Senior Professionals Charles W. Bolen Endowed Student Award
The Senior Professionals organization at Illinois State University was founded by Charles W. Bolen soon after his retirement from ISU in 1988. The original purpose of the organization was to provide a group of retirees in the Bloomington-Normal area to serve as mentors to selected students. With the encouragement and support of President Thomas Wallace, Provost David Strand, and Honors Program director Ira Cohen, the mentoring program was established with students in the Honors Program. Later, the board authorized the selection of three mentees each year to each receive a $1,000 cash award from Senior Professionals. Bolen's leadership, contributions, enthusiasm, and commitment led to the ongoing success of the Senior Professionals.