Knox
College honored three of its alumni -- diplomat Charles Kartman '70,
business school dean P.
Christopher Earley '80, and computer engineer Carol Bovard Craig
'89 -- with 2009 Alumni Achievement Awards. Bree Elrod Novak '00
received the Young Alumni Achievement Award. The awards were presented
during the College's Founders Day Convocation, marking the
172nd anniversary of Knox's founding.
Kartman is a retired foreign service officer whose career has included multi-national negotiations over North Korea's nuclear program. Earley is dean of the University of Connecticut School of Business and an expert in group dynamics. Craig is founder and CEO of a national engineering and technology services company. Novak is an award-winning actor. Read more about the Alumni Achievement Award Recipients.
Lincoln Academy Honors Davis and Wilson
Rodney O. Davis and Douglas L. Wilson,
co-directors of the Lincoln Studies Center were awarded The Order of
Lincoln, the highest honor conferred by the State of Illinois, on
Saturday, February 7. The award was presented by The Lincoln Academy of
Illinois in a special ceremony at the Old State Capitol in Springfield.
Award recipients were 30 leading authors, artists, historians, and
scholars from around the world. The recipients were honored "for the
lasting and significant ways they have preserved the memory of Abraham
Lincoln and have contributed to Lincoln's defining influence on the
American spirit."
Read more about the work done by Davis and Wilson and the Lincoln
Studies Center.
A Note from the Editors
If you are a Facebook member, we invite you to become a fan of our new Facebook pages for Knox College and Prairie Fire Athletics. On the Knox page, you'll
read the latest
news around campus, watch videos, and upload photos. On the
Prairie Fire
Athletics page, you
can read the latest news about all Knox sports and see photos from
recent competitions.And don't forget, Knox also has a YouTube page, where you can watch Commencement speeches by Barack Obama, Stephen Colbert, Bill Clinton, and Madeleine Albright. There's also a video from last year's Flunk Day, last month's International Fair, and other campus events.
Flunk Day T-shirts Available
Celebrate the most popular of all Knox traditions with your 2009 Flunk Day t-shirt! T-shirts are $10.00 per shirt (limit 2 per person). The price includes shipping and handling. Knox College Alumni Relations will mail your t-shirt in advance of Flunk Day. Or as close to Flunk Day as possible. You never know when it might be!
You can order your shirt online or you can call Alumni Relations at 309-341-7238. Questions, please e-mail Alumni Relations. We only have a limited quantity, so order yours today!
Alumni News
Alumni Share Knox Love Stories
In last month's Gizmogram,
we asked you to share your Knox love story. We heard from alumni whose
love blossomed in a dorm stairwell, during Flunk Day, and in the Gizmo.
We heard from an alumnus who wasn't so lucky at love, and someone who
didn't go to Knox, but met her mate thanks to the
Knox Besançon program and the friends she
made while there. And yes, we even heard from someone who will marry
his high school sweetheart -- a Monmouth grad -- this summer.
Read more alumni love stories.
The (not-so) Secret Life of Roger Taylor
The students at Knox College think they know
Knox President Roger
Taylor '63. He eats meals with them and is around to chat
and tell stories. In a recent issue of The Knox Student, Jennifer Lloyd '12
talked to President Taylor about what he does when not on campus. Lloyd
writes that, "Based on student hearsay, it seems everyone expects
Taylor to be doing something wacky when he is not at Knox. The truth
may not be so crazy, but it does involve a tractor, jogging, and
singing." Read more about Roger Taylor in The Knox Student.
Alumni
Notes
Bob Willett '50
recently published his fourth book, An Airline at War: The Story of
Pan Am's China National Aviation Corporation, which sheds
light on the adventures and exploits of pilots who flew the skies above
China during WWII. Read more.
Knox connections took center stage during the January 29, 2009, episode of The Colbert Report. Stephen Colbert interviewed John Podesta '71 about his work as head of President Obama's transition team. Colbert even credited Podesta for his honorary doctorate in fine arts from Knox in 2006, when he delivered the Commencement address. Watch the interview on Comedy Central.
William Colby '77 recently presented "Taking Control of Your Own Death" on the Knox campus. Colby is the senior fellow, law and patient rights, with the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, and is the lawyer who represented the family of Nancy Cruzan in their family's right-to-die case, the first such case to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court. Read more about the presentation in The Knox Student.
Amy Yeazel Grahn '80 was named vice president, clinical operations, of Horizon Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held biopharmaceutical company. Grahn has more than 20 years pharmaceutical industry experience spanning pre-clinical research to sales.Kendell Watkins'82 was recognized for 35 years of service to The Davis Brown Law Firm, where he practices primarily in the area of long-term health care law. He is also an adjunct instructor at the Des Moines Area Community College in nursing facility administration, vice-president of the Des Moines Metro Arts Alliance Board of Directors, and board member of Soccer West in West Des Moines, Iowa. Read more.
