Wyngarden Hall Mural

During the fall semester, Associate Professor of Art Kaye Lee Patton’s Community Art class and Wheaton’s Language Resource Center collaborated to paint a community art mural located in Wyngarden Hall, across from Buswell Library. Students, faculty, and staff contributed ideas and craftsmanship to the mural, which celebrates the diversity found in human culture and natural spaces.

The mural was designed to visualize the role of language and art in telling the stories of physical spaces, as well as the vulnerability required to learn or create something new. “As both of our goals did not specifically stop at ‘art making’ or ‘language learning,’ but rather expanded and evolved into the realm of community formation and connection, we realized it was an exciting way to come together and collaborate across departments,” Patton said. The piece features bright colors, words in different languages, and depictions of plants from around the world.

Billy Graham Center Receives $1 Million Grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

This grant will be used to establish and launch a new African American Church Evangelism Institute. Wheaton will partner with influential African American senior pastors to develop curricula and cohorts to address ministry and evangelism needs in their churches across the country and, ultimately, around the globe. The College is one of 92 other institutions and organizations funded by the Lilly Endowment’s Thriving Congregations Initiative, dedicated to strengthening Christian congregations so they can flourish and contribute to building local and global community.

Cassia Waligora ’21 Awarded Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship

Currently an international relations and Mandarin Chinese double major, Waligora will join the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Service as a U.S. Diplomat upon completion of the two-year program. She is the first Wheaton student to achieve this prestigious accomplishment. The fellowship will help fund Waligora’s graduate work and follow her through two U.S. government internships: one with a member of Congress and one with an embassy or consulate.

Artist Series Livestreams Fifth House Performance

Featuring music from Mason Bates, Dan Visconti, and Professor of Music (Composition, Music Theory) Dr. Shawn Okpebholo, Fifth House “traces the life cycle of water from its metaphorical descent from the heavens as rain, to its long journey in streams and rivers informed by conservation experts and ecologists,” according to the event page.

Mask-querade Replaces 2021 President’s Ball

Although the President’s Ball was not able to occur in downtown Chicago due to COVID precautions and guidelines for campus and state, College Union collaborated with the administration to host a “Mask-querade” in the Beamer Center on February 15. The black tie event featured food, games and prizes, a photobooth, and curated music.

CVC Launches Career Communities

In a new initiative to help students prepare for life after college, the Center for Vocation and Career now offers alumni-led sessions tailored to provide industry-specific advice based on student disciplines and interests. Students in any year and major are invited to join, whether they are looking to land a job soon or simply exploring possible next steps. Groups include “Creatives, Arts, Performance, Publishing, Media;” “Government, Public Policy, Law;” “Marketing, PR, Advertising, Sales;” “Serving Black Students;” “STEM;” and many more.

New Spiritual First Aid Online Training & Certificate

Released by the Humanitarian Disaster Institute (HDI), this 10-hour, virtual course is designed to equip individuals in offering peer-to-peer spiritual and emotional support during the pandemic. The course is primarily geared toward lay leaders, church leaders, and first responders, but is open to mental and physical health care providers as well as any others seeking to improve their capacity to help others in the face of disaster and other stressors.

Dr. Michael McKoy and Pastor Raymond Chang ’06 Receive 2021 Rodney K. Sisco Diversity Students’ Choice Awards

The third annual award, in honor of the late Rodney K. Sisco, who served as the director of the Office of Multicultural Development, recognizes one faculty member and one staff member for exceptional work in cultivating diversity, inclusion, justice, and unity on Wheaton’s campus. Dr. McKoy is an assistant professor of politics and international relations and has been on faculty since 2014. Alongside his pastoral duties in supporting Wheaton’s chaplain, Chang helps lead and organize Discipleship Ministries, which consist of student-led Discipleship Small Groups (DSG), Strongholds, and Family Groups.

The Return of Wheaton Sports

Wheaton Basketball, Swimming, Wrestling, and Track and Field returned to the competition scene alongside other Illinois college and university teams for the spring season after a semester with limited training and pandemic-related delays and cancellations. Wheaton Baseball and Softball started their seasons outside in March. Spectators are not able to attend the events, and teams are taking care to abide by COVIDsafe guidelines set by the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, the Illinois Department of Public Health, and the Illinois State Board of Education.