Contemporary Fiction”
Philosophy Made Simple, the fourth novel by Robert Hellenga,
George Appleton Lawrence Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of
English, was recently touted as
“smart and intellectually engaging
while at the same time emotionally compelling” by critic Alan Cheuse in
the Chicago Tribune. Cheuse added
that “Robert Hellenga once again has produced a novel that adds
immeasurably to the pleasures of reading contemporary fiction.”This is not the first praise Hellenga has received for his most recent endeavor. Publishers Weekly touted Philosophy Made Simple for its “twinkly humor, mild insight, clean prose, and gentle homilies,” and Kirkus Reviews said the book is “solidly grounded fiction that enchantingly explores the space between philosophical concepts and our hapless floundering in life’s challenges.”
Hellenga has been on the road promoting his fourth novel and will read from Philosophy Made Simple at Knox on March 24 at 4:00 p.m. More information . . .
Knox Receives Record Applications
Applications for admission to Knox College have topped 2,000, the highest number in the history of the college and nearly 20 percent ahead of last year.
“We believe there are several factors, including growing interest in the benefits of a liberal arts education and the particular advantages of undergraduate colleges like Knox, where classes are small and scholar-teachers actively engage students in the process of learning,” said Paul Steenis ’85, vice president for enrollment and dean of admission.
Knox currently enrolls about 1,250 students from 46 states and 43 nations. Knox expects to enroll 345 new students in the fall, Steenis said. More information . . .
Williams Ushered in “New Era of Fundraising at Knox”
Knox College President Roger Taylor ’63 recently announced forthcoming changes in leadership of the College’s Office of Advancement. Taylor announced that Beverly Holmes, currently associate vice president for advancement, will fill the post of vice president for advancement, succeeding Brian Williams ’86, who will leave Knox in April for a new position as the vice president for development at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
“Brian Williams has built an able, dedicated, and highly motivated staff and has ushered in a new era in fundraising at Knox. His new position represents a well deserved endorsement of his ability and reputation,” Taylor said. “Beverly Holmes has helped the Advancement office strengthen its ability to secure major gifts. She will be able to step right in and continue this positive direction.” More information . . .
A Note from the Editors
Thanks for Thinking about Knox
Thanks to everyone who responded to the “Think about Knox for a Minute” query in January Gizmogram. We received numerous responses from a wide range of individuals, and all were helpful.
What do you want to know about the Middle East?
The next issue of Knox Magazine will focus on Knox and the Middle East, using the eighth edition of Politics and Change in the Middle East by Professors Robert Seibert ’63, Roy Andersen, and Jon Wagner as its focal point. As part of this magazine issue, Seibert, Andersen, and Wagner have agreed to answer questions from alumni and friends about the Middle East. So, if you’ve got a question about Middle East politics or policy, e-mail it to us. The 10 top questions will be answered by Knox’s three Middle East experts and included in the print and online editions of the Fall 2006 Knox Magazine.
Student News
 |
| A
group of Knox hurricane relief workers poses for a picture on Monday,
March 13, before heading out to their work sites. Protective clothing
includes: Tyvek coveralls, respirators, goggles, and boot covers.
Basically, nothing is exposed. Photo by student blogger Andy Fitz ’08. |
Students Provide Aid to Katrina Victims
At 5:30 a.m. on March 12, the morning after the last final exam, 65 bleary-eyed Knox students boarded vans for the trip to the Ninth Ward of New Orleans. The students will gut, clean, and repair houses, and distribute food, water, and clothing to residents. They will return on March 21, just in time for the beginning of spring term the next day. More information . . .
New Orleans Student Blogs
Five Knox students in New Orleans have been posting Web logs, or blogs, on the Knox College Web site since the start of their trip on March 12. The blogs are updated daily and feature students' comments about their work, the devastation in New Orleans, and their feelings about their trip. Knox alumni, parents, and friends have also posted comments to the blogs. Read the student blogs . . .
A Supreme Experience
The United States Supreme Court is a surprising combination of tight security and remarkable openness, according to two Knox students who recently completed internships there.
Megan Rehberg of
Racine, Wisconsin, a senior political science major,
worked in the Court’s office of the curator, which handles photographs
and other artifacts of court events. Joel
Christensen, a senior political
science major from Kansas City, Missouri, who is pursuing a second
major in philosophy,
was one of just two college students nationally selected to intern in
the office of Sally Rider, Administrative Assistant to the Chief
Justice, which handles the Chief Justice’s non-judicial
responsibilities such as oversight of the federal judiciary. More information
. . . In the Key of "T" (Technology)
Aaron Lepkin got an early start on a career in software design. His first official project was in the sixth grade. Now a computer science major, Lepkin can’t help but critique his early work. “It was pretty cheesy,” he says with a grin. Today, Lepkin, a senior from Englewood, Colorado, has advanced to designing software for one of his professors to use as a teaching tool. The software—which Lepkin is working on as an independent study project—will be used to help Assistant Professor Jeremy Day-O’Connell’s Introductory Music Theory students strengthen their basic music-reading skills. More information . . .
Maclin is “Best Basketball Player in Town”
The Galesburg newspaper The Zephyr wasn’t shy about its praise of Knox’s Jason Maclin ’07, blaring “Best basketball player in town” across its sports page. An English and education double-major, Maclin recently capped his junior season at Knox by passing the 1,000-point mark in career scoring, getting tapped for the all-conference second team, and helping propel Knox into the Midwest Conference playoffs. Maclin came to Knox from Kenwood Academy in Chicago. More information . . .
