George Steckley,
professor of history, has been
named the Robert M. and Katherine Arnold Seeley Distinguished Professor
of History. The chair represents one of the College's highest
honors for
faculty.
A member of the Knox College faculty since 1973, Steckley has twice won the Philip Green Wright Prize for excellence in teaching. In 2007, he was awarded the Caterpillar Faculty Achievement Award for outstanding teaching, scholarship, and service. Steckley is an internationally recognized scholar in legal history, whose work has been cited before the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Seeley Professorship, created in 1998 by a bequest from the late Robert Arnold Seeley '51, is named in memory of his parents, Robert M. and Katherine A. Seeley. His mother was a member of the Knox Class of 1922 and a descendant of Sylvanus Ferris, one of the founders of Knox College and the city of Galesburg. The first holder of the Seeley faculty chair was theatre professor Robert Whitlatch, who retired in 2008. Learn more about George Steckley and the Seeley Chair.
Billy Geer to Receive Honorary Degree
Billy Geer, who taught biology at Knox from 1960 to 2000, will receive
an honorary degree at Commencement exercises on June 6, 2009. Geer was
chair of the biology department from 1971-77; was named the Clara A.
Abbot Professor of Biology in 1975; and was honored as the 1990
Illinois Professor of the Year. "Billy Geer wasn't just a
long-serving faculty member. He changed the institution by taking the
concept of student research and building it into the way that students
learn," said Lawrence B. Breitborde, vice president for academic
affairs and dean of the college. "He is an important person to the
history of Knox College in the late 20th century."
D.
Wayne Green, professor emeritus of physics at Knox and
trustee of Carl Sandburg College, received the 2008 Thomas B.
Herring Community Service Award. The annual award from the Galesburg
Area Chamber of Commerce is given to "an outstanding area citizen who
has distinguished himself or herself through service to the community."
Green, who taught physics at Knox from 1954 to 1989, has been a trustee of Carl Sandburg College since 1985. He also serves on the board of the Carl Sandburg College Foundation and has held leadership posts on the governing boards of United Way of Knox County and First Presbyterian Church of Galesburg. Read more about Professor Green's service award.
Knox Among Top Schools in Number of Students Receiving Fulbright |
| Lindsey Turnbull '06 conducted genetic research on malaria in the African nation of Malawi for her Fulbright Fellowship. |
Knox is among the top schools in the United States in the number of students who receive Fulbright Fellowships, one of the nation's most prestigious awards for international post-graduate study.
The data were gathered by the Institute of International Education, which administers the Fulbright Fellowship program, and reported recently in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
In 2008 -- the year covered by the data -- three of Knox's graduating seniors received Fulbright Fellowships, placing Knox in the top 50 among all liberal arts colleges.
In the most recent decade, 15 Knox students have been awarded Fulbright Fellowships. Read more about Fulbright Fellowships.
Looking for Plays from the '90sThe Department of Theatre and Dance is compiling an archive of plays produced in studio and Harbach and needs some help remembering what was performed during 1995-2000. If you were in or worked on a production during that time, please send us word of any shows you were involved in and the year it was performed. Thanks!
News for Parents
Knox has implemented the Connect-ED® notification system to allow the College to reach all students with time-sensitive information during unforeseen events or emergencies using voice, e-mail, and text messaging. Please encourage your son or daughter to register online for this service. All contact information will be kept private and confidential.
The Center for Career and Pre-Professional Development will be providing a number of events for students in the coming term. Read more about upcoming opportunities.
Campus News
 |
| President Roger Taylor '63 leads students in the Knox Fight Song. Photo courtesy of The Courier News. |
Second Grader Declares "I'm so going to Knox"
To
encourage students to start thinking about college at a younger age,
the second-grade class at Hanover Countryside Elementary in Streamwood,
Illinois, adopted Knox College. Last week, Knox President Roger Taylor '63 and
Knox Fund Associate Director Brian
Gawor '98.
Taylor shared stories of how he met his wife, Anne Zweifel Taylor
'63,
at Knox and told them about the fifth Lincoln-Douglas Debate and
President-Elect Barack Obama's Commencement speech at Knox. He
even taught them the Knox Fight Song. One student was particularly
taken with President Taylor's visit: "That guy (Taylor) is
awesome. I'm so going to Knox," the seven-year-old said. Read more
about the class visit in The Courier News.
