Knox’s First Beaming Bioneers Draws a Crowd
Knox students brought a national event to a
local level when the school hosted its first Beaming Bioneers event
earlier this month. The event provided a way to connect Knox's activism
to the greater Galesburg area. More than 150 people gathered on the
Knox campus to discuss environmental issues and solutions. Workshop
topics included the food movement, wind and solar energy, and
environmental activism. Read more about the event.
|
Young Alumni Stand out at Chicago Law Firm
 Knox
College has developed a strong relationship with one of the largest
law firms in the world, Kirkland and Ellis, where many young alumni
have found positions in recent years. "Knox students are different.
They're not only smart, but they work hard and they're confident, so
they're not afraid to ask questions," says Matta Setty, project
assistant manager at the Chicago law firm. Read more about the relationship between Knox and Chicago’s largest law firm and read a profile about Lauren Assaf '10, who worked on a capital murder case as a student before heading to Chicago and a position with Kirkland and Ellis.
|
|
From the Editors
|
Students Lend Talents in Celebration of 175th Anniversary
 Knox
students have developed a song and a theme to celebrate the College’s
175th anniversary. Casual labor and a dead poet inspired Sam Brownson '12
to write "On the Steps of Old Main" in honor of the College's 175th
anniversary. The song garnered a standing ovation at Homecoming
Convocation on October 15. Read more about Brownson and listen to the song.
Building on what they learned in a class
on strategic brand management, three students came up with 'Inspire,
Empower, Transform' as the 175th anniversary theme. Read more about how they developed the theme.
The 175th anniversary Web site is being updated regularly. See what’s new on the site.
|
|
 Shop the Prairie Fire Online Store
Want to give some purple and gold pride this holiday season? Shop at the official online store for Knox Athletics.
You'll find everything from cold weather gear like hoodies and fleece,
to hats, t-shirts and kids items. Can't decide what to get that special
someone? Gift certificates are also available. Shop today!
|
|
Know a Good Student?
If you know
someone whom you think might flourish at Knox, please tell us. You'll be
helping Knox pursue its mission of providing
the kind of education that prepares students to thrive in every aspect
of their lives. Recommend a prospective student for “V.I.P.” treatment.
|
|
| Campus News |
‘Lunch Spot’ Feeding Program Wins State Recognition
 A
community-wide initiative -- which included Knox College students,
faculty, and staff -- received the Award of Excellence from the
Illinois State Board of Education. The Lunch Spot program brought
together numerous sponsors and volunteers from the Galesburg community
to supply lunches for children during Galesburg School District 205's
extended winter break last school year. Read more about the recognition and program.
|
Knox Among top 10 ‘Hidden Gems,’ Cited for Commitment to the Public Good
 The Huffington Post and Unigo.com
point to Knox's thriving academics and intimate class sizes as among
the reasons for including it in the newest list of 10 colleges that are
'hidden gems.' Read more about the ranking. Meanwhile, The Washington Monthly College Guide for 2011 ranks Knox College ninth among national liberal arts colleges for the number of alumni who go into the Peace Corps. Read more about the Guide.
|
 Prairie Fire Athletics Gets a New Look on the Web
Thanks
to contributions by K Club members, a new Prairie Fire Web site gives
fans and prospective student-athletes a more dynamic and graphically
attractive presence on the Web. View the new Web site and learn more about the K Club.
|
| Student News |
Once Reluctant to Study Abroad, Student Now has Second Home
 Matt McKinney
'13 is spending his fall term away from the Knox campus -- more than
3,000 miles away. A creative writing major, McKinney is developing his
Spanish-language skills and becoming immersed in the culture of Central
America through the Associated Colleges of the Midwest Costa Rica
program. Read more about his experience.
|
|
College Hosts Local Junior Football League Games
 At 5' 10", Daniel Johnson '14
is a lot bigger than the football players on the Bears and the
Packers, whose field positions he helps mark every Sunday afternoon.
But these are the JFL Bears and Packers -- kids in grades three through
six. And Johnson is a 235-pound junior defensive lineman, one of the
many Knox College Prairie Fire football players who serve every week as
volunteer officials for local Junior Football League contests. Read more about the games.
|
|
Student and Faculty Research Political Murals of Nicaragua
 In a unique research project spanning the generations, Rose Worthen '11 has digitized an important photo and manuscript collection documenting murals in Nicaragua, recorded by Knox professor Henry Houser more than 20 years ago. Read more about the research.
|
|
| Alumni News |
Lynch Named One of 40 Leaders Under 40
 Teresa Veith Lynch ’96 was named in the article “40 Leaders Under Forty” by InterBusiness Issues Magazine,
recognizing young leaders in Central Illinois. Lynch is medical
director of the OSF Sisters Community Healthcare Center and interim
director of the Internal Medicine Residency Program at the University
of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria (UICOMP). She also serves as
medical director of the OSF Community Clinic and assistant professor of
internal medicine and pediatrics at UICOMP. Read more about Lynch.
