Barbara Burkhardt ’84 (UIUC), MA ’90 LAS, PHD ’94 (UIUC),has been involved with the University of Illinois Springfield in a variety of ways: as a student, as an associate professor of English, as a member of the UIS development team and as an active alumna. For her generosity of time and effort, she is being honored with a University of Illinois Loyalty Award. As a member of the UIS community, Barbara has given her time, energy and creativity to the University. During the transition from Sangamon State University to UIS, she assisted with the creation of the first office of the University of Illinois Alumni Association for the Springfield campus. She played an important role in developing the Campus Alumni Advisory Board, serving as president, and then continuing on the board for 10 years. Barbara lives in Washington, D.C., with her family, where she continues to be an invaluable resource for the UIS Ambassador series.

As executive editor of the Illinois State Historical Society and moderator for many of the Alumni SAGE Society Lunch and Learn Series, Bill Furry ’85 LAS, MA ’97 LAS, is a familiar face around Springfield and the University of Illinois Springfield campus. He is being honored for his dedication to his alma mater with the University’s Loyalty Award for Exceptional Alumni Service. Furry says he has an unspoken agreement with members of the UIS community; he is always ready to assist them, should they need his help. “UIS is an institution I’ve gravitated toward and I have a lot of respect for,” he says. “A lot of the things that made me who I am happened there … I got my first copy editing job because one of my professors recommended me for the job. In addition to his efforts at UIS, Furry has served as the president of the Vachel Lindsay Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to stimulating interest in the poet and assisting in preservation of his Springfield home, a state historic site.