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N WS A publicatione of the Lumpkin College of Business & Applied Sciences Philanthropy Office Edition: June 6, 2008 Philanthropy Office Hours Cooley announces December retirement Monday—Thursday Rick Kambic/Editor-In-Chief—Daily Eastern News 7:30 a.m.—4:30 p.m. Friday Eastern released a statement Tuesday afternoon an- 7:30a.m.—noon nouncing Jeff Cooley's decision to retire, effective Dec. 31, 2008. Cooley, vice president for Business Contact Information Affairs, would be concluding a 25-year career at Jacqueline S. Joines, CFRE Eastern. Director of Philanthropy Lumpkin College of "I don't think there's a better financial guru at a four- Business year school in this state," said Rep. Chapin Rose, R- & Applied Sciences 600 Lincoln Avenue Mahomet. "I call Jeff all the time for questions about Charleston, Illinois 61920 how situations would effect the school." Email: [email protected] Cooley was appointed vice president for Business Phone: 217.581.7969 Affairs in June 2001 by then president Carol Surles, following a national search. Cooley said his place is Old Main now alongside his wife so they can spend more time National Historic Site with their children and grandchildren. "Jeff's retirement will be a huge loss to Eastern's ad- ministrative team," said Eastern President Bill Perry. "His work has been absolutely critical to me in my first year at Eastern. His leadership and knowledge of fiscal matters, of the university and of state offices has been of great benefit to Eastern for many, many years. Cooley's career at Eastern began in 1979 when he graduated from the institution with a bachelor's degree in accounting. Immediately thereafter, he spent four years working as an accountant at a private firm in the Taylorville area. He began his 25-year employment at Eastern in 1983 as the director of internal auditing until his promotion to assistant vice president in 1997. "Eastern is the single most efficient school in Illinois," Rose said. "Eastern educates more students per tax dollar than any other school and that's all (credited) to Jeff. He's made that school economically sound." Rose said Cooley's abilities to reduce electric and wa- ter expenditures by utilizing energy efficient equipment campus-wide has surpassed all other state schools' attempts. Make Great Things Happen! According to Perry, a search advisory committee will be selected this summer and will Make a Gift Online! begin its work in finding a new vice president for Business Affairs this fall. Make a gift to your favorite area at EIU online. Log on to https:// www.give2eiu.eiu.edu/ index.html. It’s convenient, secure, and confidential. NeWS Page 1 N WS A publicatione of the Lumpkin College of Business & Applied Sciences Philanthropy Office Tropical Plant on Threatened Species List Now Flowering at EIU A rare tropical plant, the Titan Arum, is producing its first flower following six and a half years of vegetative growth in Eastern Illinois University’s H.F. Thut Greenhouse. The Titan Arum, which produces the largest unbranched inflorescence in the world, is on the World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threatened Spe- cies. The public is invited to view and photograph the flowering plant. Start- ing Saturday, June 7, the greenhouse (just north of the Life Sciences Building) will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. On the day the plant blooms, expected to be in the coming week, the greenhouse will stay open until midnight. It is visible through the window on the south side of the greenhouse when the greenhouse is closed. A page has been created on the EIU Department of Biological Sciences' Web site to provide daily updates and images of the flower as it develops: www.eiu.edu/~biology/news/titan_arum.htm. A map to the greenhouse is available on the page, as well. Steven Malehorn, manager of Thut Greenhouse, has tended to the Titan Arum since it was planted. He's never witnessed a flowering Titan Arum before; in fact, it's so rare, not many people have. The plant, discovered in 1878, grows wild only in the tropical forests of Sumatra. It first flowered in cultivation in London in 1889; since then, more than 100 cultivated flowers have blossomed. EIU obtained the seed in 2001. Its "grandparent" seeds were collected in 1993 from the only Titan Arum found in fruit dur- ing a BBC expedition filming "The Private Lives of Plants." The seeds were distributed to U.S. and British conservatories and greenhouses for cultivation. The bud on EIU's plant first started coming up in April following the plant's regular six- month dormancy, Malehorn said. He originally thought it would be a leaf, like the 20- foot-by-15-foot one that appeared last year. Also known by its scientific name, Amorphophallus