PSC Dean Elighie Wilson Recognized with Annual ICTA Award

Prairie State College (PSC) Dean of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Elighie Wilson recently was recognized with the 2019 Connie Link Outstanding Mentor Award from the Illinois Communication and Theatre Association (ICTA).

The award is named in memory Connie Link, a long-standing member and past president of ICTA. The award is presented annually to a current or former teacher in Illinois who has taught speech, theatre, or English for more than 10 years. Honorees are recognized for their service to the ICTA, and “outstanding achievement in the profession, especially in mentorship of teachers and/or speech/theatre coaches and directors.”

The award was presented to Wilson during the 2019 ICTA Convention by one of his oldest mentees, College of DuPage Professor and ICTA Past President Lauren Morgan, and PSC Associate Professor Dana Trunnell, who is one of Wilson’s most recent mentees.

During the presentation, Trunnell, who also was coached by Link and first met Wilson during high school, said that “first and foremost, Elighie mentors teachers and coaches…. [He] always has the answer and always goes above and beyond to ensure we’re the best faculty members we can be,” she said.

“If you walk down the administrative hallway on any given day, you will witness Elighie giving a master class in professionalism. [He] shows young students how to be professionals by always greeting them with a handshake. He coaches teachers on how to professionally respond when students are being anything but [professional], and mentors us to take on important professional roles in the school.

“And, on most days, Elighie mentors other administrators in using professional communication in the workplace,” she added.

Trunnell and Morgan said Wilson’s mentorship “influenced more than a generation of communication educators and created a legacy of teachers, coaches, administrators and leaders in Illinois and across the nation.”

Wilson has been an active member of ICTA for more than 30 years, serving as president, executive vice president, and co-editor of the newsletter with Link. He received the Edith Marjorie Harrod Award in 2005 and the W.P. Sandford Award in 2014. He has served on many ICTA panels, providing numerous coaches and teachers across Illinois with mentoring and resources for coaching and classroom teaching.

Wilson has taught communication and coached speech teams at the high school, community college and university level for more than 30 years. Under his leadership, many students have won local, regional and national recognition. Additionally, several of his students have gone on to become high school coaches and educators, as well as college coaches and professors. In his current role at PSC, Wilson continues to mentor faculty through the tenure process, and assists them with the development of initiatives focused on teaching and learning.

Wilson joined the faculty at PSC in 2000. He has served as coordinator of the Communication Program, coordinator of Faculty Development, department chair, coach of the PSC Speech Team, and lead faculty coordinator of “Man Up,” a program designed to mentor African American males on campus.

Before coming to PSC, Wilson served as an instructor and coordinator of the Communication Internship Program at Millikin University in Decatur, Ill. Prior to that role, he had been a part-time instructor at Lincoln College in Normal, Ill.; a teaching assistant at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and a teaching assistant, director of the Individual Events Team, instructor and then coordinator of the Secondary Communication Education Program at Illinois State University.

Wilson has been recognized with the PSC Outstanding Faculty Member Award and the Illinois High School Association (IHSA) Distinguished Service Award. In 2018, the PSC Speech Team established the Elighie Wilson III Forensics Team Hall of Fame Award, in recognition of Wilson’s dedication to the PSC Speech Team and coaches.

“Dean Wilson is so deserving of this prestigious recognition,” said PSC President Dr. Terri L. Winfree. “I have heard from countless students, alumni and faculty that have worked with him about the impact he’s had on them. His commitment to the present and future of education is unwavering.”