Students
Give Knox High Marks for Classes, Campus Experiences
Knox College scored above national norms on all five of the key areas
considered benchmarks for a successful educational experience,
according to findings from the 2008 National Survey of Student
Engagement (NSSE). Knox also scored higher than liberal
arts colleges in its peer group of national liberal arts colleges. "Knox students have always built their
educations around a wide range
of activities both in and beyond the classroom," explains Lawrence B.
Breitborde, vice president for academic affairs and dean
of the college. Read more about Knox's results in the NSSE.
Luther
College Joins ACM
Luther College has joined The Associated Colleges of the
Midwest (ACM), a consortium of
academically excellent, independent liberal arts colleges, of which Knox
is a member. The ACM is a leader in providing off-campus study programs
around the world for undergraduates, with programs in Botswana, Costa
Rica, India,
Italy, Tanzania, the U.K., and the U.S., and is establishing a program
in Brazil. The consortium also has a long tradition of collaboration
among its member institutions in areas such as faculty development,
information sharing, and innovation in teaching and learning. Other members of the ACM include
Beloit College, Carleton College, Coe College, Colorado College,
Cornell College, Grinnell College, Lake Forest College,
Lawrence University, Macalester College, Monmouth College, Ripon
College, and St. Olaf College.
More
campus news and features.
Student News
Sara
Koehnke '12 Represents Illinois at the Paralympics Held in Beijing ChinaLess than two weeks after the Olympic flame was extinguished at the Bird's Nest, Beijing was back in games-mode for the gathering of disabled athletes at the 13th Paralympics. First-year student Sara Koehnke, who was born with one hand, interrupted her inaugural year at Knox to represent the state of Illinois. Read more about Koehnke's experience.
Student has Article Published in Psychology Journal
Rebecca King, a senior majoring in psychology and creative writing, has published an article in the most recent issue of the Journal of Psychological Inquiry, a journal devoted to undergraduate research in psychology. The title of Rebecca's article is "Evolutionary Fairy Tales: Human Mating in the Grimm Fairy Tales," and it grew out of a paper that she wrote for Frank McAndrew's class on Evolution and Human Behavior.
"Show Stopper" Smith a Hit with Mixed Martial Arts
Marissa "Show Stopper" Smith '09 discovered mixed martial arts while in high school and is one of the only females competing in the sport in Galesburg. Mixed martial arts fighting is a combination of boxing, jiu-jitsu, judo, karate, kickboxing, wrestling and other fighting forms. "[Marissa] is a college student who works hard on her studies mentally and comes into class and works hard physically," says Smith's teacher, Beau Admire. "Marissa is a prime example of a strong, motivated woman." Read more about Smith in The Register-Mail.
Alpha Phi Omega Raises Money to Help Local Man
Alpha Phi Omega (APO), a co-ed service fraternity, raised $1,000 and located a ramp the group wants to attach to the home of a Galesburg man who is battling diabetes. Read more in The Register-Mail.
More coverage of Knox students is available on the Knox news page.
Alumni News
Vitalist Theatre Production Chosen Critics Pick by Time Out Chicago
Vitalist Theatre's world premiere of Anung's First American Christmas, directed by Elizabeth Carlin-Metz, associate professor of theater; adapted for the stage by Robin Metz, director of Knox's Program in Creative Writing; and based on the novella by Carl Nordgren '73, is a Critic's Pick by Time Out Chicago and one of Chris Jones' Top 10 best bets for the 2008 holiday season. The Web site, www.thestagechannel.com prasies the play for creating "a unique holiday vision of human frailty and
courage, joy and enchantment, generosity, celebration and
sacredness." And www.steadystylechicago.com says the "special effects and costuming are wonderful ... to a kid it's like
having a Disney story come to life." If you live in the Chicago area and would like to see Anung's First American Christmas, join fellow Knox alumni and friends for an afternoon at the theatre on Sunday, December 28. Join Carl Nordgren for a pre-production talk at 2:00 p.m., enjoy the show at 2:30 p.m., and then head to Cooper's for a post-production reception at 5:00 p.m. Register today!
NCAA Sportsmanship Award to Schneider
The NCAA has named Katie Schneider '08 winner of a 2008 NCAA Division III Conference Sportsmanship Award. Currently working at Knox as co-director of sports information, Schneider participated in both varsity softball and track while at Knox. "Katie Schneider has been a true leader at Knox College," said Chad Eisele '93, Knox's director of athletics, who nominated Schneider for the award. As a Knox student, Schneider served as president of Knox's Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) and as a member of the NCAA Division III SAAC. Schneider also has helped organize community service events, including participation by varsity athletes in the Reading Buddies program and the Big Brother-Big Sister organization. Read more about Katie Schneider.
