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Dr. Dennis Cremin earns Book of the Year Award

Dennis Cremin, Professor of History at Lewis
University in Romeoville, accepts the Illinois
State Historical Society's "Russell P.
Strange Book of the Year" award from ISHS
President and Vice President Russell Lewis
and Elaine Egdorf.
Photo by William Furry.

Dr. Dennis H. Cremin, º£½ÇÉçÇø professor of and director of the º£½ÇÉçÇø History Center, recently received the Russell P. Strange Book of the Year Award from the Illinois State Historical Society for his book titled “Grant Park: The Evolution of Chicago’s Front Yard.” Dr. Robert McColley, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, presented the award on behalf of the ISHS. The event was held April 26 at the Executive Mansion in Springfield, Ill.

His book shares how the evolution of Grant Park was a gradual process, at first fraught with a lack of funding and organization, and later challenged by erosion, the railroads, automobiles, and a continued battle between original intent and conceptions of progress. Throughout the book, Cremin shows that the parkland continues to serve "as a display case for the city and a calling card to visitors."

The Illinois State Historical Society is independent of the State of Illinois and the Historical Library, but continues to actively promote the study of Illinois history. The society is a not-for-profit organization that encourages everyone from university scholars to local historians to take an active part in Illinois history.

Cremin will be discussing his book at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 10 at the College of Dupage Library in Glen Ellyn.

º£½ÇÉçÇø is a Catholic university in the Lasallian tradition offering distinctive undergraduate and graduate programs to more than 6,600 traditional and adult students. Lewis offers multiple campus locations, online degree programs, and a variety of formats that provide accessibility and convenience to a growing student population. Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis prepares intellectually engaged, ethically grounded, globally connected, and socially responsible graduates. The seventh largest private not-for-profit university in Illinois, Lewis has been nationally recognized by The Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. Visit for further information.