Marian ‘53 and Hobart Hinderliter believe that a university education is very important and should be available to all who want to earn a degree. That belief led them to endow the Marian Gardner Hinderliter and Hobart Hinderliter Scholarship Fund to support outstanding freshman students at Illinois State University who are beginning a business major. The Hinderliters are also in the process of endowing a College of Business professorship.

“We wanted to do something to benefit future students and to leave a lasting legacy to help people make a better life for themselves,” Marian said. “We feel that we have been blessed and, therefore, consider it both a privilege and an obligation to help others make the world a better place for all to enjoy.”

Marian received her bachelor’s degree in business education at Illinois State at a time when enrollment was 2,000 students. She said the only on-campus housing was Fell Hall for freshman women and Smith Hall for men. Marian lived in Fell Hall her first year and then moved off-campus while completing her degree. However, she still was connected to Fell Hall as she worked as a waitress there to receive her meals. Marian also worked in Psychology Professor Herman Tiedeman’s office during her senior year.

“The University is a very different campus today,” Marian said. “I am impressed by the tremendous growth and also the high caliber of students that Illinois State attracts today. I am tremendously impressed with the modern new buildings. How I would have liked to have had classes in the beautiful College of Business building, and I look forward to gathering at the lovely new Alumni Center.”

Marian might have graduated 55 years ago, but some of her professors still remain in her memory. “A very distinguished individual, Dr. Lewis Toll, was head of the Business Education department,” she said. “To this day, I still remember Alta Day and her shorthand classes along with Miss Webb, Miss Wheeler and Dr. Elsworthy and their business classes along with many other excellent teachers. There were no teaching assistants in my classes, and all business classes were held in ‘The Castle,’ Cook Hall.”

After Marian’s graduation, the Hinderliters married, Hobart entered the military and a lifetime of travel ensued. They lived in Chicago and Virginia before being stationed in Munich, Germany. The Hinderliters took advantage of the posting to travel to many European destinations. Over the next five decades, they traveled to Africa on a safari, cruised the Hawaiian Islands and journeyed to China, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Taiwain, Hong Kong and Hungary.

While Hobart has worked in Jacksonville, Ill., as a professional farm manager for the past 52 years, Marian was a stay-at-home mom to Alan, Janet and Steven. Alan is an associate professor of cardiology at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Janet is a principal scientist in quality and records management who authors scientific documents for the FDA for new drug products, and Steven is an electrical engineer with Analog Devices in Greensboro, N.C., and serves as the director of New Business Development for the High Speed Convertor group. The Hinderliters have three grandsons and are active in their church. Hobart has 52 years of perfect attendance with his Kiwanis group, and Marian plays bridge and volunteers at Passavant Hospital.

Hobart, a University of Illinois graduate, and Marian said after their children were grown and established in their careers, they started thinking about how to help others achieve a college degree. Their attorney told them to “prepare for gifting in your heart.”

“State schools in this present financial crunch need help to proceed forward,” the Hinderliters said. “We felt that it was our turn to accept the challenge and help since we had been helped. We established the Illinois State scholarship to help students who excelled academically and who were active in community and school activities. With the skyrocketing cost of a college education, we felt a need to help this type of student. We have been exceptionally pleased with the students who have been chosen for our scholarship: Timothy Pantaleone (03-04), Jacquelyn Pycz (04-05), Rees Mason (05-06), Kara Nottelmann (06-07), Valerie Melrose (07-08) and Kayla Savalick (08-09).”

Illinois State’s College of Business ranked 79th overall, and 38th among public universities in the 2008 BusinessWeek magazine survey. This places the College among the top 20% of AACSB accredited business schools. Illinois State received the 2nd best ranking for Illinois schools.The BusinessWeek rankings take into account a number of factors including the overall academic quality of schools and feedback from current students and employers. Illinois State’s College of Business improved its ranking among public schools by three positions and received a teacher quality rating of “A.”

“The College of Business at Illinois State University is an emerging jewel,” said Charles McGuire, interim dean. “The Business Week ranking is a result of the hard work and dedication of our faculty and staff and reflects the growing recognition by students and by the business community that the College of Business at Illinois State is quickly becoming one of the best in the nation.”

Positive Student Comments

Students raved about the high tech business building, the quality and accessibility of faculty, and indicated the new dress code for marketing and business teacher education students instills a sense of professionalism.

Click here to view more information on the rankings.

Make it five in a row for Illinois State University.  For the fifth straight time, Illinois State is ranked as one of 100 best values in public colleges in the country according to Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine. According to an article in the December 2008 edition, Kiplinger’s list focuses on schools that offer a “combination of outstanding academic quality and an affordable price tag.”

“It is a testament to the quality of our students, faculty and staff, and our academic and support programs that Illinois State has made the Kiplinger list for five straight editions,” said President Al Bowman.  “The fact that it has happened in the midst of a state economy that has cost the University tens of millions of dollars makes the ranking even more remarkable. To be in the company of some of the finest public institutions in the nation is one more indicator that we are achieving our goals through the University’s strategic plan, Educating Illinois.”

Illinois State ranked 94th on the list, up six spots from last year. Kiplinger’s rankings are based on data provided by more than 500 public four-year colleges supplemented by the magazine’s independent research. Ranking measures include freshman class ACT scores, admission rates, student-faculty ratios, the percentage of faculty with the highest degree in their field, how much each school spends on instruction for each student, how much each school spend on it library facilities and four-and six-year graduation rates.

Kiplinger’s then ranks each school on a combination of quality and cost components, including cost for in-state students (tuition, mandatory fees, room, board and estimated expenses for books and supplies), the average for each student with need after subtracting grants (but not loans), the average cost for a student without need after subtracting merit-based grants, the average percentage of need met by aid and the average debt a student accumulates prior to graduation.

Kiplinger’s places greater overall weight on quality, which accounts for about two-thirds of the final score, than on cost. Other institutions on the list include the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of California and University of Arizona. The University of Illinois was the only other state university to make the list.

The Matt Busey Endowed Scholarship Fund was established in 2008 by friends and relatives of Matt Busey, a 2005 graduate of the Marketing and Finance programs in the College of Business at Illinois State University. The Matt Busey Endowed Scholarship Fund was established for the purpose of providing support for College of Business students. It recognizes Matt Busey, who died from injuries suffered in an accident in December, 2006.

Only those students that will be participating in a study abroad or completing an internship abroad in the upcoming spring, summer or fall semesters are eligible to apply. Qualified students must also have a minimum gpa of 2.75. Applicants are required to review the linked Pdf file before applying. A link to the application for the Matt Busey Scholarship is given upon review of the presentation. Applications are due by December 1st, 2008.