Full Text of HR0984 97th General Assembly
HR0984 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | HR0984 | | LRB097 21221 KXB 68815 r |
|
| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former | 4 | | Illinois Wesleyan University President Robert Eckley, who | 5 | | passed away on April 15, 2012; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In his 18 years overseeing the University, his | 7 | | contributions were unparalleled, and he is remembered as a man | 8 | | who changed Illinois Wesleyan for the better; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, He was born in Kankakee and had a passion for | 10 | | learning; he graduated from Peoria High School in 1939, and | 11 | | continued on to study economics at Bradley University, earning | 12 | | a master's degree in business administration from the | 13 | | University of Minnesota, and a master's degree and doctorate in | 14 | | economics at Harvard University; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, He served in the United States Coast Guard | 16 | | Reserve, and was an assistant engineer aboard the USS Davenport | 17 | | from 1943 to 1946; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, He taught students at Harvard and the University | 19 | | of Kansas, and was an industrial economist with the Federal | 20 | | Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Missouri; and
|
| | | HR0984 | - 2 - | LRB097 21221 KXB 68815 r |
|
| 1 | | WHEREAS, More than 11,000 students received degrees during | 2 | | his years as president; to improve students' quality of life, | 3 | | he encouraged the formation of new student groups like the | 4 | | Black Student Association in 1969; his long-cherished dream to | 5 | | launch a campus radio station was also realized in 1972, when | 6 | | WESN-FM went on the air; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In addition to his presidential legacy at IWU, he | 8 | | also had an esteemed reputation as an economist, and authored 5 | 9 | | books; his articles appeared in publications like the Harvard | 10 | | Business Review, the American Economic Review, the Brookings | 11 | | Review, the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, | 12 | | and the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, He was director of State Farm Insurance Companies | 14 | | for 27 years, as well as a board member of Turbodyne | 15 | | Corporation of Minneapolis, McLean County Bank, and Central | 16 | | Illinois Public Service Company; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, He served as president of the Bradley United | 18 | | Christian Foundation, first vice president of the Illinois | 19 | | Council of Churches, a trustee of the Methodist Medical Center | 20 | | of Illinois, and a member of the Peoria Mayor's Commission on | 21 | | Human Relations; he was an emeritus member of the IWU Board of | 22 | | Trustees; and he was a member of the American Economic | 23 | | Association, the National Association of Business Economists, |
| | | HR0984 | - 3 - | LRB097 21221 KXB 68815 r |
|
| 1 | | and the American Statistical Association; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his brother, Carson; | 3 | | and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Robert Eckley is survived by his wife of 65 years, | 5 | | Nell B. (Mann) Eckley; his children and grandchildren, Paul N. | 6 | | and Penny and their daughter, Tessa; Robert George and Mary | 7 | | Anderson and their son, Will; Jane Lennon and David Gartshore; | 8 | | and Rebecca and Ken Melchert and their children, Adriane, John, | 9 | | and Alex; therefore, be it
| 10 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 11 | | NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 12 | | we mourn, along with his family, friends, and former students, | 13 | | the passing of Robert Eckley; and be it further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to family of Robert Eckley as a symbol of our sincere | 16 | | sympathy.
|
|