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Ten @IllinoisStateU Redbirds that are perfect candidates after whom to name Watterson Towers' houses, a thread:
Dr. George Pruitt '68, M.S. '70, L.H.D. '94: @ISU_BSU's first president, and the president of Thomas Edison State College for 35 years. He defines #GladlyWeLearnAndTeach
An @Redbird_MBB legend, Will Robinson: The first Black Division I Basketball Head Coach. A stellar athlete in his own right, he led the Redbird to unprecedented success https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2003/08/wills-power-trailblazing-redbird-coach-lifted-game-basketball/
Andrew Purnell '57: Founder of Illinois State's Student Chapter of the NAACP, a US Army veteran, and School Teacher
https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2020/03/in-memoriam-andrew-purnell-1934-2020/
https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2020/03/in-memoriam-andrew-purnell-1934-2020/
Dr. Donald McHenry '57: Ambassador and US Permanent Representative to the United Nations and a member of the Cabinet of President Jimmy Carter from September 1979 to January 1981 https://news.illinoisstate.edu/2013/07/partner-to-presidents-donald-mchenrys-diplomatic-career/
An @ISURedbirds Hall of Fame member, Tidye Pickett: The first Black woman to compete in the Olympics. Tidye was robbed of a gold medal in 1932, and competed alongside Jesse Owens in Berlin (1936). She was also a beloved educator in Chicago for 23 years. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/sports-history-forgot-about-tidye-pickett-and-louise-stokes-two-black-olympians-who-never-got-their-shot-glory-180960138/
Jeanne and Charles Morris. Dr. Jeanne was a faculty member for 26 years in @educationISU, focused on low-income students and diversity, while also helping found The Baby Fold
Dr. Charles was the Interim Director of the High Potential Students Program, our first program to target underrepresented student recruitment and was elected first Chairperson of the faculty-student led Academic Senate
https://mchistory.org/blog/jeanne-and-charles-morris-named-2017-history-makers-honorees
https://mchistory.org/blog/jeanne-and-charles-morris-named-2017-history-makers-honorees
Dr. Julia N. Visor '71, D.A. '87: A Professor of African-American literature, Dr. Visor also served as the director of the eponymous Visor Center. Her ability to build relationships with and mentor students was unrivaled.
https://nclca.wildapricot.org/visor_award
https://nclca.wildapricot.org/visor_award
Dr. Charles Martin '58, M.S. '62: Martin not only served as a Peace Corps Director in Liberia, after serving 21 years as a biology professor at UC Berkeley, Howard, and Northwestern, he returned from retirement to teach high school in California.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2009/05/16/hayward-high-students-benefiting-from-teachers-world-of-experience/
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2009/05/16/hayward-high-students-benefiting-from-teachers-world-of-experience/
Any list would be incomplete without beloved @IllinoisStateU President Emeritus Al Bowman. A Redbird career that spanned over five decades, President Bowman was the first Black president of Illinois State and transformed the university during his tenure
https://library.illinoisstate.edu/collections/presidential-history/bowman/
https://library.illinoisstate.edu/collections/presidential-history/bowman/
These are of course just my opinions, recognizing fully that I share more in common with the men after whom Watterson's houses were named than the people on this list. I hope the university naming committee welcomes the thoughts of the students that gave this movement life!
