BOT Approves Naming of Stevenson Hall Room

Illinois State University's Board of Trustees approved the naming of Stevenson Hall room 435C as the Pohlmann Resource and Conference Room.

Vernon C. Pohlmann, professor emeritus of sociology, joined Illinois State in 1955 as an assistant professor of social science and retired in 1985.  He has established an endowment to renovate, equip and maintain the 435C space.

"It is gratifying to see faculty and administrators' continued support for Illinois State University after they have left the University," said President Al Bowman.  "Dr. Pohlmann's gift is a wonderful example of assisting faculty and students in their educational endeavors."

Pohlmann was inducted into the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Hall of Fame in April 2008, and he is a member of the CAS Emeritus Faculty Advisory Board.  He earned the rank of captain in the Army Air Corp during WWII and then taught in the St. Louis public school system where he researched and published on the cost of segregated education, data cited by plaintiffs before the U.S. Supreme Court in Brown v. The Board of Education. 

Pohlmann received his Ph.D. from Washington University. He served on the Town of Normal Council and has been a 30-year member of the United Way, serving as vice-president and delegate to the State Board of Directors.  Pohlmann was the leading researcher for McLean County position papers for White House conferences on aging and on youth.  He was an organizer of the State of Illinois Data Center, recognized and partially funded by the Census Bureau.  During his tenure at Illinois State, he served as chair of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, president of the Illinois Sociological Association, secretary of the Midwest Sociological Society and president of the American Association of University Professors.