HR0984LRB097 21221 KXB 68815 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of former
4Illinois Wesleyan University President Robert Eckley, who
5passed away on April 15, 2012; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In his 18 years overseeing the University, his
7contributions were unparalleled, and he is remembered as a man
8who changed Illinois Wesleyan for the better; and
 
9    WHEREAS, He was born in Kankakee and had a passion for
10learning; he graduated from Peoria High School in 1939, and
11continued on to study economics at Bradley University, earning
12a master's degree in business administration from the
13University of Minnesota, and a master's degree and doctorate in
14economics at Harvard University; and
 
15    WHEREAS, He served in the United States Coast Guard
16Reserve, and was an assistant engineer aboard the USS Davenport
17from 1943 to 1946; and
 
18    WHEREAS, He taught students at Harvard and the University
19of Kansas, and was an industrial economist with the Federal
20Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Missouri; and
 

 

 

HR0984- 2 -LRB097 21221 KXB 68815 r

1    WHEREAS, More than 11,000 students received degrees during
2his years as president; to improve students' quality of life,
3he encouraged the formation of new student groups like the
4Black Student Association in 1969; his long-cherished dream to
5launch a campus radio station was also realized in 1972, when
6WESN-FM went on the air; and
 
7    WHEREAS, In addition to his presidential legacy at IWU, he
8also had an esteemed reputation as an economist, and authored 5
9books; his articles appeared in publications like the Harvard
10Business Review, the American Economic Review, the Brookings
11Review, the Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society,
12and the Journal of the Abraham Lincoln Association; and
 
13    WHEREAS, He was director of State Farm Insurance Companies
14for 27 years, as well as a board member of Turbodyne
15Corporation of Minneapolis, McLean County Bank, and Central
16Illinois Public Service Company; and
 
17    WHEREAS, He served as president of the Bradley United
18Christian Foundation, first vice president of the Illinois
19Council of Churches, a trustee of the Methodist Medical Center
20of Illinois, and a member of the Peoria Mayor's Commission on
21Human Relations; he was an emeritus member of the IWU Board of
22Trustees; and he was a member of the American Economic
23Association, the National Association of Business Economists,

 

 

HR0984- 3 -LRB097 21221 KXB 68815 r

1and the American Statistical Association; and
 
2    WHEREAS, He was preceded in death by his brother, Carson;
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, Robert Eckley is survived by his wife of 65 years,
5Nell B. (Mann) Eckley; his children and grandchildren, Paul N.
6and Penny and their daughter, Tessa; Robert George and Mary
7Anderson and their son, Will; Jane Lennon and David Gartshore;
8and Rebecca and Ken Melchert and their children, Adriane, John,
9and Alex; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
11NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12we mourn, along with his family, friends, and former students,
13the passing of Robert Eckley; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15presented to family of Robert Eckley as a symbol of our sincere
16sympathy.