Books, Events, Podcasts Commemorate Lincoln, Debates

Lincoln Studies Center Releases New Book on Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Scholars from the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox announce the first-ever critical edition of the texts of the historic Lincoln-Douglas Debates. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The Lincoln Studies Center Edition, co-edited by Rodney Davis and Douglas Wilson, is the first book to provide a full text of the debates based on all known records. Read more about The Lincoln-Douglas Debates.

Davis and Wilson Featured in PBS Special
Professors Davis and Wilson were also recently featured in the program Lincoln and Douglas at Galesburg -- The Great Debate, a co-production of Knox College and WTVP-47, the Public Broadcasting System affiliate in Peoria, which premiered earlier this month. The program featured Davis and Wilson, along with other leading historians, and is the inaugural event in WTVP's Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Celebration. Read more about the program.

Podcasts Give Historical Background on Seven Debates
"The Real Issue: The Real Debates," a series of podcasts featuring Davis and Wilson, gives historical background on each of the seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas that took place in the summer and fall of 1858. Listen to the podcasts.

Local Events Planned to Celebrate Debate
In conjunction with the Galesburg's Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, Knox is planning events to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate at Knox and the 200th anniversary of Lincoln's birth. See the list of Lincoln events.

400 New Students Join Knox Community

President Abraham Lincoln, aka Knox junior Pier Debes, pauses for a photo during Pumphandle.

Earlier this month, 400 new students were welcomed to campus, bringing Knox enrollment to almost 1,400 students. The new students were assisted in their move by current students, staff, and President Roger Taylor '63, who later addressed the students and their parents at a welcome session on the east lawn of Knox's Old Main -- the same location as the crowds who thronged to the Lincoln-Douglas Debate held at Knox 150 years ago. Read more about Knox's new students.

A few days later, students, faculty, and staff wound around the same lawn, welcoming the new term, and each other, during Pumphandle. See more photos from Pumphandle.

A Note from the Editors

Countdown to Homecoming!
Homecoming is just over a month away. Have you registered yet? Don't miss your chance to catch up with old friends, chat with your favorite professors, visit classes with current students, or wander around campus. Register now and encourage your classmates to do the same!

Knox Magazine Online
More than class notes and campus news, find out how Election 2008 is affecting the Knox campus and learn about alumni contributing to the political process. Read the fall issue.

Knox on the Road
It's that time of year again. Knox admission counselors are hitting the road, recruiting prospective students at high schools across the nation. Want to know if a Knox representative is heading to your neck of the woods? Visit the Knox on the Road Web page.


 
Campus News 

Knox Defeats Eureka in First Game at Knosher Bowl
The Prairie Fire inaugurated the Knosher Bowl in style on September 6, with a 26-0 win over the Eureka Red Devils. The new Bowl has been named for Harley Knosher, who served Knox for 40 years as faculty member, coach, and athletic director. A formal dedication ceremony of the Knosher Bowl will be held prior to the Homecoming game on November 1. Learn more about the Knosher Bowl renovations.

Can't make it to the games? You can still cheer on the Prairie Fire football or women's volleyball teams. Find out how to watch the Prairie Fire live from your computer.

You won't be seeing these trays in the Hard Knox Cafe! Read more about Knox's efforts to promote sustainability on campus.

Knox Scrubs Trays, Styrofoam from Cafeteria, Addresses Sustainability
In an effort to make its cafeteria more environmentally friendly and to reduce food waste, Knox has put into place a no-tray policy. Also gone are styrofoam takeout containers, which have been replaced by reusable plastic containers. Read more about these efforts to reduce waste in Galesburg's The Register-Mail.

In addition to making the Hard Knox Cafe more environmentally friendly, Knox is working to create a culture of sustainability on campus. A Sustainability Task Force, featuring Knox faculty, students, and staff, was created last year and is charged with reviewing previous initiatives, recommending new initiatives, and encouraging a campus-wide culture of awareness and understanding about our impact on the larger world. Read more about sustainability at Knox.

Off-Campus Study Focus of Convocation
With options "from Chicago to Tanzania, from Florence to India," the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM) is "a leader in study-away" programs for college students, said Christopher Welna, president of the educational consortium that includes Knox and 13 other liberal arts colleges. Welna was the speaker at Knox College's 2008-09 Opening Convocation, September 11, in Harbach Theatre. Read more about Convocation. You can also listen to the full convocation, including performances by the Knox College Choir and the presentation of faculty and staff awards, on WGIL Radio.

