Western Illinois Black Alumni Weekend Held, Award Recipients Honored
The Western Illinois University Black Alumni Council (WIU BAC) held its annual Black Alumni Weekend, featuring its 32nd annual picnic and Sunday brunch, during the first weekend of August 2024.
The picnic, held on Saturday, Aug. 3, at the Midlothian Meadows Forest Preserve in Midlothian, IL, boasted an attendance of several hundred alumni, ranging from the 1970s to the 2020s, and was co-sponsored by members of the Divine 9 International Black Greek letter organizations which have WIU affiliations.
“The Western Illinois University Black Alumni Weekend is a time for reminiscing, rekindling, reflecting and fun,” Black Alumni Council President Shelvis Lewis `86 said. “As Black students, many of us on our own for the first time, we experienced numerous challenges and accomplishments firsthand with those on campus. We formed alliances, lifelong relationships and made choices that became life changing, right there in Macomb, IL.”
On Sunday, Aug. 4, the Black Excellence Sunday Brunch was held at the Doubletree by Hilton Chicago-Alsip. The brunch is a new element of the Black Alumni Weekend festivities, occurring for the first time in 2023. The brunch event was born out of a desire for an opportunity to celebrate the impact of Black Leathernecks on and off campus.
Shelvis Lewis `86, Sen. Kimberly Lightford `90
In 2023, the Black Alumni Council established the Black Excellence Awards program in coordination with the brunch. The inaugural honorees were notable WIU employees Dr. Rudy Womack, Dr. Essie M. Rutledge, and Belinda Carr, selected for the deep impact they each had on WIU’s Black student population.
For 2024, the Black Alumni Council celebrated the success and noteworthy achievements of four Black alumni. This year’s honorees are Melody Betts MFA `09, Senator Kimberly LIghtford `90, Emmerson Buie `87, and Robert Haley `85, MS `97.
Melody Betts, MFA `09, recently wrapped up her run as Aunt Em/Evilene in the 2024 Broadway revival of The Wiz. In May, Betts was recognized with two Helen Hayes Awards, the theatre award program for the Washington, DC region. She earned Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical for her role in the Olney Theatre Center’s production of “FELA!” and Outstanding Performer in a Visiting Production for the Pre-Broadway tour of “The Wiz.” Betts has previously served on the WIU Alumni Council and is the founder and former president of the Dumela Alumni Council, which aims to bridge gaps in inclusivity, creating safe spaces for students of color WIU’s Department of Theatre and Dance. Read more about Betts’ journey back to Broadway in the Spring 2024 issue of Western: The Magazine for Alumni of Western Illinois University.
Senator Kimberly Lightford `90 has been a member of the Illinois Senate since 1998, representing the 4th district. Lightford made history in 2019 when she became the first Black woman to serve as Illinois’ Senate Majority Leader. She earned the Western Illinois University Alumni Achievement Award in 1999 and the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Distinguished Service Award in 2201. Lightford was deeply influential in raising more than $50,000 for the completion of the Gwendolyn Brooks Memorial Park, located on the corner of Adams and Normal streets on the WIU-Macomb campus, and is on the site of the former Gwendolyn Brooks Cultural Center (GBCC), originally called the Black Cultural Center (BCC). The project was completed in 2021 and Lightford returned to campus to speak at the dedication event. Read more about Lightford’s involvement with this important project here.
Emmerson Buie, Jr `87 was the first African American Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s fourth largest field office, located in Chicago, IL. Buie retired from the FBI after 30 years of service and is currently the Senior Security Director, Global Security for Walmart, Inc. Prior to joining the FBI, Buie served four years in the U.S. Army as an Infantry Officer and Desert Storm Veteran. He was awarded the Bronze Star, Combat Infantry Badge and multiple commendations for his military service. Read more about Buie’s career here.
Robert Haley `85, MS `87 is the CEO and chairperson of QIS Behavioral Health, an opioid treatment center outside Cincinnati, OH, which he opened in 2020. In 2017, Haley was instrumental in the opening of Choices Behavioral Health Care in Middletown, OH, a treatment center for adults with opiate dependence. Previously, Haley served as director of Premier Care of Ohio and Premier Care of Illinois. In 2023, Haley made a one million dollar commitment to establish the Robert H. Haley Education Excellence Scholarship Fund. When fully endowed, this scholarship fund will provide financial assistance to up to 40 students from the 37 counties in the southern Illinois region. Haley returned to campus in April 2024 to meet some of the inaugural recipients of the scholarship. During that trip, he also committed $10,000 to purchase new furniture in the GBCC lounge in the Multicultural Center. Read more about Haley’s investment in WIU here.
“This weekend is a time for us to talk about the past and the future for us and WIU,” Lewis said. “Western was a unique experience, and it created a feeling of family for us, so we view this time together as a family reunion.”
