Wheaton College Alumni Association 2023–2024 Annual Report
Wheaton College Alumni Association Board of Directors
Photo by Mike Hudson
Row 1 (L to R): Manette Galvan Turner ’92, M.A. ’98, Doug Goebel ’90, Jerard Woods ’12, Eric Fowler ’81, Beverly Liefeld Hancock ’84, Jim Black ’94, M.A. ’98, Priscilla Barclay Kibler ’12.
Row 2 (L–R): Jim Wilkes ’79, Naïssa Charles ’21, Mary Ashley Miller ’69, Barbara Bates Alexander ’77, Jim Hawthorne ’88, M.A. ’92, Hannah Tan Follett ’06, Brent Armstrong ’91, Leigh Naraine Pylman ’08, Lisa Biehle Files ’83.
Not pictured: Noah Chung ’12, Stephen Franz ’09.
Each year the Alumni Association’s Board of Directors awards financial and nonfinancial grants and awards to faculty, students, and alumni. Funds for these grants flow from the annual Wheaton Fund, which also supports every faculty member’s salary and every student’s academic program.
ALUMNI FACULTY GRANTS AWARDED FOR 2024–25
Dr. Aubrey Buster ’09, M.A. ’11 | Biblical and Theological Studies
Travel funds to present at the Tyndale Fellowship 2024 conference in Cambridge, U.K., on rethinking “resistance” in the book of Daniel.
Dan Haase ’97, M.A. ’02 | Christian Formation & Ministry
Continued support for Ph.D. work in biblical spirituality from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
Cherith Lundin ’96 | Art
Travel funds to learn Japanese woodblock print and scroll making (Mokuhanga and Emakimono) at the Women’s Studio Workshop Summer Institute.
Dr. Rob Ribbe ’87, M.A. ’90 | HoneyRock
Support for a project to equip parents and congregational leaders to maximize the impact of camp experiences and to train camps to partner with parents and congregational leaders.
Dr. Sandra Yu Rueger M.A. ’89 | Psychology
Sabbatical support for training and guided instruction in qualitative/mixed-methods research.
Dr. Carleigh Schoenleber ’07 | Education
Support to gather data from an alumni survey, further develop and strengthen the Department of Education’s alumni network, and develop and launch a mentoring program to keep alumni connected to students.
Science Division Block Grant for Faculty/Student Summer Research
Wheaton College’s ten-week Summer Research Program provides opportunities for Wheaton undergraduates to conduct independent and collaborative research projects under the guidance of faculty mentors.
JUNIOR ALUMNI FACULTY GRANTS
Dr. Eunice Hong | Mission, Ministry, and Leadership
Dr. Charles Liu ’08 | Psychology
Dr. Kevin Valson Jacob | Physics and Engineering
FACULTY MISSIONS PROJECT
Dr. John Walton ’75 | Old Testament
Travel funds to deliver the annual lecture series for the Campus Evangelical Fellowship in Taiwan.
ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO SOCIETY
Rev. Dr. Don Davis ’88, M.A. ’89
Read his story here.
ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE TO ALMA MATER
Dr. Scott Moreau ’77
Read his story here.
JUNIORS AWARDED SCHOLARSHIPS FOR THEIR SENIOR YEAR
Calista Chaidez ’25, Lemont, IL
Psychology
Holly Nassif ’25, Wexford, PA
International Relations
Hannah Poole ’25, Centennial, CO
Integrated Philosophy with Communication
Anna-Austin Wellman ’25, Boston, MA
Communication and Biblical & Theological Studies
Kerry Yu ’25, Shenzhen, China
Elementary Education
2024–2025 Senior Scholarship Committee and Recipients. Row 1 (L to R): Anna-Austin Wellman, Holly Nassif, Calista Chaidez, Hannah Poole, Kerry Yu. Row 2 (L to R): Eric Fowler ’81, Jim Wilkes ’79, Manette Galvan Turner ’92, M.A. ’98, Hannah Tan Follett ’06, Naïssa Charles ’21.
Photo by Kayla Smith
Brent Armstrong ’91, Germantown, Tennessee
A ’91 graduate with a B.A. in physical education, Brent is the president and chief executive officer of Diversified Conveyors International in Memphis, Tennessee. He serves on the elder board at Mission Church Memphis and participates on several for-profit and nonprofit boards. Brent and his wife, Stacey McKie Armstrong ’91, have three children.
Naïssa Charles ’21, Chicago, Illinois
Naïssa is the Alumni Association Board of Directors’ young alumni representative. She majored in computer science and is a software engineer in Chicago. While at Wheaton, Naïssa was president and business manager of the Gospel Choir and a Center for Vocation and Career ambassador for two years. She is interested in civic technology and loves traveling.
Lisa Biehle Files ’83, Chicago, Illinois
Lisa is the One Earth Young Filmmakers Contest program director and digital media associate. As a student, Lisa wrote for The Record and graduated with a B.A. in English literature. She also coordinated the annual Girl Scout Food Drive in Oak Park, Illinois, for ten years. Lisa and her husband, Bruce Files ’80, have four children.
Hannah Tan Follett ’06, Chicago, Illinois
Hannah graduated from Wheaton with a B.A. in sociology/pre-med and a Bible minor. She works as an internal medicine physician assistant/physician associate at Lawndale Christian Health Center. Hannah and her husband, Andrew Follett ’06, are one of the founding families of The Field School on the west side of Chicago and have four children.
Jim Hawthorne ’88, M.A. ’92, Bozeman, Montana
Jim is the executive director of Yellowstone Alliance Adventures and an ordained pastor with the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Jim holds two degrees from Wheaton: a B.A. in Christian education and an M.A. in educational ministries. Jim and his wife, Andrea Howard Hawthorne ’86, have five children.
