Alvin Bowman

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C. Alvin Bowman started his career with Illinois State University (ISU) in 1978 as a faculty member in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology. In 1994 he was appointed chairperson of the department in which he had held for eight years prior. He was also the director of Down Syndrome Speech-Language Clinic while he also was able to teach one class per semester. In the 2002-2003 year, Bowman left the chair's position to serve as Illinois State's interim provost. He was named President of Illinois State University on March 1st, 2004 by a unanimous vote by the Board of Trustees. He took over for Victor J. Boschini, Jr., who resigned as president in July of 2003.

1 Accomplishments
2 Schooling
3 Family
4 Interests
5 Quotes
6 External links

[edit] Accomplishments

Dr. Bowman has done much work to make Illinois State a better school. His first crisis when taking the job was getting ISU out of a $3.9 million rescission in Academic Affairs. That was one of his most difficult challenges, but since then the University has received money through fundraising and government funding. Another one of his accomplishments is that the university admitted the most academically talented class in its history, which is the freshman class of 2006. The average GPA for an incoming freshman was a 3.4 and an average ACT score of 23.9.

[edit] Schooling

Prior to ISU, Bowman received his bachelor's degree in speech pathology from Augustana College. He went on to receive his master's degree in speech-language pathology from Eastern Illinois University. He then chose the University of Illinois for his graduate work, completing a Ph.D. in speech and hearing science.

[edit] Family

Bowman is married to his wife, Linda Althoff Bowman and together they have two daughters who attend the University’s Laboratory Schools. His wife Linda completed her undergraduate and master's degrees at Illinois State. She is the graduate program advisor in the Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology.

[edit] Interests

Al Bowman is a big fan of the outdoors. One of his traditions is climbing one mountain per year. He is a big fan of mountain climbing and rock climbing, which he says is because he grew up in Colorado. Some of the more recent mountains he has climbed are Mount Baker in 2003, Oregon’s Mount Hood in 2004, and California’s Mount Shasta in 2005. He said one of his most enjoyable climbs was Mount Baker because it was more remote and there were fewer people climbing it. Some of his other activities he enjoys are skiing and hiking. Also, Dr. Bowman runs five miles a day to keep in shape.

[edit] Quotes

“We all work very hard to provide a welcoming and collegial environment for our students, faculty and staff members. We must also strive to provide the best possible physical environment in which to learn and grow.”(September 19, 2006 speech)

“Still, the combination of rising education costs and stagnating state operational support is forcing tuition rates higher than we would prefer. While Illinois State University is still an excellent investment and value, we must continue to find sources of private funding to keep our University strong and ensure that the family investment in higher education remains affordable.” (September 19, 2006 speech)