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Award Date
2019
Major
French & German
Award Description
Jean (Sullivan) Baird retired as vice president of operations from State Farm after 36 years with the company. A French major and student-athlete, Jean was also a talented student leader and a member of Sigma Kappa Sorority. Baird earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and also held Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designations. She has served Illinois Wesleyan in many alumni volunteer roles, including chair of her 20th class reunion; member, vice president and president of the IWU Alumni Association Board of Directors; and secretary of the IWU Board of Trustees. Baird served as co-chair of the Transforming Lives Campaign which raised $141 million for the University. She also served as chair of the Presidential Search Committee in 2015.