Bill Text: IL HR0984 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Mourns the death of former Illinois Wesleyan University President Robert Eckley.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2012-05-25 - Resolution Adopted [HR0984 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2011-HR0984-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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, |
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1 | and the American Statistical Association; and
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2 | WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his brother, Carson; | ||||||
3 | and
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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
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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
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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.
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