Dr. Jon Astroth received his Ph.D. in Educational Administration in 1981 and an M.S. in Educational Administration in 1977 from Illinois State University. He completed a B.A. in English in 1973 from Southern Methodist University. In 1991, he was named founding president of Heartland Community College. In 2000 he was a member of the governor's delegation to the People's Republic of China, and is currently serving as the president of the Illinois Council of Community College Presidents. He has presented at conferences in the United States, Northern Ireland, Japan, and China and has served as contributing author to two books.
Dr. Bettsey Barhorst received her Ph.D. in Educational Administration in 1997 from Illinois State University. She earned an M.A. in Management and Human Resource Development in 1983 from Webster University–Geneva. She received an M.A. in Speech Communication and Theatre in 1971 from Bradley University. She earned a B.A. in Speech and Theatre in 1967 from Fontbonne College. Since 2001, she has served as president of Hawkeye Community College in Waterloo, Iowa where she has enjoyed record enrollments every semester and has successfully gotten voter approval of two tax measures totaling $37 million dollars. In 2003 she began a two-year term as president of the Iowa Association of Community College Presidents.
Dr. Carolyn Bartlett received her Ed.D. in Educational Administration in 1978 from Illinois State University. She completed an M.S. in Elementary Education in 1968 and a B.S. in Elementary Education in 1966 from Indiana State University. She has worked for Illinois State University since 1969 in numerous roles: resident hall director, admissions counselor and director of orientation, continuing education community coordinator, associate director of Records and Evaluations, associate director of Admissions and Records, and lecturer. In 2003 she retired from the position of university registrar which she held since 1992. As registrar she served the Illinois State community with her vision and leadership for improved services to students, particularly through the Illinois Articulation Initiative.
Dr. Brock Butts earned his Ed.D. in Educational Administration in 1992 and an M.S. in Physical Education, in 1973 from Illinois State University. He received a B.S. in Physical Education, Health, and Speech in 1970 from the University of Illinois–Urbana. Dr. Butts retired this summer as superintendent from the Tremont Unit School District 702 after serving as superintendent since 1982. He has returned to the work force as business and operations manager for the Olympia School District. He has served numerous leadership roles in the Illinois Association of School Administrators—since 1989 he has served as a member of the Board of Directors; from 1992–98 he served as secretary to the Board of Directors, from 1999–2000 he served as president. Currently he is a member of the IASA professional development committee.
Dr. Cheryl Cage received her Ed.D. in Special Education in 1995 from Illinois State University. She earned a masters in Education in Reading and Other Learning Disabilities in 1977 from DePaul University. She received a B.A. in Sociology/Education in 1970 from Coe College. She is employed as an alternative learning specialist teacher at the Jane A. Neil Elementary School and a case manager for the Kellogg Electronic Research Academy in Chicago. Dr. Cage has pioneered the classroom use of the ancient board game Mancala to teach mathematical concepts, memory, observation, and concentration, face-to-face social interaction, fine-motor skills, cooperation and competition, and multiculturalism. Mancala is believed to have connected the world many centuries before the advent of computer technology.
Dr. Anthony Chambers received an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership in 1990 from the University of Florida. He earned an M.S. in Counselor Education in 1979 and a B.S. in Psychology in 1978 from Illinois State University. He currently is associate director for the Kellogg Forum on Higher Education for the Public Good and adjunct associate professor for the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan. He was formally the program officer and founding director of the Fetzer Fellows Program at the John Fetzer Institute, a non-profit operating foundation that explores the relationship between mind, body, and spirit.
Dr. Alan Chapman received his Ed.D. in Educational Administration in 1984 and an M.S. in Educational Administration in 1975 from Illinois State University. He earned a B.A. in Social Studies Education in 1969 from the University of Illinois–Urbana. He served his entire professional career in McLean County Unit District No. 5 in his hometown of Normal. After teaching and administrative roles at Chiddix Junior High School, Parkside Junior High School, and Normal Community High School he served as principal at Normal Community High School for 12 years, retiring in 2002. Last December he was appointed interim superintendent of Unit 5 and this past August, was appointed superintendent through 2007. He is a current member of the College of Education Capital Campaign Fund-raising Advisory Committee.
Ms. Davis has received an M.S. in Counseling in 1976 from Governors State University and a B. S. in Elementary Education in 1964 from Illinois State Normal University. She is currently serving her second three-year term as president of Illinois Education Association, a 115,000 membership of teachers, education service personnel, higher education faculty and staff, college students and retirees. Previously she served for six years as IEA-NEA Secretary-Treasurer. Currently she chairs the IEA Political Action Committee for Education which had a 90 percent success rate in electing pro-education legislators and ranked one of the top lobbying organizations in Illinois. Additionally, she chairs the Illinois Learning Partnership, a coalition of education stakeholders interested in improving student learning in the state.
Dr. Spencer Gibbins earned a Ph.D. in Education and Psychology in 1971 from the University of Michigan. He received an M.S. in 1964 and a B.S. in 1963 in Special Education from Illinois State Normal University. Dr. Gibbins has been one of the most prominent psychologists in the nation for the past quarter century. He served as chairperson of the Psychology Department at Gallaudet University from 1997–2001. He has a 30-year publication history, authoring books and articles on such diverse topics as therapeutic issues for same-sex couples, characteristics of daydreams of deaf women, and community programming for children with behavioral disorders. He is a "Fellow" in the American Orthopsychiatric Association, a 78-year old membership association of mental health professionals concerned with clinical issues and issues of social justice. He currently is a psychotherapist in private practice in Washington, D.C.
