Centennial Honors College
Hall Of Honors
Dean's Welcome Letter
February 23, 2018
Distinguished Members of the Western Illinois University Nation:
As a proud alumnus of Western Illinois University, I have long admired the Athletic Hall of Fame that is conspicuously housed in Western Hall. One cannot help but notice and take pride in viewing the myriad trophies, plaques, and photographs of Leatherneck greats—individual record holders, conference team champions, and legendary coaches that have worn the purple and gold.
Equally important to displaying our university’s great athletic heritage is showcasing our very best students. Unfortunately, until now, Western Illinois University lacks an Academic Hall of Fame that parallels our Athletic Hall of Fame.
The logical place to house Western’s Academic Hall of Fame is the Centennial Honors College. However, the Honors College in its current location in Malpass Library has no place suitable to display plaques and photographs of our academic exemplars.
Our solution is to create a virtual Academic Hall of Fame that will digitally display Western’s most accomplished students, past and present. Our Hall of Honors webpage is broken down into a number of categories. These include: Western’s Lincoln Laureates, Honors College Scholars, Honors Convocation Speakers, and Recipients and Finalists of Prestigious Scholarships, such as the Rhodes, Goldwater, Truman, Boren, Cook, Fulbright, Lagrant, Udall and Mitchell Scholarships. We are also developing categories and criteria to recognize Distinguished Student Leaders, Honors Alumni, Administrators, Faculty, Mentors and Advisors who have made significant contributions to our academic enterprise.
We hope you will enjoy learning about the outstanding scholars and benefactors as you navigate our virtual Academic Hall of Fame. I am tremendously proud of the work accomplished by our honorees, and am humbled by the privilege of sharing their accolades with you. Finally, if you have any comments or would like to nominate someone for our Academic Hall of Fame, please let us know.
Sincerely,
Rick Hardy, Ph.D.
Dean of the Centennial Honors College
WIU Alumnus, Class of 1970
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