Gifts Support Campus Building Expansion
In an unusual convergence of generosity, Knox College has received two gifts to support the acquisition and renovation of a new campus building -- one from Bob Borzello '58, and one from local Galesburg businessman, Donald Fike. Read more about the donation.

Geology Comes Back to Knox
After a 20-plus year absence, students will once again have the opportunity to study geology and earth sciences at Knox College. Katherine A. Adelsberger, a specialist in earth and planetary sciences, has joined the faculty as assistant professor of environmental studies. Her position is supported by Douglas '66 and Maria Bayer, whose $1 million commitment to Knox is helping fund the new faculty position. Read more about the environmental studies program.

More campus news and features.



Student News

31 Legacy Students Join Knox Community
There's no better approval for a college than when its alumni encourage their relatives to attend their alma mater. On September 6, Knox welcomed 31 legacy students to campus on move-in day. "It is great to know that so many Knox alumni value their Knox education enough to send their sons and daughters to their alma mater," says President Roger Taylor '63. Read more about this year's legacy students and view more photos.

Figge Art Museum Showcases Student Work
Art work by Knox College students was selected for a show at the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa. "It is extremely unusual for a major museum like the Figge to display works by undergraduate art students," said Gregory Gilbert, associate professor of art history and chair of the art department at Knox. "This is a significant recognition of Knox students' abilities and talents." Read more about the Figge exhibit.

Georgia Student Arrives at Knox Early Due to Strife
First-year Ana Dashniani wasn't expecting to come to college early, but the well-publicized violence in the Eurasian country of Georgia forced a change in plans. Dashniani is a native Georgian whose family lives in the capital city Tbilisi. Read more about Dashniani in Galesburg's The Register-Mail.

More coverage of Knox students is available on the Knox news page.


Alumni News

Alumni Giving Rate Highest in 10 Years

Last year's student phonathon callers helped Knox attain the highest alumni giving rate in 10 years.

4,923 alumni contributed to Knox between July 1, 2007, and June 30, 2008, raising Knox's alumni giving rate from 31% to 33% -- the highest alumni giving rate in 10 years. Total donors to Knox topped 8,000 -- 8,178 to be exact -- raising almost $8 million for the College. Of that, $2,834,762 were Knox Fund gifts -- or gifts that fund the College's annual operating budget. This is the third year in a row that the Knox Fund has exceeded its dollar goal. 

"We have heard from other colleges that the uncertainties in the national economy have affected their contributions. The generosity of Knox alumni and friends to the College during this time is outstanding -- and helps ensure that we keep providing a quality education to today's students," says President Roger Taylor '63. Read more about the Knox Fund.

Knox Students Contribute to Fundraising Success
The expanded 2007-2008 Knox Fund phonathon raised more than $350,000 for the College, contributing greatly to Knox's recent fundraising success. Sixty-five Knox students called more than 6,000 Knox alumni and parents during the fall 2007 and spring 2008 phonathon.
The 2008-2009 phonathon is already underway. More than 60 Knox students are currently calling Knox alumni. If you see Knox on your caller ID, be sure to pick up the phone! Meet this fall's student callers.

Podesta Pens The Power of Progress
Trustee John Podesta '71, president and chief executive officer of the Center for American Progress and former White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton, recently released his new book, The Power of Progress: How America's Progressives Can (Once Again) Save Our Economy, Our Climate, and Our Country. In his new book, Podesta, along with his colleague, John Halpin, explains how progressive values changed America in the wake of the Gilded Age and how these values will reshape America after the Bush presidency. Read more about the book.

Knox Alumnus President of Arizona State Bar
Edward Novak '69 was named president of the State Bar of Arizona. In the lastest issue of Arizona Attorney magazine, Novak discusses his Knox experience, being drafted into the military 16 days after graduation and serving in Vietnam, and how these experiences impacted his life and career. Read more about Novak in Arizona Attorney magazine.

