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2009 Commencement Speaker Set

 

Illinois State University President Dr. C. Alvin Bowman will be the commencement speaker at East-West University’s 27th Convocation Ceremony at 11:00 a.m. on Sat., June 20, 2009 in the Grand Ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Chicago, 151 E. Wacker Drive.  The ceremony will feature nearly 200 graduates, plus approximately 1000 family members, faculty, staff, trustees and guests.    

 

Dr. Bowman became the 17th president in the Illinois State’s 152-year history in 2004.  Located in Normal, Illinois on a 970-acre campus with 61 buildings, Illinois State was the first public university in the state and currently has more than 22,000 students.

Dr. Bowman began his academic career by earning a bachelor’s degree in speech pathology from Augustana College and a master’s degree in speech-language pathology from Eastern Illinois University. He completed his Ph.D. in speech and hearing science at the University of Illinois-Urbana.

Dr. Bowman worked as a staff speech pathologist at Veterans Administration Hospital in Danville prior to joining Illinois State in 1978 as a faculty member in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology.  In 1994, he was named chairperson of the department while also serving as director of the Down Syndrome Speech-Language Clinic and teaching a course each semester.

In 2002, Dr. Bowman was appointed interim Provost at ISU, and interim president the following year.  His appointment as president was made permanent in March 2004.  Under Dr. Bowman’s leadership, ISU has improved retention of high quality faculty and staff, renovated aging facilities, built new facilities, and raised more than $96 million to enhance Illinois State’s position in higher education.

 

For Dr. Bowman, Illinois State is a family affair.   His wife completed her undergraduate and master’s degrees at Illinois State and works as an instructor and clinical supervisor in the Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders. Their daughter Laura is a sophomore at Illinois State, and their daughter Natalie attends the University Laboratory Schools.