People, Places & Things

Non-Game Funds Go to Study Wildlife, Wetlands and Frogs

Projects affecting forest and grassland wildlife, wetlands and frogs are among those being financed this year by the Non-game Wildlife Conservation Fund.

Illinoisans can make a contribution to the fund by designating $1 or more on line 15a of their state income tax forms. Amounts pledged are either deducted from the taxpayer's refund or added to the amount owed.

Contributions can also be made directly any time of the year to the Illinois Department of Conservation's Division of Natural Heritage.

Projects receiving funding from the Non-game Wildlife Conservation Fund this year include:

* $10,000 to publish A Landowner's Guide to Forest and Grassland Habitat Management for Non-game Birds.

* $9,000 to study the effects of prescribed burning on flightless insects living in "duff'—the old leaves and partly decayed organic matter that builds up at the base of prairie lands.

* $9,000 to design and produce approximately 20,000 full-color educational posters on Illinois hill prairies.

* $8,000 to determine the status of Illinois chorus frog populations, a state threatened species and candidate for federal protected listing.

* $8,000 to finance the third year of a three-year project developing a single computerized database on Illinois moths and butterflies.

* $5,600 non-game grant to continue annual aerial surveys of endangered herons, sandhill cranes and bald eagles.

* $5,000 to finance a two-phase investigation on the status of the endangered Swainson's warbler.

* $5,000 towards a $50,000 program to create up to 500 acres of new wetlands statewide on private property. Additional funding will be provided from the state's duck stamp, pheasant stamp and furbearer stamp, plus $30,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

* $5,000 to finance a search for eastern wood rats, which are among the rarest mammals in Illinois.

* $4,000 to survey four rare northern Illinois fish: the brassy minnow, longnose dace, largescale stoneroller and Ozark minnow.

* Funded by separate non-game fund grants, two projects will add new information to the Illinois Natural Areas Inventory, which evaluates and maps areas warranting preservation because of the habitat they provide to endangered and threatened species.

* $3,000 to launch a one-year inventory of prairie and wetland insects at Illinois Beach State Park.

* $3,000 to conduct a survey of the vegetation and endangered plants on Long Island near Quincy.

People, Places & Things

In Memoriam—John Robert Allen

Dr. John Robert Allen

John Robert Allen, chairman of the department of recreation at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, died on Tuesday, March 30. A Carbondale native. Dr. Allen was a three-degree graduate of SIUC. He joined the faculty as an assistant professor in 1977, after completing his doctoral degree in education. He became chairman in 1983.

Dr. Allen also served as public relations coordinator for the College of Education. In this capacity, he coordinated the college's annual telephone fund-raising drive, increasing pledges four-fold in the process. He also started an alumni scholarship and instituted the Alumni Hall of Fame. He has been named the college's 1993 alumni service award winner. Formal announcement of this award will be part of the college' s commencement ceremonies in May.

As a teacher. Dr. Allen had a special interest in course work dealing with play behavior and the philosophy of leisure. The department recognized his skill as an educator, selecting him as its outstanding teacher on four separate occasions.

Much of Dr. Allen's research dealt with disabled people and leisure activities. In 1981, he and colleague Terry Kinney developed a model for communities to use in helping the disabled take part in recreational activities for the U. S. Department of Education' s Rehabilitation Services Administration.

His interest in this subject extended beyond the university. He played an active role in the region's Special Olympics for seven years, serving as 1975-76 president.

He served on the board of the Carbondale Park District from 1989 to 1992. He also helped the communities of Dowell, Litchfield, Oblong, Mount Olive and Zeigler design recreation centers and develop the leisure activities that would take place there.

Dr. Allen had been a member of the Illinois Park and Recreation Association, the Illinois Association of Park Districts, the National Recreation and Park Association and the Mid-America Community Education Council. He was also a member of Phi Delta Kappa, an honorary education society.

In February 1992. Dr. Allen was recognized with the Illinois Association of Park Districts' President's Award for his outstanding leadership as an educator, elected park commissioner and professional in the park, recreation and conservation field.

George Williams College
Revived through Historic Affiliation with
Aurora University

George Williams College, which closed in 1985 due to financial difficulties, has been revived through a unique and historic affiliation with Aurora University.

A new school at Aurora University, called the George Williams College of Aurora University, was officially inaugurated in February. It will be composed of the AU School of Social Work and the recreation administration, physical education and teacher education programs.

Dr. Sandra Alcorn and Dr. Rita Yerkes were chosen to head up the renewed college. AU President Thomas Zarle said the new college will begin formal operation in September 1993, at which time current and new students within the college's programs will be officially brought into it.

The inauguration of the new school and faculty took place on February 19, which also marked the official one hundredth anniversary of AU. The formal closing of the deal to revitalize the college took place last November.

A key element of the affiliation is the George Williams College facility in Lake Geneva. Wisconsin, a 150-acre multipurpose spread that will now be part of a newly created corporation called the George Williams College Educational Centers.

The affiliation brings together the legacy and heritage of George Williams College, which earned international recognition for its high quality human service educational mission, with the resources of Aurora University. The new George Williams College of AU will provide an even stronger base for offering a wide range of human service curricula.