Vitalist Theatre to Premier Adaptation of Alumnus' Novella
Vitalist Theatre presents the world premiere of Anung's First American Christmas, directed by Elizabeth Carlin-Metz, associate professor of theater, and adapted for the stage by Robin Metz, director of Knox's Program in Creative Writing. The play is based on the novella by Carl Nordgren '73, Knox's entrepreneur-in-residence during the 2007-08 academic year. Other Knox faculty, staff, and alumni involved in the production include Nick Perry '08, Meghan Reardon '08,  Margo Shively, lecturer in theatre, Eden Newmark '08, Ariel Lauryn '08, Helen Drysdale '05, Ralph Sledge '00, and Craig Choma '93, associate professor of theatre. Anung's First American Christmas will run from November 18 through January 4 at the Theatre Building Chicago. Read more about this Vitalist production.

The Knox-China Connection
Abigail Kramer '08 and Sable Helvie '08 recently moved to Suzhou, China, where they will teach English for the next year. With the implementation of a new academic program in Chinese, an increase in the number of Chinese students at Knox, and new opportunities for Knox students to travel abroad in China, the pair have decided to connect the Knox community even more closely to China. Kramer and Helvie have set up a blog, where they are chronicling the activities of alumni and students in the country. Read their China blog.

Alumni Notes

Karen Dittmer Bowyer '63, who has worked as the president of Dyersburg State Community College since 1984, delivered the commencement address at the University of Tennessee-Martin in August. Read more.

Ronald Bruce St John '65 has written a book entitled Libya -- From Colony to Independence, detailing the country's history up to the present day. Read more. 

Carol Everly Floyd '68 has been awarded the Distinguished Service Award by the Association for the Study of Higher Education for her work as a board member, budget chair, publications chair, and founder of its Council for Public Policy in Higher Education.

Sue Deans '70 reflected on wearing a cap and gown at Knox's Commencement last spring as a new trustee in an article in the Boulder Daily Camera, comparing it to her graduation 38 years earlier, when the class refused to don the official regalia in protest of the Vietnam War. Read the article. 

Sangamo BioSciences, the company that Edward Lanphier '78 founded and now serves as chief executive of, has entered into an exclusive research agreement with Dow AgroSciences for research into a promising new method of genetically modifying crops. Read more. 

Steve Tourlentes '82 has received grants from both the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation for his work photographing prisons in rural and suburban landscapes at night. Read more.

Vida Cross '88 was recently awarded an Illinois Arts Council Special Assistance Grant to work on the completion of her poetry manuscript Bronzeville at Night: 1949.

Jeff Meeker '93, head volleyball coach at Cornell College, coached the Iowa Region Junior Team in the Women's International Division at the USA Volleyball High Performance Championships. His team took fourth place. Read more. 

Peter Von Brown '93 recenlty published Peter Pan's NeverWorld, a new novel based upon Sir J. M. Barrie's work.

Michael Hinken '96 was a summer 2008 Writing Fellow at the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts. He has taught writing at the University of Michigan for the past three years. 

Mary Kiolbasa '06 was selected as one of the Best New Poets of 2008, an annual anthology of 50 poems from emerging writers. Read more. 

Farah Ahed '07 gave her first off-campus photography exhibition, "Dialogue," in her home city of Karachi, Pakistan, July 18 - 21. Read more. 

The poetry collection, What a Vessel in a Stem by Matt Andersson '08, is a finalist for the 2008 Tupelo Press First Book Prize. The prize was open to all U.S. poets who have yet to be published. 

Read and post Class Notes in the Knox Online Community.



Faculty & Staff News

President Roger Taylor '63 presents Karen Hawkinson '74 with the Janet C. Hunter Prize at Opening Convocation.

Faculty and Staff Honored at Convocation
Members of Knox's faculty and staff were honored at Opening Convocation on September 11. The Janet C. Hunter Prize for salaried staff was awarded to Karen Hawkinson '74, coordinator of the Center for Global Studies. The Janet C. Hunter Prize for hourly staff was awarded to Dan Marty, director of maintenance. The prizes recognize outstanding accomplishments and service to the College. The Philip Green Wright-Lombard College Prize for Distinguished Teaching by a non-tenured faculty member was awarded to Fernando Gomez, assistant professor of modern languages. The Philip Green Wright-Lombard College Prize for Distinguished Teaching by a tenured faculty member was awarded to Bruce Davis, professor of modern languages.

