HR0984 97TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0984 LRB097 21221 KXB 68815 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former Illinois Wesleyan University President Robert Eckley, who passed away on April 15, 2012; and

WHEREAS, In his 18 years overseeing the University, his contributions were unparalleled, and he is remembered as a man who changed Illinois Wesleyan for the better; and

WHEREAS, He was born in Kankakee and had a passion for learning; he graduated from Peoria High School in 1939, and continued on to study economics at Bradley University, earning a master's degree in business administration from the University of Minnesota, and a master's degree and doctorate in economics at Harvard University; and

WHEREAS, He served in the United States Coast Guard Reserve, and was an assistant engineer aboard the USS Davenport from 1943 to 1946; and

WHEREAS, He taught students at Harvard and the University of Kansas, and was an industrial economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Missouri; and

WHEREAS, More than 11,000 students received degrees during his years as president; to improve students' quality of life, he encouraged the formation of new student groups like the Black Student Association in 1969; his long-cherished dream to launch a campus radio station was also realized in 1972, when WESN-FM went on the air; and

WHEREAS, In addition to his presidential legacy at IWU, he also had an esteemed reputation as an economist, and authored 5 books; his articles appeared in publications like the Harvard Business Review, the American Economic Review, the Brookings Review, the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, and the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association; and

WHEREAS, He was director of State Farm Insurance Companies for 27 years, as well as a board member of Turbodyne Corporation of Minneapolis, McLean County Bank, and Central Illinois Public Service Company; and

WHEREAS, He served as president of the Bradley United Christian Foundation, first vice president of the Illinois Council of Churches, a trustee of the Methodist Medical Center of Illinois, and a member of the Peoria Mayor's Commission on Human Relations; he was an emeritus member of the IWU Board of Trustees; and he was a member of the American Economic Association, the National Association of Business Economists, and the American Statistical Association; and

WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his brother, Carson; and

WHEREAS, Robert Eckley is survived by his wife of 65 years, Nell B. (Mann) Eckley; his children and grandchildren, Paul N. and Penny and their daughter, Tessa; Robert George and Mary Anderson and their son, Will; Jane Lennon and David Gartshore; and Rebecca and Ken Melchert and their children, Adriane, John, and Alex; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn, along with his family, friends, and former students, the passing of Robert Eckley; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to family of Robert Eckley as a symbol of our sincere sympathy.