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Illinois Secretary of Education Beth Purvis and WIU President Jack Thomas
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Illinois Secretary of Education Visits WIU Wednesday

August 5, 2015

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MACOMB, IL - Illinois Secretary of Education Beth Purvis visited Western Illinois University Wednesday, Aug. 5 to tour campus and visit with University administrators about the future of higher education in Illinois.

Purvis met with WIU President Jack Thomas, toured the campus and met with administrators in the nursing, law enforcement and justice administration (LEJA), education and agriculture departments and with the leadership of the College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC). After the campus visit, Purvis met with Macomb School District Superintendent Patrick Twomey.

During the campus visit, President Thomas talked with Purvis about the University's needs, both budgetary and academic, and he highlighted the school's numerous successes.

"We are pleased the Illinois Secretary of Education came to Western to tour our campus," said Thomas. "The visit gave us the opportunity to show her what we do well, our current needs and what we hope to accomplish in the future."

Prior to being named the Illinois Secretary of Education, Purvis served as the executive director of the Chicago International Charter School, a network of 15 charter school campuses serving nearly 9,000 students in Chicago and Rockford, IL. She has also been an assistant professor of education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

For more information about WIU, visit wiu.edu.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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