Brad Faubel '82, senior credit officer, was named manager of the senior credit officer team at Citizens Republic Bancorp in Southeast Michigan.
Lori Meyer Nugent '84 joined Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker as a partner in the Chicago office, where she will focus on the areas of cyber risk insurance coverage and matters involving punitive damages and bad faith. She has been involved in drafting some of the first policies covering these risks and is a frequent lecturer on the subject.
The Chicago Wolves professional hockey team has named Mike Gordon '91 as the team's vice president of partnerships. Gordon most recently served as the vice president of sales for the Arena Football League's Chicago Rush. He also spent seven years in the athletic department at DePaul University and has been a consultant for the Chicago Blackhawks, the 1994 World Cup, and minor league baseball teams.
Lindsay Herd '04, case manager for The Guardianship Project in New York City, was recently featured in a video about the program. Herd received her master's degree in social work from Columbia University. Watch the YouTube Video.
Morgan Cohen-Ross '06 and Meghan Reardon '08 recently performed in The Moving Dock Theatre Company performance of Frugal Love in Chicago.
Sarah Dooley '07 was selected for appointment in the U.S. Navy's Health Professions Scholarship Program. She will be commissioned in the U.S. Navy, and upon graduation, will serve on active duty as a Navy physician. Read more.
An election-night photo taken in Grant Park, Chicago, by FOX News of Emily Berkson '12, Krista Ann Nordgren '12, and Justin Wiggins '12 has been featured since the election on MSNBC. See the photo.
Stephanie Roosa Siuda '01 recently directed a production of Rashomon in Rochester, New York.
Campus News
|
|
| Brad Middleton '08 at President Obama's inauguration on January 20. |
44th
President joins Lincoln Among Honorary Knox Alumni
on January 20, Barack Obama took the oath of office, stepping into
history as the nation's first black President and the third U.S.
President to hold an honorary degree from Knox College. The
event was witnessed by well over one million attendees -- including
Knox alumni. View photos and read about the experiences
of alumni at the inauguration.
Watch student responses to the inauguration on YouTube.
Knox
Ranked as Best Value in Kiplinger's
Knox College's ability to provide a high caliber college education at
an affordable price has been recognized by Kiplinger's Personal Finance,
which has ranked Knox among the top 50 Best Values in private liberal
arts colleges in America. Data compiled by Kiplinger's show
that more than 80% of Knox students receive financial aid, including
both need-based aid assistance and merit scholarships. Read more about the Kiplinger's ranking.
International
Fair 2009
Knox students from around the world showcased arts, entertainment, and
cuisine for the campus and hundreds of visitors to the 28th Annual
International Fair. Events included an international buffet lunch, with
food from around the world prepared by students; cultural
booths; a parade of flags; and a student talent show. This
year's guest entertainment was Funkadesi, whose music combines Asian,
African, Latin, and contemporary funk. View photos from the event.
Watch a video from the 2009 Knox International Fair on YouTube.
More campus news and
features.
Student News
Burke named NCAA Division III Statistical Champion for Pass Sacks
The post-season awards keep coming for Tighe Burke '08: a week after being named to the third team of the AP Little All America team, Burke was officially named the Division III statistical champion for Pass Sacks for the 2008 season. Read more about Tighe's football career achievements.
Students Part of Sustainability Discussion with Senator Via Webcam
Knox students and members of the community recently participated in the National Teach-in on Global Warming, joining with 750 college campuses across the country to discuss climate change via Webcam with members of Congress. The Knox group spoke with Congressman Phil Hare, D-IL. Read more in The Register-Mail.
Student Photography Contest
WinnersFour Knox College students have won five awards in a regional collegiate photography competition -- more awards than any other college in the Associated Colleges of the Midwest 50th Anniversary Photo Contest. Students and the countries where the photos were taken include: Jen Milius '09, New Zealand; Po Ling Pauline Chan '09, Costa Rica; Heather Kopec '10, Buenos Aires, Argentina; and Ellen Kokontis '09, Florence, Italy. See their award-winning photos.
Knox Students Teach in China
Knox College students proved to be effective teachers during a recent visit to a Chinese university. On completion of a term-length course, "Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages" last fall, the Knox students traveled to Anhui, China, in December. Under an agreement between Knox and Anhui University, the Knox students taught English to undergraduates at the university. Read more about their experience.
