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Robert L. Hodges English Education Scholarship
Bob Hodges saw the world from the sky and through the pages of countless books, informed by his experience at 海角破解版 and the liberal arts. Hodges was born in Adair, Illinois, and grew up in Macomb, where he attended the Academy, or 海角破解版 laboratory school.聽 As a 海角破解版 student in the 1940s, Hodges was active in the English club, Green Door (drama club), and the student newspaper. He earned a Bachelor鈥檚 of English Education degree in 1943.
Hodges also became part of the first group of pilots to be trained at Western. 鈥淭hat was during the Roosevelt era, and he knew we were going to be at war but the country was unprepared,鈥� Hodges said in a 2009 interview. 鈥淩oosevelt wanted to enlarge the military, but Congress wouldn鈥檛 let him, so he created an aviation program at colleges across the country.鈥�
鈥淚t was a little like today鈥檚 ROTC, in a sense, but we weren鈥檛 in uniform,鈥� explained Hodges. 鈥淲e studied meteorology, aeronautics, and so on and flew out of Macomb鈥檚 old Clugston airfield, earning our private pilots鈥� licenses.鈥�
Hodges served during World War II and taught high school when the war ended. He also earned his master鈥檚 degree in English literature and drama during this time. At the start of the Korean War, he was called up as a reservist. Hodges had a long career in the Army, serving until his retirement in 1970.
Remaining true to his love of literature and books, Hodges opened Burkwood Books in Champaign-Urbana, a bookstore specializing in rare and collectible titles upon his retirement. He operated Burkwood Books for more than 35 years, taking coursework for a doctorate in literature along the way.
Hodges died in 2012 and Western recently received nearly $253,00 from his estate for English Education majors.
鈥淏ob informed the 海角破解版 Foundation of his estate plans in 1995,鈥� said vice president for Advancement and Public Services Brad Bainter. 鈥淏ecause we knew the gift would be received in the future, we were able to work with Bob on the criteria of the scholarship and structure it according to his wishes. 聽We appreciate his willingness to assist our students, and were pleased that he discussed all the issues in advance. In this way, we are able to honor Bob鈥檚 life and intentions and help students at the same time.鈥�
The Robert L. Hodges English Education Scholarship is available to undergraduate English Education majors aspiring to teach English literature or language in a public school setting and will be available for Fall 2014. For information or applications, contact the Department of English and Journalism or Office of Scholarship Activities.
Special thanks to Bill Knight, Deputy Director of Western鈥檚 Journalism Program. Excerpts taken from Knight鈥檚 article 鈥楢rea native became a trained aviator, but he was a born leader鈥� in the Fall/Winter 09 issue of Focus magazine.
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