Leadership lived: Student organizes zoo cleanup effort

Nate Hoyle, a junior environmental studies major at the University of Illinois Springfield, loves nature and working outdoors. It’s that passion that led him to organize a volunteer cleanup day at Henson Robinson Zoo in Springfield.

Hoyle, who is president of the UIS Biology Club, coordinated with several other student groups on campus to organize the event, which attracted over 40 volunteers. The crew spent the day removing invasive plant species, such as honeysuckle.

“Invasive species are a really big problem and they’re a real expensive problem to take care of,” said Hoyle. “The expense part is what we’re providing today with the volunteers. We’ll be able to get a lot of work done today and hopefully make the zoo look as good as it can.”

At age 32, Hoyle is a non-traditional transfer student who commutes to campus. He decided UIS was the perfect school for him to earn a bachelor’s degree, while raising a family.

“I came back to school in January 2010 after the economy took its toll on my landscaping business and I was forced to sell,” he said. “I learned a lot from not being able to continue the business anymore and I’ve learned even more coming back to school.”

Hoyle says managing the volunteer project has taught him valuable leadership skills, especially when it comes to coordination.

“Managing the project, working with the people from the zoo, getting the park district involved, getting their tree crew out here being paid overtime to do this and getting the 40 people out here to do this has been an amazing learning experience,” said Hoyle.

He now wants to take on more projects and make a career out of what he’s learned at UIS.

“I would really enjoy this kind of work. I really enjoy the responsibility,” said Hoyle.

UIS professor's book a finalist for national award

University of Illinois Springfield Accountancy Professor Donald Morris’ book Tax Cheating: Illegal--But Is It Immoral? has been named a finalist for the 2012 ForeWord Reviews Book of the Year award in the political science category.

The finalists were selected from 1,300 entries covering 62 categories of books from independent and academic presses. These books represent some of the best books produced by small publishing houses in 2012.

Morris’ book examines the ethical issues surrounding tax cheating and implications for public policy. From unreported gambling winnings and inflated claims of the value of clothing donated to charity to money hidden in Swiss bank accounts and high-profile tax schemes plotted by celebrities and business leaders, the range of tax cheating opportunities is wide and the boundaries and moral status can be hazy.

Considering the behavior of individuals and small businesses as well as the involvement of congress and the IRS, Morris combines insights from law, psychology, sociology, criminology, accounting, economics, and philosophy to examine the ethical issues surrounding tax cheating and implications for tax policy.

Over the next two months, a panel of sixty judges, librarians and booksellers only, will determine the winners. Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards, as well as Editor’s Choice Prizes for Fiction and Nonfiction, will be announced at the American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference in Chicago on Friday, June 28, 2013. Winners will also be announced on the ForeWord Reviews website www.forewordreviews.com.

Morris’ book was published in June 2012 by the State University of New York Press. It is available in hardcover, paperback, and can be downloaded as an eBook. For more information, visit www.sunypress.edu/p-5503-tax-cheating.aspx or contact Morris by email at dmorr2@uis.edu.