Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

Deaths

Dorothy Norma Cummings, 93, died June 20 at Willowbrook in Savoy, Illinois. Cummings worked at the U. of I. for 15 years, retiring in 1981 as a clerk III at the Physical Plant. Memorials: Horbo Light Hospice, 800 Roosevelt Road, Building C, Suite 206, Glen Ellyn, IL 60137. 

Mary Jane Danner, 86, died June 25 at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana. Danner worked as a maid for University Housing for 28 years, retiring in 1994. Memorials: Carle Hospice Foundation, carle.org; or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Missionary Fund, www.lds.org.

Beverly Frederick, 85, died June 22 at her Urbana home. She worked at the U. of I. for 34 years, retiring in 1985 as a secretary III in the Office of the Provost. Memorials: First United Methodist Church, 304 S. Race St., Urbana, IL 61801, www.fumc-urbana.org

Jane Taylor Hedges, 64, died June 17 at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana. She worked at the U. of I. for 17 years as an associate editor in the department of history, retiring in 2013. She was managing editor for the interdisciplinary journal Slavic Review. She also was an active mentor in the Champaign-Urbana One-to-One Mentoring Program, which provides scholarships for lower income pre-college students. And she volunteered as a mentor with the U. of I.’s Promise Program, which helps underprivileged students. Memorials: Champaign-Urbana One-to-One Mentoring Program at cu1to1.org/donate or Illinois Promise at giving.illinois.edu

Mark Peden, 63, died June 14 at Heartland Healthcare in Urbana. He was a principal scientist at the Illinois Water Survey for 28 years, retiring in 2002. He was the assistant chief of the Illinois Water Survey and the director of the Central Analytical Lab. Memorials: Orpheum Children’s Science Museum, 346 N. Neil St., Champaign, IL 61820. 

Floyd “Keith” Pforr, 73, died June 23 at the Champaign County Nursing Home, Urbana. Pforr worked nearly 19 years at the U. of I. as a building service worker, retiring in 2007. Memorials: Alzheimer’s Association, alz.org; and White Heath United Methodist Church, 112 W. High St., White Heath, IL 61884.

Read Next

Life sciences Photo of Michael Ward standing in tall grass on a riverbank.

How are migrating wild birds affected by H5N1 infection in the U.S.?

Each spring, roughly 3.5 billion wild birds migrate from their warm winter havens to their breeding grounds across North America, eating insects, distributing plant seeds and providing a variety of other ecosystem services to stopping sites along the way. Some also carry diseases like avian influenza, a worry for agricultural, environmental and public health authorities. […]

Announcements Marcelo Garcia, professor of civil and environmental engineering at The Grainger College of Engineering.

Illinois faculty member elected to National Academy of Engineering

Champaign, Ill. — Marcelo Garcia, a professor of civil and environmental engineering in The Grainger College of Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Social sciences Male and female student embracing on the quad with flowering redbud tree and the ACES library in the background. Photo by Michelle Hassel

Dating is not broken, but the trajectories of relationships have changed

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — According to some popular culture writers and online posts by discouraged singles lamenting their inability to find romantic partners, dating is “broken,” fractured by the social isolation created by technology, pandemic lockdowns and potential partners’ unrealistic expectations. Yet two studies of college students conducted a decade apart found that their ideas about […]

Strategic Communications and Marketing News Bureau

507 E. Green St
MC-426
Champaign, IL 61820

Email: stratcom@illinois.edu

Phone (217) 333-5010