CAS announces 2025 Hall of Fame class – News

The College of Arts and Sciences has announced its 2025 Hall of Fame class, set for induction at its annual luncheon and induction ceremony.

The class includes five distinguished alumni who will be celebrated at the College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame Luncheon and Induction Ceremony at the Aaron Leetch Club at Hancock Stadium on September 19.

The inductees include:

Douglas Bammann ’73

Department of Physics

Dr. Douglas Bammann published his first journal article and presented at his first conference in 1973. He was employed at Sandia National Labs (SNLCA) in Livermore, California, from 1981-2007, he served as a chaired professor at Mississippi State University in mechanical engineering, and he worked for two years at Los Alamos National Laboratory before retiring in 2023.

At SNLCA, Bammann developed physically-based mathematical models to predict deformation and failure of material. These models were implemented into computer codes to predict ballistic impact events in manufacturing processes (multistage forging, welding, multiphase heat treatment, and damage in automobile collision). His material model was utilized in a 3D analysis of the impact of the B83 nose cone that appeared on the cover of Discover magazine in 1984. His multiphase model (DANTE) is widely used by the Department of Defense and industry to predict residual stresses in heat treatment processes. For the development of DANTE, he received an R&D 100 award for one of the top 100 inventions of 2000. He has co-authored three articles quantifying damage in the brain during impact.

Bammann has published over 250 refereed journal articles, conference proceedings, and book chapters. He has presented invited lectures at universities in the United States and 25 foreign countries and has organized six international workshops. He retired from SNLCA as a distinguished member of the technical staff. He is a fellow of the Society of Engineering Sciences (SES) and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

His hobbies include underwater photography, and he is a certified scuba instructor for YMCA, and the Handicapped Scuba Association, having logged over 2,000 dives. He is also a retired instructor trainer and course director for NAUI.

Irma Escatel Bantista ’00, M.A. ’02

School of Communication; Department of Languages, Literatures, and Cultures

Irma Escatel Bantista is the daughter of Rodolfo and Luz Elena Escatel and has 14 siblings. In 2002, she obtained a master’s degree at Illinois State in transatlantic cultural studies in Spanish.  Her graduate studies included studying abroad at the Universidad Complutense in Madrid. In 2000, she obtained a bachelor’s degree with dual majors in communication (public relations) and Spanish.

Bantista is an experienced leader with over 21 years at State Farm Insurance. She has led in claims, human resources and development, diversity and inclusion, and public affairs. Bantista has excellent learning agility, relationship-building skills, and a strong track record, which she attributes to her upbringing, the foundational knowledge she gained at Illinois State, and the strong support at State Farm to continue to grow and learn.

Bantista is a director in corporate responsibility at State Farm. She focuses on engagement and works with various communities across the nation on safety, community development, and education. Notably, she and her team recently partnered with Illinois State and U.S. Hunger on the Million Meal Pack, with over 1 million meals shared with food pantries across McLean County and Illinois. A frequent guest on Illinois State’s campus, Bantista often collaborates with various student groups, assists with mentoring and serves as a speaker at different events. She is on the St. Jude volunteer committee and assists with the local walk/run event, and she previously served as a Promise Council board member focusing on supporting local schools and children.

Bantista, her husband Jeremy, and their two children Elena (19) and Isaiah (16), reside in Bloomington.

Aaron Hillebrandt ’07

Department of Mathematics

Aaron Hillebrandt is a December 2007 graduate of Illinois State University’s actuarial science program under Dr. Krzysztof Ostaszewski. Hillebrandt came to Illinois State from the United States Marine Corps, where he enlisted in 2001 at 17 years old and completed two combat tours in Iraq, attaining the rank of sergeant. He worked over six years for COUNTRY Financial, where he completed his actuarial exams in 2010, earning the Fellow of the Casualty Actuarial Society (FCAS) credential.

In 2013, Hillebrandt moved to Pinnacle Actuarial Resources as a consulting actuary, and in 2021, after building his practice, became the firm’s newest shareholder. That same year, he endowed the Aaron Hillebrandt Actuarial Science Scholarship at Illinois State. In 2023, he was named to Captive International’s Forty Under 40 in the captive insurance industry.

Since joining Pinnacle, the firm has doubled in size, and it is now one of the largest independent actuarial firms in the country. Along the way, Aaron married Meghan, his high school sweetheart, and together they have two boys: Jackson (13) and William (8, almost 9). Meghan is a fourth-grade teacher and is heavily involved in Cub Scouts, having earned her wood badge beads, and Scouting Booster of the Year and District Award of Merit honors. Jackson is on the Parkside Junior High baseball and wrestling teams and loves fishing. William plays baseball, practices Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and is a great artist. When Aaron is not working or with the family at one of the kids’ many baseball games, he is probably on the jiu-jitsu mats, where he loves training and coaching youth and adult teammates.