Ms. Bonnie Gladden earned an M.A. in Education/Special Education Administration in 1962 from Vanderbilt University. She completed her B.S. in Elementary/Special Education in 1958 from Illinois State Normal University. In 1965 she began her career with the Department of Human Services–Office of Rehabilitation Services to develop a model school to work employment program for youth with disabilities in Illinois. The Secondary Work Experience Program was formulated to become a resource for all schools in Illinois enabling hundreds of thousand of youth with disabilities to gain employment. She currently is an independent professional consultant with Midwest Psychological Systems in Springfield, IL.
Dr. Christine Guinther earned a M.A. in Special Education in 1974 from Ohio State University. She received a B.S. in Special Education in 1971 from Illinois State University. Ms. Guinther is a fifth grade and special education teacher on leave, currently serving her third year as vice president of the Missouri National Education Association. Between 1993 and 2001, she served as a "teacher on special assignment" working with new teachers and their mentors facilitating the district professional development committee. She is actively involved with and holds positions in several national and state education organizations, including the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, the Education Commission of the States, the Staff Development Leadership Council and the Missouri Staff Development Council's Show-Me Professional Development Conference.
Dr. Albert Hieronymus received his Ph.D. in 1948 and M.A. in 1946 in Elementary Education from the University of Iowa. He earned a B.S.E. in Mathematics-Teacher Education in 1939 from Illinois State Normal University. Dr. Hieronymus, emeritus professor of Educational Psychology at The University of Iowa, is a world-renown statistician and measurement specialist who co-authored the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. He was director of Iowa Test of Basic Skills from 1948 to 1987. In 1991 he received a lifetime achievement award for career contributions to educational measurement form the American Council of Measurement in Education. He is now diligently pursing hobbies in grandfathering, horticulture, and music.
Mr. Francis Irvin received his M.A. in Elementary Education in 1947 from Columbia University–New York City. He earned his bachelor's in Education in Elementary Education in 1942 from Illinois State Normal University. In 1955 he helped organize the McLean County–ISNU Reading Council which was designed to help teachers do a better job at teaching reading. He also founded and organized the Bloomington-Normal Head Start Program. In 2004 he received the WJBC Don Munson Spirit of McLean County Award. Mr. Irvin taught for 32 years in the Heyworth Elementary School District and has never regretted that he spent his life teaching elementary school.
Mr. Eugene Jontry received his M.S. in Educational Administration in 1962 from the University of Illinois–Urbana. He earned a B.S.E. in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation in 1958 from Illinois State Normal University. In July 2003, Mr. Jontry completed 45 years of service in education, serving in capacities such as head coach for football, basketball, and track, athletic director and high school principal for Chenoa schools; superintendent for Chenoa, Octavia, and Ridgeview Schools, Tech Prep Coordinator, and Regional Superintendent for DeWitt-Livingston-McLean Counties. He developed the Alternative/SAVE program which gives students an additional option for completing their education when more traditional methods are not successful. In 1991 he was inducted into the Redbird Hall of Fame.
Mr. Clint Kelly received a M.S. in Educational Administration in 1941 from the University of Illinois–Urbana. In 1936 he earned a B.S. in Elementary Education from Illinois State Normal University. He began his professional career as a teacher, became a principal in the Illinois educational system and eventually retired as a superintendent. Mr. Kelly was named Poet of Merit in 2003 by the International Society of Poets. He originated the "Hi-Kell" poetry form, as the American version of Haiku, which is written in 3-line segments: 5 words, 7 words, 5 words. He began writing these poems when he was 85 and to date has authored 14 books, each of which is constructed to be used in an educational and/or care-giving setting.
Dr. Marian Kneer received a Ph.D. in Physical Education in 1972 from University of Michigan at Dearborn. She earned an M.S.E. in Health, Physical Education, and Recreation in 1957 and a B.S.E. in Physical Education–Teacher Education in 1949 from Illinois State Normal University. In the Illinois Association of HPERD she has held every elected office and many chairmanships. She conceived an Evaluative Criteria which could be used to evaluate school programs and it became the template for the State of Illinois Physical Education Evaluation Criteria. She also was instrumental in developing the State of Illinois Department of Education Learning Assessment Plans for Physical Education. She has served as president of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, which inducted her into the Physical Education Hall of Fame.
Dr. Tom Walter received his Ph.D. in Counseling and Human Development Services in 1988 from the University of Georgia. He earned his M.S. in Counselor Education in 1976 and a B.S. in Sociology in 1974 from Illinois State University. In 2003 he received the Esther Lloyd-Jones Professional Service Award for exemplifying his commitment to service through significant, continued and unselfish service/leadership activities that have benefited the professional, American College Personnel Association, and the professional practice on the state and national level. In 2004, the American College Personnel Association awarded him the Diamond Honoree in recognition of his lifetime contribution to the student affairs profession. He currently is vice president for Student Development and Enrollment Management at Gainesville College, Gainesville, Georgia.
© 2008 Illinois State University • An equal opportunity/affirmative action university encouraging diversity • Privacy Statement • Contact Us • Check COE faculty and staff e-mail
