Lisle Residents Honored for Work at Benedictine

Benedictine University recognized five members of its faculty, two of them Lisle residents, for their outstanding service to students, the University and the community during ceremonies held May 18 in the Krasa Student Center on the university's Lisle campus.

John Draut, a Lisle resident and an assistant professor in the master of business administration (MBA) program, received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Teaching.

“John is one of the most innovative and creative instructors in the MBA department,” said Don Taylor, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs. “He engages and energizes students, and gives them a love of learning that will be with them the rest of their lives.”

Draut introduced a nationally-ranked capstone business simulation that requires students to create an entire company, compete globally and make strategic decisions each week that impact their company’s success. The simulation is played against approximately 35,000 students at 280 universities throughout the world.

John Kevin Doyle, Ph.D., a Lisle resident and a professor in the MBA program, was named the recipient of the Judith Whinfrey Award for Leadership. Whinfrey, who served as a member of the university's board of trustees and was a former principal and managing consultant with Hewitt Associates, succumbed to cancer in January 2010.

Doyle, who is waging his own battle with cancer, came to Benedictine after a long and successful career at AT&T and Lucent Technologies.

“Kevin has maintained the highest level of faculty leadership on campus all the while struggling with a truly terrible health diagnosis,” Taylor said. “People have long commented on Kevin’s ability to get things done, to keep people on task and up to standards while treating them with integrity and respect.”

Therese Yaeger, Ph.D., associate professor in the master of science degree program in Management and Organizational Behavior and Ph.D. degree program in Organization Development and a resident of Naperville, received the Distinguished Faculty Award for Research.

Jim Ludema, Ph.D., professor in the doctoral programs in Organization Development and Values-Driven Leadership, founder of the Center for Values-Driven Leadership at Benedictine University and a resident of Chicago, received the Distinguished Faculty Award for External Service.

Vince Gaddis, Ph.D., chair of the department of History, Philosophy and Religious Studies and an Aurora resident, was named the recipient of the Distinguished Faculty Award for Internal Service.