Four Western Illinois University alumni have been selected to receive the 2025 WIU Alumni Achievement Award. The recipients will be honored at the Saturday, Dec. 20 Commencement exercises.
This year’s Alumni Achievement honorees are president of Dentons Davis Brown law firm Lori Torgerson Chesser, president and CEO of Midwest Financial Group Matthew M. Cuplin, CEO and chairperson of QIS Behavioral Health Robert H. Haley and museum consultant and former director of the Wood Library Museum Matthew Toland.
Western's Alumni Achievement Award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions in one or more of the following: exceptional accomplishment in one's chosen field of endeavor; exceptional service in community affairs at the local, state or national levels; or exceptional service in support of the advancement and continued excellence of WIU.
Lori Torgerson Chesser Chesser, a 1984 Finance graduate, is a prominent immigration attorney and advocate in Des Moines, IA. After earning her juris doctorate from the University of Georgia School of Law, she initially practiced corporate law before identifying the growing need for immigration services in Iowa. Chesser started at Dentons Davis Brown as a summer associate in 1988 and became president in January 2025.
Throughout the last 30 years, Chesser has developed and led a nationally recognized immigration law practice, representing a variety of clients, from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies across multiple industries including health care, insurance, IT, agribusiness and higher education.
