BOURBONNAIS, IL (05/13/2011)(readMedia)-- Katelyn J. Flynn, an English major from Davenport, graduated magna cum laude with Olivet Nazarene University's first cohort of 14 students in the undergraduate Honors Program. She has been accepted at Regent University School of Law, Virginia Beach, Va.

Honors Program graduates received their degrees along with 1,683 other graduates during the 2011 Commencement convocations Saturday, May 7, in the Betty and Kenneth Hawkins Centennial Chapel.

"Our Honors students are bright young adults who give me faith for the future of our country," said Dr. Sue Williams, director of Olivet's Honors Program. "They are going out to serve others, not just to acquire. I'm proud of them. Several of them are going either to graduate school or taking jobs right out of college due, in part, to their scholarship and being in this program."

Launched in 2007, Olivet's Centennial year, the Honors Program immediately attracted academically talented students with unique interests and special academic ambitions. The goal of the program is to encourage and nurture the students in the integration of Christian faith and scholarship, preparing them for servant leadership in the Church and the world.

Each student was accepted into the program based on his/her ACT score, application, essay and an on-campus interview. During their years at Olivet, each completed a rigorous program of specially designed honors-level courses in addition to fulfilling all academic requirements for their majors. They also completed many community service opportunities and attended several cultural events. The culmination of their work was their mentored research and presentation of that research at an honors research symposium.

Olivet Nazarene University is an accredited Christian, liberal arts university offering over 120 areas of study. It is centrally located in the historic village of Bourbonnais, Illinois - just 50 miles south of Chicago's loop - with additional School of Graduate and Continuing Studies locations in Rolling Meadows and Oak Brook, Ill. and throughout Chicagoland.

U of I interim vice president, chancellor to address nearly 1,000 graduates

CHAMPAIGN, IL (05/10/2011)(readMedia)-- Area students will participate in Parkland College's 44th Commencement Exercises on Friday, May 13 at 8 p.m. at Krannert Center for the Performing Arts. The public may watch the graduation ceremony live by going online to www.parkland.edu/commencement for the live video stream or by tuning in to the Parkland channel (PCTV), which will broadcast the ceremony live. PCTV is available on Comcast channel 9, Mediacom channel 10, and U-verse channel 99.

Nearly 1,000 candidates for graduation will be earning an associate's degree or certificate this year. Keynote speaker for the event will be Robert A. Easter, Ph.D., interim vice president, chancellor, and professor of Animal Sciences and Nutritional Sciences at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During the ceremony, Dr. Easter will receive an honorary associate's degree for outstanding community service and appreciation of higher education, and local entrepreneur Darrin Peters ('96, A.A.S., Agricultural Business Management), founder and president of Midwest Underground Technology, Inc. (MUTI) of Champaign, will receive Parkland's Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Participating area students include:

Charles King of Davenport

Jessica Bounds of Silvis

Parkland's commencement will include selections by the Parkland College Wind Ensemble, directed by Verlin Richardson, as well as an invocation and benediction by Rev. Jong Heon Ham of The Korean Presbyterian Church of Champaign-Urbana. A reception will be held immediately following the recessional in the Krannert Center lobby. Tickets are required.

Congratulations to Rivermont Collegiate junior Pavane Gorrepati, who has received a Borlaug-Ruan International Internship!  This prestigious internship provides an all-expenses-paid, eight-week hands-on experiencing working with world-renowned scientists and policymakers at research centers around the world.  The internship is a program of The World Food Prize, which, since 1986, has honored individuals who have made vital contributions to improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food throughout the world.  The unique opportunity is different from other study abroad internships in that students participate in original research projects with acclaimed scientists, while getting a firsthand view of pressing food security issues and nutritional problems in poverty-stricken areas of the developing world.  Since 1998, over 140 interns have traveled to Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kenya, Peru, and the Philippines – to name a few!

Pavane will be at the China National Hybrid Rice Research & Development Center (CNHRRDC) in Changsha, China.  Pavane will spend time in the lab, as well as days or weeks at a time in the field, conducting research and gathering data.  Upon return, Pavane will submit a research report and reflection paper documenting her personal experience and the outcome of her research project.

Pavane’s many science awards include Champion rankings at the 2009 and 2010 Eastern Iowa Science and Engineering Fairs for projects on alternative energy, winning her trips to the International Science and Engineering Fairs in Nevada in May 2009 and California in May 2010.  Pavane’s talents extend beyond the scientific realm – she recently earned a trip to the National History Day Competition in Washington, D.C. this summer with a performance about the Nuremburg Trials with fellow Rivermont students Joann Weeks, Meghana Pagadala, and Christine Mbakwe.  Pavane is a member of the National Honor Society as well as the Rivermont Environmental Club, and intends to devote her life to the study of alternative energy.

The World Food Prize was conceived by Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, recipient of the 1970 Nobel Peace Price.  In 1990, Des Moines businessman and philanthropist John Ruan assumed sponsorship of The Prize and established The World Food Prize Foundation, located in Des Moines, IA.  For additional information on The World Food Prize and the Borlaug-Ruan International Internship, visit www.worldfoodprize.org.

Rivermont Collegiate, located in Bettendorf, is the Quad Cities’ only private, independent college-prep school for students in preschool through twelfth grade.  For additional information on Rivermont Collegiate, contact Cindy Murray, Director of Admissions, at (563) 359-1366 ext. 302 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Visit us online at www.rvmt.org!

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ROCK ISLAND, IL (05/05/2011)(readMedia)-- Augustana College has recently selected 51 students from its 2011 graduating class for induction into Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest and most selective honor society in American higher education. The inductees include the following students from the local area:

• Debra Butler from Bettendorf, IA, majoring in psychology.
• Samuel Anderson from Rock Island, IL, majoring in mathematics and computer science.
• Andrew Shaffer from Rock Island, IL, majoring in history.
• Courtney VandeWiele from Rock Island, IL, majoring in political science and accounting.
• Michael Seevers from Cordova, IL, majoring in geography.
• Anna Smith from Moline, IL, majoring in biology and psychology.
• Mark Stumphy from Moline, IL, majoring in biology.

Augustana numbers among a select 10% of American colleges and universities that have met the criteria for having a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa. Each year, the college elects approximately 8% of its graduating class for induction into the honor society. Students are selected based on a set of rigorous, nationally-prescribed guidelines, including a record of academic excellence, tolerance for diverse views and a strong commitment to the liberal arts and sciences.

Phi Beta Kappa was founded at the College of William and Mary in 1776. The Greek letters Phi Beta Kappa represent the initials of the society's motto: "Love of learning is the guide of life." Originally created as a secret society-the members wanted to preserve their freedom to discuss any topic they chose-Phi Beta Kappa is now openly recognized as one of the most prestigious honor societies in American education.

Sarah Horowitz, the Phi Beta Kappa chapter secretary at Augustana, is proud that the college is able to recognize the inductees' accomplishments with such a prestigious honor. "These students have fulfilled Augustana's mission of developing the mind, body and spirit in an exemplary manner. They are now part of a long tradition of excellence at Augustana and other Phi Beta Kappa chapters across the country. We expect great things from them in years to come."

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers more than 70 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty members and has a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and service in our complex, ever-changing world.