July 20, 2005

Sheri Hunter picked to lead Alumni Association

by Greg Scott

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Sheri Hunter of Marion, former chairperson of the English department at Carterville High School, became president of the Southern Illinois University Alumni Association National Board of Directors July 1. She was elected at the board's spring meeting in April and will serve a one-year term.

Hunter, who retired from the Carterville school district in May after 28 years of teaching, has served on the SIU Alumni Association's national board since 1999. She will chair the Association's executive committee, in addition to the scholarships, gifts & grants committee, and trustee recommendations committee. She has served on the budget, communications, investments, long range planning, member services, nominations, and student relations committees.

She and her husband, Richard Hunter, also an SIUC graduate, reside in Marion.

A life member of the SIU Alumni Association, Hunter received a bachelor's degree in English in 1976, and a master's degree in curriculum and instruction in 1988.

Known as a strong advocate for higher education, Hunter has been a group leader on the regional Tech Prep Committee, which designs a course of study that blends higher level academic and vocational courses for high school students. She served on the English Articulation Committee, sponsored by SIUC, which promotes collaboration between the University and high school English departments. Hunter was also a member of the Curriculum Committee and School Improvement Team, and chaired the North Central evaluation team at Carterville High School.

A Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society honoree, Hunter earned the Connections 2000 Award from the Illinois State Board of Education for curriculum writing in 1993. She was the recipient of the Veterans of Foreign War Teacher of the Year honor in 1994; and was selected KFVS-12 Heartland's Best Teacher in 1998.

"Sheri Hunter's loyalty and passion for representing and serving her alma mater are tremendous attributes for alumni charged with leading the SIU Alumni Association," says Ed Buerger, executive director of the SIU Alumni Association. "The same commitment and dedication she exhibited while educating high school students in Carterville will be an asset in leading the Association forward. Sheri is an outstanding leader for our association, as it strives to represent and serve the needs of 207,000 alumni worldwide."

Hunter heads a slate of officers serving on the Association's executive committee. Committee members who began their duties July 1 are: Mimi Wallace of Beverly Hills, Calif. (immediate past president); Doris Rottschalk of Du Quoin (president-elect); Ray Serati of Springfield (vice president); J.C. Garavalia of Carbondale (vice president); and Randy Ragan of Springfield (treasurer). Jeannette Fromm of Rockford and Howard Spiegel of Chicago will serve as members-at-large of the executive committee.

The 39-member board of directors governs the not-for-profit corporate status and the activities, programs, and services of the SIU Alumni Association. Founded in 1896, the Association represents 207,000 SIU graduates living in more than 125 countries worldwide and is the largest and oldest organization serving Southern Illinois University Carbondale.