Bill Text: IL HR0984 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourns the death of former Illinois Wesleyan University President Robert Eckley.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Republican 2)

Status: (Passed) 2012-05-25 - Resolution Adopted [HR0984 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HR0984-Introduced.html

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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

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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,

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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.