July 25, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Six faculty members and one administrator have recently retired from Illinois Wesleyan University.
Retirees include Charlotte Brown, associate professor of philosophy and co-chair of the philosophy department; Connie Dennis, professor of nursing; Sharie Metcalfe, professor of nursing; Ted Morris, associate professor of philosophy; Sammy Scifres, associate professor of music; Thomas Streeter, professor of music and director of the Jazz Program; and Jo Porter, director of sponsored programs and foundation relations.
Brown has served the University for 21 years. She started as an assistant professor of philosophy in 1990 before being named associate professor and head of the department of philosophy in 1994. Brown received a bachelor’s degree from Manhattanville College in 1972, and master’s and doctorate degrees from Yale University in 1977 and 1983. She is a member of the American Philosophical Society and the Home Society.
Dennis has given 38 years of service to the University, beginning as an associate professor of nursing in 1973 before advancing to the rank of professor in 2003. She received a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Illinois Wesleyan in 1972, a master’s degree in nursing pediatrics and education from the University of Arizona in 1975 and a doctorate degree in educational administration and foundations from Illinois State University in 1990.
Throughout her teaching career, Dennis has worked to develop teaching strategies to promote trans-cultural competency in nursing, while publishing and lecturing extensively on topics including dependent care, self-care and nursing theory. In 2008, Dennis received a Nurse Educator Fellowship from the Illinois Board of Higher Education and the Illinois Board of Nursing. She is a member of the American Nurses Association, the Illinois Nurses Association, Sigma Theta Tau International, the International Orem Society, Transcultural Nursing Society and Alpha Tau Delta.
Metcalfe has retired after 31 years at Illinois Wesleyan. A graduate of Bradley University in 1975, Metcalfe began teaching as an associate professor at IWU in 1979. She earned a master’s degree in medical-surgery from the University of Illinois at Chicago in 1981 and a doctorate degree in nursing from Wayne State University in Michigan in 1996. In 2006, Metcalfe received an Illinois Wesleyan Curriculum Development Grant to travel to Madrid as part of an initiative to promote linguistic skills and cultural competence in nursing graduates. There she developed a semester-long study abroad program.
Metcalfe has received numerous awards, including the Illinois Nurse Educator Fellowship in 2006, the Robah Kellogg Alumni Award from the University of Illinois in 2008 and the Ruby Cealy Distinguished Alumni Award from St. Francis College of Nursing in Peoria. She is a member of the International Orem Society, the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and Sigma Theta Tau.
A member of the Illinois Wesleyan faculty since 2000, Morris received a bachelor’s degree from Rhodes College in 1965. He went on to earn master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Virginia in 1967 and 1978.
After 15 years working as the director of graduate studies in the University of Cincinnati’s Department of Philosophy, Morris came to Illinois Wesleyan as an associate professor of philosophy. In 2003, he became the chair of the philosophy department and received the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Research Stipend for a project on 18th -century Scottish philosopher David Hume. In 2008, Morris advanced to the rank of professor.
Scifres has retired after 44 years at the University. He joined the faculty in 1967, as an assistant professor of voice, before becoming an associate professor of voice and chairman of the voice department in 1981. Scifres received a bachelor’s degree in music from Hardin-Simmons University in Texas in 1961, a master’s of arts for teacher’s degree from Colorado State University in 1967 and a doctor of musical arts degree from the University of Iowa in 1983.
Since his arrival at Illinois Wesleyan, Scifres has taught studio voice, diction for singers, vocal pedagogy, elementary conducting, vocal techniques and music appreciation, and has also conducted the Women’s Chorus and Chapel Choir.
Streeter has retired after 40 years at the University. Streeter came to Illinois Wesleyan in 1971 after playing with the USAF Airman of Note. He began as an assistant professor of music and founded the Jazz Program upon his arrival.
Streeter received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from Indiana University in 1965 and 1967. In 1971, he received a doctorate degree from The Catholic University of America in Washington D.C. In 1972, he founded the touring Jazz Ensemble and in 1976 he created the first jazz festival at IWU. Streeter is a member of the International Trombone Association and the International Association of Jazz Educators.
Porter joined Illinois Wesleyan in 1990 as an associate director of development/corporate and foundation relations. Her title later changed to director of sponsored programs and foundation relations. The 1978 Amherst College alumna earned credits towards a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania between 1979 and 1981. She completed a certification from the Higher Education Resource Services Institute for Higher Education Administration in 2009.
In 2011 Porter organized and served on a panel for the American Association for Colleges & Universities, which addressed funding for liberal arts institutions. As a member of the local community, she has served on the boards of the McLean County Art Center, the Unitarian Universalist Church and as a board member and president of the Ecology Action Center.
Contact: Sherry Wallace, (309) 556-3181