The 2021 Lisle High School Distinguished Alumni Award,
Mr. John Bartels of the Class of 1985.
John Bartels ’85 has made an invaluable imprint on Lisle since graduating in 1985. In his time at Lisle High School, John was President of the Student Congress and excelled athletically in cross country, wrestling and track & field. John was the recipient of the Brian Piccolo Award in 1985, acknowledging him as the schools top male athlete. In 1989, John graduated from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana with a degree in Chemical Engineering, and has worked as an engineer, manager and technical leader at BP ever since.
In 1990, John created a scholarship for the Lisle High School Outstanding Senior Wrestler to recognize his life changing experience as a member of the Lisle Wrestling Program. The scholarship has developed over the last 30 years and helps deserving Lisle students pay for a post-high school education.
In his work at BP, John is most proud of the inventions, ideas, and projects that he developed over the last several decades to renovate oil refineries and make them dramatically cleaner and more competitive. He imagined, promoted, designed, and engineered a multi-billion-dollar investment to transform the 130 year old BP Whiting Indiana Oil Refinery into one of the most profitable and environmentally advanced in the United States. Also at BP he has led hundreds of engineers and other technical professionals in running the plant as the project was being completed and started up. In his role at BP, John has received two patents as an inventor of innovative chemical engineering technologies and received one of BP’s top awards for innovation twice. He continues to work on leading the next major transformation of the refining industry away from fossil fuels and towards zero carbon emissions. John is even more proud of the success of the people on his teams over the years who have become visionary leaders in their own right. They are now beginning to encourage and mentor another generation in creating the next transformation of the company and industry to the low carbon energy future.
Since 2009, John has served on the Board of Lisle’s most influential alumni organization, The Carlin Nalley Foundation. He has served as its president since 2013. In this role, John has organized and led the foundation to unite all Lisle alumni at big events like the All Years Reunions and provide scholarships to Lisle students across diverse fields of academic, athletic, and service achievements. John lives in Lincoln Park with his wife and two daughters.
Mr. Bartels will serve as the keynote speaker for the class of 2021’s commencement on May 28th.
In 1990, John created a scholarship for the Lisle High School Outstanding Senior Wrestler to recognize his life changing experience as a member of the Lisle Wrestling Program. The scholarship has developed over the last 30 years and helps deserving Lisle students pay for a post-high school education.
In his work at BP, John is most proud of the inventions, ideas, and projects that he developed over the last several decades to renovate oil refineries and make them dramatically cleaner and more competitive. He imagined, promoted, designed, and engineered a multi-billion-dollar investment to transform the 130 year old BP Whiting Indiana Oil Refinery into one of the most profitable and environmentally advanced in the United States. Also at BP he has led hundreds of engineers and other technical professionals in running the plant as the project was being completed and started up. In his role at BP, John has received two patents as an inventor of innovative chemical engineering technologies and received one of BP’s top awards for innovation twice. He continues to work on leading the next major transformation of the refining industry away from fossil fuels and towards zero carbon emissions. John is even more proud of the success of the people on his teams over the years who have become visionary leaders in their own right. They are now beginning to encourage and mentor another generation in creating the next transformation of the company and industry to the low carbon energy future.
Since 2009, John has served on the Board of Lisle’s most influential alumni organization, The Carlin Nalley Foundation. He has served as its president since 2013. In this role, John has organized and led the foundation to unite all Lisle alumni at big events like the All Years Reunions and provide scholarships to Lisle students across diverse fields of academic, athletic, and service achievements. John lives in Lincoln Park with his wife and two daughters.
Mr. Bartels will serve as the keynote speaker for the class of 2021’s commencement on May 28th.
Lisle High School’s 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient, Mr. Hobart L. Epstein of the Class of 1974
Bio After graduating from Lisle:
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Lisle High School Activities
Student Council AFS Thespians Chamber Choir NHS Yearbook Letterman’s Club Football Track & Field 
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Lisle High School’s First Distinguished Alumni Award
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March 4, 2018
Good morning, I wanted to let you know that last week, the Distinguished Alumni committee selected John Barr '61 as its first Distinguished Alumni Award winner. On May 25th, we will have a reception in our library, similar to the Hall of Fame one, for Mr. Barr. We will recognize his accomplishments in the library and present him with a plaque. He will then participate in the commencement ceremony that evening, where he will address the class of 2018. I thought the Nalley Foundation would want to know and be a part of this evening. I will get you more specific times as it gets closer. Jeff Jeffrey Howard Principal Lisle High School
"John Barr is a true leader in the worlds of business and the arts and a friend. The committee could not have made a better choice. We are proud that he is a partner of the Carlin Nalley Foundation," John Bartels, Lisle Class of 1985, CNF Board President.
A Call from Home
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John Barr at the Benefit for Literacy Gala was honored as 2013 Individual Leader in Literacy for his contributions with the Poetry Foundation. — at Oheka Castle.
About John BarrBarr grew up in Lisle, Illinois and earned a BA in English from Harvard University on an ROTC scholarship. After serving in the Navy for five years during the Vietnam War, he returned to Harvard Business School to earn an MBA. Barr's poems have appeared in many magazines and journals, and his books of poetry include The Hundred Fathom Curve (1997)—expanded and updated as The Hundred Fathom Curve: New & Collected Poems (2011)—and the mock-epic Grace: Book One of the Adventures of Ibn Opcit (1999, 2013) and Opcit at Large: Book Two of The Adventures of Ibn Opcit (2013). He lives in New York and Chicago.
John Barr served as the first president of the Poetry Foundation from 2004 to 2013, where he worked with the board to develop the Foundation's strategic plan and to build a permanent home for Poetry magazine, the first in its 100-year history. He has taught in the graduate writing program of Sarah Lawrence College and has served on the boards of the Poetry Society of America, Yaddo, and Bennington College. POEMS BY JOHN BARR Source: Poetry Foundation John Barr Milestones:
Pritzker Military Museum & Library
Published on Apr 13, 2013 Moderated by John Barr, president of the Poetry Foundation, this distinguished panel featured three American veterans who were prisoners of war in different conflicts. They discussed their experiences as POWs and how they endured their time in captivity. |
