EIU Media Relations

Eberly Chosen As 2010 Luis Clay Mendez Distinguished Service Award Recipient

Charles G. Eberly has been selected as Eastern Illinois University's 2010 Luis Clay Mendez Distinguished Service Award recipient for his contributions in the area of service to the community, the university and his discipline.

This award, presented by the Faculty Senate, honors the memory of Mendez, an EIU professor in Spanish who died in 2003. Eberly will formally receive the award at a Fall 2010 EIU commencement ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 18.

Eberly has been a part of the faculty at EIU since 1987 in the Department of Counseling and Student Development. Letters of support reveal that his contributions have had far-reaching effects.

In his letter nominating Eberly for the award, Mark Koepsell, executive director/CEO for the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values and a 1992 EIU alumnus, wrote that "(Eberly) is more than a professor. He takes on the role of a lifetime mentor and support system for those of us lucky enough to learn under his tutelage."

In his letter of support, John D. Foubert, an associate professor at Oklahoma State University, wrote "Generations of graduate students, new professionals and seasoned leaders have him to thank for his mentoring."

Foubert wondered how many lives Eberly had touched -- both directly and indirectly -- through his teaching and service. "His impact on the profession is simply, quite profound," Foubert noted.

Eberly's service extends beyond the mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. His vita illustrates the extraordinary amount of service Eberly has provided.

Over the course of his career, he has served in the Charleston Rotary, as chapter adviser for the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, has been active in Habitat for Humanity, served on numerous editorial boards for academic refereed journals, served on EIU's Faculty Senate and other university committees, participated in the EIU Reads program, served as an EIU Faculty Fellow since the program's inception, and has received an impressive number of awards for his service.

"It is through all of these accomplishments that Dr. Charles Eberly has become an outstanding candidate for the Luis Clay Mendez Distinguished Service Award," wrote Bob Dudolski, interim dean of Student Life at Culver-Stockton College.