College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia Institute of Technology. The next year, she was awarded the Bronze Medallion of Honor by the University of Illinois Women's Association, and has been listed on the Incomplete List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by Their Students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign every year to date. Adding to her numerous awards, she received a Campus Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1998. Outside of teaching, Ollie has appeared in several leading symphony orchestras and international performances, and has released two recordings.
Sharon Hedrick
Sharon Hedrick received two Masters’ degrees from the University of Illinois, in 1982 and in 1986. Sharon was the first female wheelchair competitor in the Boston Marathon, competing in 1977. That same year, she won the Top Female Athlete Award at the National Wheelchair Games. She was also the first wheelchair athlete to win in the 1984 Olympics, and the only US athlete to win gold in both the Olympic and Paralympic games. She has won several other medals in both the Olympics and Paralympics, and received several honors, including becoming the first woman inducted into the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Hall of Fame in 1994.