Students
Build Lincoln Shrine
The 200th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birthday on February 12 is
more than a passing fancy for a group of Knox College students, who
have created a "Lincoln Shrine" in their residence hall this year. On
one of their living room walls, the nine seniors in the Peterson House
have assembled Lincoln items, from the profound to the lighthearted. A
sign on the wall proclaims "The P-House Lincoln Shrine" -- the word
"Lincoln" appropriately spelled out with 64 pennies. Read more.
Gale
Scholars Program Motivates Student
Stephanie
Frambes '09 realizes she may have never visited the Great
Wall of China if it weren't for her participation in the Gale Scholars
program. Established in 1996, the program is a collaborative agreement
among Galesburg District 205, Carl Sandburg College, and Knox to help
first-generation college attendees and low-income students achieve a
college degree they otherwise may not be able to afford. Read more in The Register-Mail.
Student Notes
Daniel Hoffman '09, a political science and economics major, had his story "Hard Questions for the New President" published in the Middle East Times. Read the article.
Knox
students Ruby Goh
'11, Amy Miller
'12, Akina Nagata
'10, and Tomomi Sunayama
'09, and Professor Chuck Schulz '72 attended the
second annual Midwest Conference for Undergraduate Women in Physics at
the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
More student news and
features.
Faculty & Staff News
Heimann
Court Dedicated Alumni had much to celebrate during 2009 Basketball Homecoming, held February 5-6 on the Knox campus. The Knox men's basketball team defeated Beloit on Friday; the women's team won on Saturday; and the 2008 Conference Championship men's golf and baseball teams were honored. The highlight of the weekend was the dedication of Heimann Court, named for Coach Tim Heimann '70, who retired at the conclusion of the 2007-08 season. Read more about the dedication in The Register-Mail.
Fineberg Awarded Research Grant
Stephen Fineberg, Szold Distinguished Service Professor of Classics, was awarded a grant to study valuable Greek art at the University of Chicago's Regenstein Library. The grant is the first awarded under a new faculty development program established by the University of Chicago and the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM). Fineberg will conduct research on ancient Greek vases at the University of Chicago's Regenstein Library. Read more about Fineberg.
Faculty & Staff Notes
Carol Chase, professor emerita of modern languages, recently authored "La mort de la soeur de Perceval" ("The Death of Perceval's Sister") in Mourir pour des idées, published by the University Press of Franche-Comté. She also recently presented a paper at the Congress of the International Arthurian Society in Rennes and at a colloquium in Besançon.
Sarah Day-O'Connell, assistant professor of music, recently presented her research at the American Musicological Society in Nashville, the Institute of Musical Research at the University of London School of Advanced Study, and at the conference Zyklus und Prozess: Haydn und die Zeit at the Institut für Analyse, Theorie und Geschichte der Musik, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. Her review of Joseph Haydn, Schottische Lieder für William Whyte in Joseph Haydn Werke appears in the current issue of Eighteenth-Century Music.
Kevin Hastings '76, professor of mathematics, spoke as a member of a panel at the annual meeting of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. The group reported on the results of a Teagle Foundation-supported collaborative project among Knox, Monmouth, Beloit, and Ripon Colleges to study how student work in their major areas supports more general goals of liberal education.
Tim Kasser, professor of psychology, co-authored the article "Time Affluence as a Path Towards Personal Happiness and Ethical Business Practices: Empirical Evidence from Four Studies," which was published in the Journal of Business Ethics.
Robin Metz, chair of Knox's Program in Creative Writing; Elizabeth Carlin-Metz, professor of theatre; Craig Choma '93, associate professor of theatre; and Kelly Lynn Hogan '92, visiting instructor of theatre, presented at the International Conference on the Arts and Humanities in Honolulu, Hawaii. The joint presentation discussed their collaborative work on the Vitalist Theatre productions of Anung's First American Christmas and Mother Courage and Her Children, among others.
Frank McAndrew, Cornelia
H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, was interviewed by the
Lewiston, Maine, Sun
Journal about his Scientific
American Mind cover-story, "The Science of Gossip: Why We
Can't Stop Ourselves." Read the Sun Journal story.
Chuck Schulz '72,
professor of physics, and collaborators recently had an article
published in in the Journal
of the American Chemical Society. Shulz also discussed the
properties of molecules during the presention "The Magic of Mossbauer"
on the Knox campus. Read
more about his lecture in
The Knox Student.
Douglas
L. Wilson, co-chair of the Lincoln Studies Center, is a
contributor to the In
Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts, edited by Harold
Holzer and Joshua Wolf Shenk. Wilson was also recently featured in the
CNSNews.com article "What Would Lincoln Think About the Economic
Stimulus?" Read the article.
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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