Charles V. Rice ’93, M.S. ’95

Department of Chemistry

Professor Charles V. Rice is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at Illinois Wesleyan University. He recently moved back home to Bloomington-Normal after 23 years at the University of Oklahoma. His distinguished career and impactful research have made significant contributions to the development of novel strategies for addressing the growing challenge of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and chronic wound infections.

Dr. Rice embarked on his academic journey at Illinois State, where he earned both bachelor’s (1993) and master’s (1995) degrees in chemistry. Under the mentorship of Professor Cheryl Stevenson, Rice gained greater focus and direction in the academic and research settings. This growth allowed him to identify his career path—an academic position that provided the opportunity to impact students and help them achieve their goals. To this end, he pursued doctoral studies at Purdue University, completing his Ph.D. in chemistry in 2000. He then conducted postdoctoral research at Washington University in St. Louis from 2000-02.

Rice joined the faculty at Oklahoma as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry in 2002. His dedication to research and teaching led to his promotion to associate professor in 2008. Since 2012, Rice’s primary research interests lie at the intersection of chemistry, microbiology, and immunology, with a strong focus on developing innovative solutions for drug-resistant infections. His laboratory is actively engaged in addressing the critical problem of non-healing wounds and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant pathogens. A key area of his research involves the use of branched polyethyleneimines (BPEI). These compounds are designed to neutralize various virulence factors of bacterial pathogens.

His research has been supported by significant grants from organizations such as the Department of Defense and the National Institutes of Health. Rice has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in prestigious scientific journals, contributing to the understanding and treatment of bacterial infections. These discoveries have led to several U.S. patents.

Finally, Rice developed outreach programs that increase participation in STEM fields, reaching hundreds of college-bound students from high schools across Oklahoma. The one-week residential program for high school juniors and seniors combined lectures with hands-on laboratory exercises. These activities were designed to enhance the preparation of students interested in medicine, pharmacy, science, and public policy. Participants studied the medicinal properties of Echinacea herbal medicine, a mixture of chemical compounds extracted from coneflowers, plants native to Oklahoma and culturally significant to many Indigenous peoples. Through this experience, students engaged in an interdisciplinary exploration, extracting Echinacea from the eastern coneflower plant and studying chemistry, botany, mathematics, medicine, history, sociology, and Native American studies.

Kathleen Savio ’87, M.S. ’89

School of Communication

Kathleen Savio is recognized as a strategic, people-focused leader who makes a lasting, valuable impact.

She currently serves as non-executive director for Brown & Brown, a top international insurance broker. Savio served on the Farmers Group, Inc., board and was recently appointed to the Illinois State University Foundation Board of Directors.

Savio’s nearly 33-year career with Zurich Insurance Group culminated as group chief transformation officer, a specially created role leading global business and organizational simplification and culture change. She was simultaneously group chief people officer.

As CEO and chairperson of Zurich North America, Savio led the $15 billion, 8,500-person business serving customers in the U.S. and Canada to improved results across key financial, customer, and distributor metrics, while significantly increasing employee satisfaction scores.

Savio was president of ZNA’s Alternative Markets, a $6 billion growth-oriented business, where she played a key role in the acquisition and integration of top-three U.S. crop insurer Rural Community Insurance Services. Other leadership roles included chief administrative officer; vice president of corporate marketing and communications; and management positions in strategic initiatives, diversified products, and more.

Savio was a trustee of the Z Zurich Foundation from 2010-23, serving as chair in 2016 and 2017. She served on the executive committee of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, the board of the Association of Professional Insurance Women (which recognized her as APIW Woman of the Year in 2021), and as inaugural chair of the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Midwest (where she was honored as 2020 Trailblazer of the Year and a 2025 IICF International Legacy Leader). Risk & Insurance named her an Insurance Executive to Watch in 2018. In 2017, she received the St. Joseph University Maguire Academy of Insurance and Risk Management Executive of the Year award, and in 2015 she was named a Business Insurance Woman to Watch.

Savio earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees in communication from Illinois State University. She completed the advanced management program at Harvard Business School and the executive management program at Northwestern University.

She and her husband Peter ’86, M.S. ’89, met at Illinois State and will soon celebrate the anniversary of their first date—Dairy Queen Blizzards at the Bone Student Center. They share two amazing children, Kelsey and Michael.

Read more stories from the College of Arts and Sciences at News.IllinoisState.edu/Unit/College-Arts-Sciences and follow the college on Facebook and Instagram.