|
U.S. Army Lt. Gen. David Fridovich '74 Retires after 37 Years of Service
 Lt. Gen. David Fridovich
'74, U. S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) deputy commander,
retired as a senior green beret in the U.S. after more than 37 years of
service. “His legacy as a Green Beret is unmatched -- he is a leader in
the Army culture that values great warriors and equally great
thinkers,” said USSOCOM Commander Bill McRaven at the ceremony on
November 14 at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Read more about Fridovich’s retirement.
|
Actress Comes Home While Traveling Abroad
 Studying abroad her junior year in Barcelona, Spain, felt like coming home to Saras Gil
'08, who now works as an actress in the country. Her latest film has
been chosen for the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Read more about Gil and her experiences as a Barcelona actress.
|
Dorothea Tanning Celebrated at Museum of Modern Art
 Famed surrealist painter and poet Dorothea Tanning '32 received accolades at a recent celebration of her life at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. Knox faculty member Robin Metz,
director of the Knox Program in Creative Writing, participated in the
event that drew a capacity crowd and also celebrated the publication of
Tanning's second book of poetry, Coming to That. Tanning has
made significant contributions in a number of artistic fields,
including painting, sculpture, writing, and theatrical design. Read more about Tanning and the event. You can also read a review of Tanning’s book at newyorker.com.
|
Alumni Notes
Elizabeth Van Steenwyk '48's winery, Adelaida Cellar, was mentioned in a USA Today article about undiscovered wine country in Paso Robles, California. Read the article.
In 1946, the long-standing decree banning dogs in Knox dormitories was challenged by George Craig '49,
whose terrier, Jeff, had followed him from the foxholes of France, to a
ship bound for the U.S., then onto the Knox campus. After pressure
from students, faculty, and even townspeople, Jeff was allowed to stay
in Seymour Hall. Read the story at galesburg.com.
V.R. Roskam '51 received the
Global Salesperson of the Year award in recognition of his 44 years of
service at Oil-Dri Corporation of America.
Jay Matson '65 and his wife,
Mary, were honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by Landmarks
Illinois for excellence in historic preservation. The Matsons have
restored more than a dozen neglected older buildings in Galesburg. Read more about the award at galesburg.com and read a profile of Jay Matson.
John Podesta '71 will step
down as president of the Center for American Progress, an organization
he founded in 2003. He will remain the center’s chairman and will serve
as a consultant to the State Department, advising on foreign policy
priorities. Read more about Podesta at politico.com.
The photography of Norm Winick
'74 is the first artwork to be displayed at the Blick Gallery at the
Galesburg Civic Art Center. The exhibit, which continues through
December 9, features journalistic as well as artistic photography by
Winick.
Norm Hillner '79 retired
after 30 years as the Lake Park, Illinois, soccer coach. Almost 80
former players came to an alumni game to celebrate their coach’s
career.
Susan Swartwout '89, professor
of English at Southeast Missouri State University and publisher and
editor at Southeast Missouri State University Press, has received the
Faculty Merit Award for excellence in teaching. Read more about Swartwout and the honor.
Trial Attorney Brian Skaret
'98 of the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Human Rights
and Special Prosecutions Section, is prosecuting a case against 35
members and associates of the Barrio Azteca gang that includes various
counts of racketeering, murder, drug offenses, money laundering, and
obstruction of justice. Read more about the case.
A poem by Jen Tynes '01, “After tagging the dust your body is made of,” was recently featured on poets.org. Read the poem.
Comedian Vir Das '02 is featured in an article and video at nytimes.com, where he talks about the future of humor in India. Read “Humor Comes of Age in India.”
|
| Faculty and Staff News |
 Knox Promotes Two to Full Professor
Mary Crawford '89 and Diana Cermak have been promoted to full professor. Both are members of the chemistry faculty and have taught at Knox since 1997. Read more about Cermak and Crawford.
|
|
 Professor’s Fiction Writing Wins Recognition
Visiting Assistant Professor of English Chad Simpson's story collection, "Tell Everyone I Said Hi," was chosen as a 2011 finalist for two national fiction competitions. Read more about Simpson and his work.
|
|
Emeritus Professor Receives Standing Ovation at Second Retirement
 Retired Knox College music professor Charles Farley
got a standing ovation on the occasion of his second retirement, this
time as organist at First Presbyterian Church in Hilton Head, North
Carolina. Farley, the Robert W. Murphy Professor Emeritus of Music,
taught at Knox from 1959 to 1997. Read more about Farley.
|
|
In Memorium: Professor Emerita Isabel Livosky
 Isabel Livosky,
Professor Emerita of Modern Languages and Literatures, died October 28
in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She taught at Knox from 1977 until her
retirement in 2004. A scholar of contemporary Spanish/Spanish-American
literature, Livosky was the founding director of Knox's program in
Buenos Aires. Read more about Livosky.
|
|
Faculty and Staff Notes
Stuart Allison, professor of biology, gave a talk at Grinnell College on environmental change and ecological restoration.