Kiolbasa Work Selected for Best New Poets of 2008
Mary Kiolbasa '06 has been selected one of the "Best New Poets of 2008." Kiolbasa's poem is one of just 50 chosen from 1,300 entries by noted poet Mark Strand for the anthology, Best New Poets of 2008. Kiolbasa was also recently awarded a prestigious Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, which will support her graduate studies. Javits Fellowships are awarded by the United States Department of Education to outstanding graduate students in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. Kiolbasa is currently in her second year in the Master of Fine Arts in Writing program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. "Knox laid the groundwork for the material I'm now exploring in graduate school," Kiolbasa says. Read more about Kiolbasa.
Ryan Receives Emmy
This past August, Mike Ryan
'86 won an Emmy Award for Interactive Television
for his work as lead producer of the Disney Channel Games Web site and
interactive experience for Disney Channel. This is only the
second year this award has been given at the Emmys. Last year
it went to Al Gore for his work as a founder of CurrentTV. The award
recognizes the achievement of those working on television as
an emerging interactive medium on the internet and through digital
media. Ryan was a theatre and creative writing double-major at Knox. He
is
currently the lead producer for DisneyChannel.com.
Jamie Mitchell '04 has joined the Galesburg law firm of Robertson, Wilcox & Statham P.C. At Knox, Mitchell majored in literature and political science and spent a semester in Washington, D.C., where she completed an internship at the U.S. Supreme Court. After graduation, Mitchell worked as a research assistant for the Legislative Research Unit, a bipartisan agency of the Illinois General Assembly. She received her juris doctor from the St. Louis University School of Law.
Kymberly Harris '90 recently directed an adult ensemble showcase at TheatresCool, a method acting training school she founded in Bloomington, Illinois. Harris holds an MA from Illinois State University and a double MFA in acting and playwriting from The Actors Studio Drama School.
Read and post Class Notes in the Knox Online Community.
Faculty & Staff News
Be Happpier this Holiday Season
Tim Kasser, psychology, author of The High Price of Materialism, has found that people who opt for simplicity during the holidays tend to be happier and more satisfied with their lives. His research shows that those who focus more on family and religious experiences than on spending money and receiving gifts report being happier and less stressed than those who don't. Read more in U.S. News & World Report Alpha Consumer.
Kasser discussed voluntary simplicity and shared some ideas about how to have a life that is more "inwardly rich" in the fall 2008 issue of Knox Magazine.
Three Knox Faculty Named Full Professors
Three members of the Knox faculty were recently promoted from associate professors to the rank of professor. "All three have distinguished records of teaching, scholarship, and institutional service," said Knox president Roger Taylor '63.
- Stuart Allison, biology, has been at Knox since 1997. His teaching interests include populations, organisms, genetics and molecular biology, plants, principles of ecology, field botany, conservation biology, ethnobotany, field biology, and First Year Preceptorial. He is also director of the Green Oaks Biological Field Station.
- Tim Kasser, psychology, came to Knox in 1995. His teaching interests include personality, dreaming, clinical and abnormal psychology, and alternatives to consumerism.
- Rob Smith, English, has been at Knox since 1996. His teaching interests include American literature, literary theory, the American Renaissance, and film.
Wilson Gives Series of Talks
Douglas Wilson, Lincoln Studies Center, spoke at the Boston Athenaeum on October 14 on "Lincoln the Reader"; he appeared November 5 in a lecture series on Lincoln and Leadership at the University of Richmond, speaking on "Abraham Lincoln and the Shaping of Public Opinion"; he also spoke at Loyola University of Chicago on November 8 in a symposium on Lincoln's Character.
Day-O'Connell Wins Award for Course Design
Sarah Day-O'Connell, assistant professor of music, has been named a winner in the Innovative Course Design Competition sponsored by the American Society for Eighteenth Century Studies. She will present her innovative course in March at the national meeting in Richmond, Virginia.
Hulett Articles Published
L. Sue Hulett, professor of political science and international relations, published two opinion/editorials for the Peoria Journal Star: "With two debates left, much left to learn about candidates" and "Strong foreign policy challenges await new president." She has a forthcoming piece on "The Evangelical Voter." Hulett also provided an interview and backgrounder for La Opinion, the largest U.S. Spanish language paper, on Sarah Palin and for the The Register-Mail, both in October 2008.
Contact Us
Submissions to The Gizmogram should be made to the editors at gizmogram@knox.edu. Submissions may be edited for space.
Editors
Megan Scott '96 & Cheri Siebken
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