MACOMB, IL – A Newton native will receive an Western Illinois University Alumni Achievement Award at the Saturday, Dec. 17 Commencement exercises.
Matthew J. Bierman, vice president for business affairs at Eastern Illinois University and former vice president for administrative services at WIU will be recognized, along with two other graduates, at the 10 a.m. ceremony.
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.
Bierman, a 2003 MBA finance and supply chain management and 1997 computer science graduate, was named vice president for business affairs at Eastern Illinois University in July 2022. Previously, he was the Chief Financial Officer at Illinois Wesleyan University, from 2018-2022. Bierman started his career at Western in 1999, serving as the Bayliss-Henninger complex director, and then moved to the director of residential facilities for University Housing and Dining Services in 2006, serving in that role for six years. He was named interim budget director in 2011, before being named to the permanent position in 2012. He was appointed interim vice president for administrative services in January 2016 and permanent VP in May 2017.
During his time at WIU, in addition to leading residential facilities, the budget office and administrative services, he served as the St. Louis Rams Summer Training Camp coordinator at WIU, as an instructor for the College Student Personnel program and as past president of GLACUHO (Great Lakes Association of College and University Housing Officers). Bierman was named the 2015 Executive in Residence for the WIU College of Business and Technology (CBT). He also was a member of the Macomb Community Unit School District No. 185 Board and the Macomb Chamber of Commerce Legislative Committee.
While an undergraduate at WIU, Bierman was a resident assistant and was a member of the Student Government Association, Inter-Hall Council, the National Residence Hall Honorary and the National Association of College and University Residence Halls. He also served as treasurer of the Management Information Systems Association, as a cooperative student at NTN Bower and as a member of the Student Leadership and Development Board, the Student Orientation Team and Student Orientation Staff.