Neil Blackadder, professor
of theatre, was a featured speaker at the Wolff Symposium on literary
translation from German at the Goethe-Institut Chicago, ahead of a
staged reading of his translation of Lukas Bärfuss' play Oil (Öl). Oil and Blackadder's translation of Ewald Palmetshofer's hamlet is dead
were also presented in a staged reading in Washington D.C. as part of
the Zeigeist D.C. series. Blackadder participated in a discussion
following the reading of Oil in D.C., and of another reading of hamlet is dead at the Segal Theatre Center in New York.
Fernando Gomez, assistant
professor of modern languages, published an article, "Inverting Plato's
Allegory of the Cave: The Cave as a Backstage to the World/Theater in La vida es sueño and La hija del aire," in Bulletin of the Comediantes. Read the article.
George Appleton Lawrence Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of English Robert Hellenga's novel, Snakewoman of Little Egypt, is now available in paperback. It continues to reap praise from critics and readers. Read more about the book and reviews.
The keynote address on Malcolm X given by Fred Hord, professor of Black studies, to the Chicago Black Studies Council, is included in the book By Any Means Necessary, a biography of Malcolm X. Hord was also invited to speak on Malcolm X at Vanderbilt University.
Karen Kampwirth, professor of political science, is author of the chapter entitled "The Feminist Movement," in the book The Sandinistas and Nicaragua Since 1979.
Tim Kasser, professor of psychology, recently had an article published in Social and Personality Psychology Compass,
"Can Thrift Bring Well-Being? A Review of the Research and a Tentative
Theory." He also gave a virtual webinar sponsored by the Center for
Confidence & Well-being in Glasgow, UK, on “The High Price of
Materialism.”
Schahrazede Longou,
assistant professor of modern languages, presented a paper on the
writings of exiled Algerian journalist Leila Marouane at the 25th
Annual Francophone Studies International Colloquium in France. Read more about Longou and the conference.
Frank McAndrew, Cornelia
H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, gave three talks at the University
of Missouri-Columbia. To the department of anthropology, he spoke on the
origins of heroic behavior. He talked to the department of
psychological sciences on the evolutionary psychology of gossip. He also
made a presentation on teaching careers at liberal arts colleges.
McAndrew recently gave an invited talk at the University of Limerick in
Ireland entitled "The Selfish Hero?" The talk described a series of
laboratory experiments conducted at Knox over the past several years
designed to explore the evolutionary roots of heroic behavior.
Liz Carlin Metz, professor
of theatre, chaired a panel titled "Somatic Skills Synthesis and
Assimilation in Embodied Performance and Pedagogy: The Neuroscience of
Physical Theatre" and presented a paper titled "Embodied Imagination:
The Neuroscience of Performance" at the annual national conference of
The Association for Theatre in Higher Education. Metz presented a
session on embodied imagination and participated in a panel discussion
on the topic of international theatre education at the DAH Teatre
International Theatre Festival in Belgrade, Serbia.
Two poems by Robin Metz, Philip Sidney Post Professor of English, appeared in June publications: “Writing in Stone” in The International Poetry Anthology and “Environmentally” in The Paterson Literary Review. The film Dylan Thomas in New York,
produced by the Wales International Centre, features Metz and 17 other
American and international poets reading from their work at various
Greenwich Village sites associated with Thomas.
Bruce Polay, professor of
music, was the guest conductor for the Illinois Music Educator's
Conference District IV Regional Honor Orchestra earlier this month at
Western Illinois University. Selected students from throughout the
central Illinois region participated.
Professor of English Natania Rosenfeld's poem "After Rosenkavalier" appears in the latest issue of /nor, New Ohio Review. Her essay "Life and Death," published in Southwest Review last year, was listed as "Notable" in the Best American Essays 2011.
|
|
|
In This Issue
Knox Events
December 01, 2011
Symphony Center
January 18, 2012
Grayhawk Golf Club
January 22, 2012
The Huntington Library
Gizmogram Archive
Knox Links
Knox Profiles
When I traveled to Germany for a month, I spoke to Germans about the Anglicization of their culture. My name is Esther Farler-Westphal, Sophomore, and I AM KNOX.
Meet more Knox students.
To be at a small residential college
like Knox is a fundamentally different experience. We can do so much
more. My name is Todd Heidt, visiting assistant professor of German, and
I AM KNOX
Meet more Knox faculty.
Unlike most other kids in my age group
who are in their first year or second year out of college, I am doing
what I went to school for, and I am really appreciative of that. My name
is Pier Debes '10, elementary school, college, and church choir director, and I AM KNOX.
Meet more Knox alumni.
|
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 If you do not wish to receive further issues of The Gizmogram, please type "Unsubscribe" in the subject header of an email message and your full name in the message window. Send to gizmogram@knox.edu. |
|