Inman Fox,  Knox College President from 1974-82, Passes
E. Inman Fox, president emeritus of Knox College, died July 27, 2008, at his home in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 73. An award-winning scholar of Spanish literature, Fox served as president of Knox from 1974 to 1982. During Fox's tenure, the College completed what was at the time the largest capital fund drive in College history, initiated a multidisciplinary course, now known as First-Year Preceptorial -- which is still taken by all first-year students -- and introduced international perspectives in many courses in the social sciences. Read more about Inman Fox.

Knox Honors Whitlatch at Retirement
There are many opportunities to honor Robert Whitlatch, Seeley Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of Theatre, who retired in August:

• Attend his retirement reception during Homecoming. Reservations required.
• Donate to "Doc Bob's" retirement gift, new traveler curtains for Harbach Theatre.
  Make your gift.
• Write Bob a letter, which will be included in a scrapbook of memories. Send a note.

"Gift Guru" Janet Albert Retires
In May, the Knox Community waved farewell to Janet Albert, who retired after 37 years of service to Knox in the business and advancement offices. Many alumni and friends remember her from her early days as student insurance coordinator or her later years as the guru of gift accounting. In the latter role, she grew into the unofficial supervisor of Homecoming registration -- you will probably recognize her as the blond woman who was always the shortest one working! Albert was for 25 years the College staffer who ordered the prize checks and ensured the names were spelled correctly for each year's student academic, athletic, and other prizes. It was this effort, seemingly outside her normal daily duties, that won her the Janet Hunter Prize for Salaried Staff in 2006.

Taylor Elected ACM Chair
Knox College President Roger Taylor '63 has been elected chair of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), a regional higher education consortium. The chair is selected from among the presidents of the 13 selective liberal arts colleges that make up the ACM. "Roger's insights, style, and judgment are impeccable," said Christopher Welna, president of the ACM. "He is a seasoned leader and just the right person to lead the ACM as we celebrate 50 years." Read more about Taylor and the ACM.

Faculty & Staff Notes

Semenya McCord '71, lecturer of music, and Dave Hoffman, visiting professor from 2005-2006, both appeared in the Macomb jazz festival earlier this month. Read more. 

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates and Rodney Davis and Douglas Wilson, co-directors of the Lincoln Studies Center, are keeping busy giving lectures and interviews. Davis recently spoke to The Huffington Post about Lincoln's moral arguments, and Wilson gave a presentation at the Aspen Ideas Festival entitled "Lincoln's Union." Listen to Wilson's presentation. 

Frank McAndrew, Cornelia H. Dudley Professor of Psychology, has been busy writing, presenting lectures, and being interviewed about his gossip research:

• "Can Gossip be Good?" is featured in the October/November issue of the Scientific American Mind. Read the article. 
• Recent discussions of his research into the evolutionary roots of human interest in gossip can also be found in "What's Sexier than Public Policy?," an article by Hit & Run, the online blog of Reason magazine. Read more.
• The article "Passing on tidbits often hurts -- but it doesn't have to," appeared August 24 in the Abilene Reporter-News. Read more. 
• He delivered a lecture on "Evolutionary perspectives on popular culture" at the University of Chicago in July.

Stuart Allison, associate professor of biology, published a paper titled "Differences in the effects of drought upon restored and remnant prairies" in the June 2008 issue of Ecological Restoration. The paper is based upon his on-going research at Green Oaks and nearby remnant prairies.

Tim Kasser, professor of psychology, has been busy presenting his materialism research. A podcast interview on voluntary simplicity appeared in U.S. News and World Report's Alpha Consumer blog. Listen to the podcast. The podcast received attention from a variety of sources, including an article in The Consumerist. In addition, he spoke at the 56th Annual Conference of the North American Society of Adlerian Psychology in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, giving a presentation on "A revolution of values: Psychological research on materialism and its alternatives" and a workshop on "Children and Consumer Culture: Problems, Practice, and Policy."

Tim Heimann '70, major gifts officer and former Knox basketball coach, recently talked with a Galesburg Register-Mail reporter about his battle with cancer. Read more.

Natania Rosenfeld, associate professor of English, recently presented a paper, "Modern and Postmodern Street Haunting: Virginia Woolf and W.G. Sebald," at a conference devoted to Sebald at the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England.

The poem "Nostalgia for a World Where We Can Live" by Monica Berlin '95, assistant professor of English, was published in the most recent issue of Diagram. Her review of Marianne Boruch's "Grace, Fallen from" was published in Black Warrior Review.



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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