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...
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...
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...
Ollie Watts Davis, 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...
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...
Annette Lu Hsiu-lien graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in Law in 1971. She established herself as a feminist advocate in Taiwan through her writing, including a book titled New Feminism. She was an advocate for democracy in Taiwan and imprisoned for over five years for speaking out against the government during the Kaohsiung Incident. While imprisoned, she wrote a novel...
Carol Marin graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in English in 1970. As an alum, she became a Chicago anchorwoman. She was instrumental in the reporting that led to the indictment of Tennessee Governor Ray Blanton in 1976. Two years later, she joined WMAQ-TV in Chicago where she worked for almost 20 years. Carol has received multiple Peabody Awards and many other recognitions....
Evelyne Accad began teaching at the University of Illinois in 1974 as an Assistant Professor in French and Comparative Literature and became a Full Professor in 1988. She was an adjunct professor in African Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Middle Eastern Studies. She received several awards for her research and service including, the Prix International de Poesie Emmanuel Robles in 2006,...
Jeanette McCollum joined the College of Education in 1976 and became influential in the Special Education Department. Now Professor Emeritus, she is a leader in research and personnel preparation in the fields of Early Intervention (EI) and Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE). In 1999, the Illinois Subdivision of the Division for Early Childhood of the Council for Exceptional Children (IDEC...
Joan Huber came to the University of Illinois in 1971, teaching a range of sociology courses as well as Introduction to Women’s Studies in the Social Sciences. From 1978 to 1980, she was director of the Women’s Studies Office, which is now the Departmentof Gender and Women’s Studies. Joan also was head of the Department of Sociology from 1979 to 1983 and was a leading figure in the establishment...