Charles B. Arzeni Tropical Biology

Dr. Charles Arzeni Tropical Biology Fund
Charles Arzeni was a Lord Scholar and studied under Dr. Stover as a student. Fifteen years after graduation and after 2 years of teaching in Beirut, he took a job at Northeastern in Chicago. Ruth Carman (Carman Hall) had given Joan a recipe for Ham Loaf that she had lost. Joan called up Ruth to ask for the recipe and informed them they had moved back to the states. Ruth Carman then phoned the botany department at Eastern. Dr. Thut & Dr. Damon drove up to Chicago to ask Charles to come to work at Eastern as an Associate Professor. He joined the staff shortly thereafter, in 1965.
Arzeni supervised more than 40 graduate students during his tenure at Eastern. Arzeni was awarded two Fulbright Scholarships (Colombia & Peru) and served as Resident Director of Tropical Biology for more than 10 summers at the Technology Institute of Superior Studies in Monterrey, Mexico. In May of 1986, Charles received the Faculty Excellence Award. Charles was incredibly close with his students and always encouraged them to pursue further education. He would pop popcorn in his lab every night as he spent his nights there with his students. He made special educational trips over the summer with his students to China, the Galapagos Islands, Machu Picchu, and Jamaica.
The scholarship was established shortly after his passing on October 9, 1997, by his wife, Joan, and children, with the help of Dr. Andrew Methven (EIU Biology Department). The purpose of the fund is to encourage students to get out and see the world, experiencing new cultures. Life is so precious in cultures overseas and you can make such an immediate impact. You will find that the people will have a true appreciation of what you are giving them that can be felt. Since 2005, six students have been selected as recipients and awarded a total of $3,000.