titanum, the plant is also sometimes called the carrion flower or the corpse flower, as the flowers produce a scent similar to rotting meat. For more information, please contact Malehorn at [email protected], 217-581-3126 (Department of Biological Sciences' main office, Monday through Friday), or 217-581- 2513 (greenhouse). NeWS Page 2 N WS A publicatione of the Lumpkin College of Business & Applied Sciences Philanthropy Office Aspiring chemist conducts breaking experiment Kristina Peters/Campus Reporter—Daily Eastern News Rebecca Grove is making her mark in the chemistry field. Grove's replicated research of Louis Pasteur's 1853 work on crystal growth has been published and helped land her the Barry S. Goldwater Scholarship. "(Pasteur) was able to report that he got crystals, but not why," said Grove, a senior chemistry major with a minor in biology. Associate chemistry professor Kraig Wheeler presented the research idea to Grove and together they studied the crystal growth of organic compounds and viewed their individual atoms with X-ray diffraction. "He's been very, very helpful," Grove said of Wheeler. "He's very pa- tient even if I have to ask him something more than once." Grove said with the data they received, they were able to see what's going on inside the crystals like how they interact and where they will bond. "Rebecca's laboratory efforts provided much needed results that have offered unique insight into a Chemistry student Rebecca Grove 160 year old science problem," Wheeler said. Grove began observes crystals under the micro- working in Wheeler's laboratory in Fall 2006. scope as her professor Kraig Wheeler looks on. Grove won the prestigious Barry S. Goldwater Scholarship for her "She uses her time extremely well to accomplish research ground-breaking research on Louis tasks," Wheeler said. "The combination of being easy going, Pasteur's work in crystal growth with Wheeler's assistance. (Submitted passion for learning, and desire to succeed has helped her photo) progress as a research scientist." In January, Grove submitted an application for the Goldwater scholarship. Included in her applica- tion were details about her research. Grove found out in March that she was one of 321 students in the country to be given the scholarship. "I didn't win for the research, but the research helped," Grove said adding that her grades and extra curricular activities also played a role. Grove's mother Betty said her daughter has maintained a 4.0 GPA throughout both high school and college. "Rebecca is the kind of student any professor would like to clone given the chance - (she) attends class prepared, asks insightful questions, seeks help when needed, and requests addi- tional assignments to help clarify course content," Wheeler said. "You really can't ask for more in a student." The Goldwater scholarship is the premier undergraduate award in science, math and engineering and Grove will receive $7,500 toward her undergraduate degree. Before winning the scholarship, Grove and Wheeler's research was published in the Angewandte Chemie Journal. Both Grove and Wheeler were excited when they heard the news. "I never expected it to be in such a major journal," Grove said. Grove said it's the second leading journal in the world. "It's a good feeling knowing that some of those in the international science NeWS Page 3 N WS A publicatione of the Lumpkin College of Business & Applied Sciences Philanthropy Office Aspiring chemist conducts breaking experiment—Continued community found our work mildly amusing and worthy of some exposure," Wheeler said. "I was elated to discover that our manuscript was accepted for publication into Angewandte Chemie - a high impact journal." Grove is working in the lab this summer and expanding the research. She said they are now looking at how well molecules will and won't expand. "She has come a long way in nearly two years and has shown what it takes to succeed at the next level," Wheeler said. "It's been a pleasure to have the opportunity to watch her develop as a student and researcher. Rebecca is going places after EIU" After Eastern, Grove said she wants to get a doctorate in organic chemistry and, in the long term, teach at the collegiate level and run a research lab. "I see her definitely continuing her advanced degree," said Betty of her daughter's future. "We are just extremely proud of her for who she is, what she stands for and for her accomplishments." Grove has tutored for the science department and her parents are teachers as well. "It kind of fell into place," Grove said. "Tutoring and teaching is something I really want to do." Grove's grandfather Ewart Grove was a teacher also. He was a chemistry professor at the University of Alabama in the 1950s.

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