Campus News
Knox Inks Pact with Prestigious Medical School & Business School
In October, Knox signed an agreement with The George Washington University that allows Knox students to apply for the Early Selection Program at the university’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, DC. In March, Knox entered into a new partnership with the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business to place highly qualified Knox juniors and seniors in the Direct Admission program at the Simon School’s prestigious M.B.A. program. “The Simon School is consistently ranked among the best in the country,” explains Dean Lawrence B. Breitborde.
Library Grant Promotes Readings, Discussions
Seymour Library has received a grant from the American Library Association and Nextbook to promote public reading and discussion through the national project “Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature.” Knox will use the $1,500 grant to present a series of programs in the fall, in cooperation with the Galesburg Public Library. Knox is one of just 60 libraries to receive the grants this year. More information . . .
Close to 500 Members
of Knox Community Dedicate E. & L. Andrew Fitness CenterClose to 500 members of the campus community gathered in Memorial Gymnasium on Friday, February 17, to celebrate and to thank Trustee Laurel Andrew ’86 and her family, whose lead gifts made construction of the state-of-the-art E. & L. Andrew Fitness Center possible. Laurel’s parents, Edie and Ed, and her brother, Bill, attended the ceremony and received an ovation for their generosity. Zack Stephenson ’06, president of the Student Senate, said, “I must express the Knox student body’s—and indeed the entire Knox community's—deepest and most sincere gratitude for the overwhelming generosity of our alumni in general and the Andrew family in particular.” See dedication photos . . .
Alumni News
Four Alumni Receive Achievement Awards
Knox celebrated the 169th anniversary of its founding with the presentation of Alumni Achievement Awards at the 2006 Founders Day Convocation on February 16. At the celebration, three alumni were awarded 2006 Alumni Achievement Awards—David Axelrod ’67, William Barnhart ’68, and Semenya McCord ’71. Caitlin Muelder ’96 received the second Young Alumni Achievement Award. Read more . . .
 |
| Sally Arteseros ’58. |
More than 70 Knox students, faculty, alumni, and friends paid tribute to Dorothea Tanning, a Knox alumna, Galesburg native, and noted author and Surrealist artist, on March 3. Knox’s New York Knox Club presented readings of Tanning’s poetry and prose at the Blue Mahoe Restaurant. Several Knox alumni read, including Cailtin Muelder ’96, Sally Arteseros ’58, Joseph Lennon ’90, and Sean Mills ’90. Knox College faculty members Marilyn Webb, co-director of the journalism program, Elizabeth Carlin-Metz, theatre, and Robin Metz, Phillip Sydney Post Professor of English, also participated in the event, along with current Knox students Sylvie Davidson ’06, Al Keefe ’07, Adam Krause ’06, JoAnna Novak ’07, Brendan Todt ’06, and Sarah Wylder ’07, who read from their own work.
These same Knox students also participated in a writers exchange with Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York. Sarah Lawrence students will return the favor when they visit Knox in early April. See photos from the Tanning event.
Seeking Alumni Entertainers
The second annual Knox College Variety Show will provide an exciting and fun kick-off for Homecoming 2006 on Thursday, October 12, at Galesburg’s Orpheum Theatre. Are you a professional musician, vocalist, or actor? Would you like the chance to return for
Homecoming
and perform for your fellow
alumni, Knox students and faculty, and the
Galesburg community? If so, please contact Carol Brown ’99, director of
alumni
programs, before April 15. See
photos from last year’s
variety show.Come Home to Knox, October 12-15, 2006!
Hotel reservations are going fast! Don’t miss your chance to catch-up with old friends, attend classes with current Knox students, cheer on the Prairie Fire, and much more. Make your reservations today! Galesburg accommodation information . . .
Alumni Notes
Jay Matson ’65 is helping usher in a new era of tourism for Galesburg. Matson is chair of the National Railroad Hall of Fame Board of Directors, which recently announced a new $60 million project to build an 84,500 square-foot hall of fame and museum in Galesburg. “The Hall of Fame . . . has the potential to draw people from more than 500 miles away. It will change the nature of Galesburg,” said Matson in an interview with Knox Magazine. Read more about the project . . .
The article “War and Remembrance” by Susan Van Kirk ’68 was published in the March/April edition of Teacher Magazine.
An article on Megan Williamson’s (’82) garden painting was in a recent issue of Chicago
Home & Garden Magazine. In May, she will be featured in a group titled “Secret Gardens” at the Nabi Gallery in New York City.
Caitlin Muelder ’96 will star as a young woman caught in a web of bureaucratic bumbling and backstabbing in the world premier of the play Real Hush-Hush by Jon Corbin. Real Hush-Hush will run from April 20-May 14 at the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell, Massachusetts.
Faculty & Staff News
From Ray to
Rootabaga: Dave Hoffman Directs
Knox Jazz BandAn associate in applied music at Knox College, Dave Hoffman has performed with the Moscow Symphony and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and played on television in 16 countries. His trumpet and fluegelhorn have accompanied headliners—Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight, and Willie Nelson among them—and for 13 years, Hoffman toured with Ray Charles as a soloist, composer, and arranger. This year, he’s teaching jazz improvisation and serving as interim director of the Knox Jazz Ensembles. He also had the opportunity to organize the 26th annual Knox-Rootabaga Jazz Festival. Read more . . .
What Do Robert Seibert ’63, Lance Factor, and Bruce Polay Have in Common?
According to Galesburg’s The Register Mail, these three Knox professors, who have a combined 108 years of teaching experience at Knox, are all avid Prairie Fire fans. Seibert, Factor, and Polay talked about their support of Prairie Fire basketball with Galesburg’s local paper in February. Read more . . .
Hemingway Accepts Position at Western Illinois
Jennifer Hemingway, director of constituent relations in the Office of Advancement since July 2004, has accepted the position of director of development for the College of Education and Human Services at Western Illinois University. She will start in her new role there on April 3. During her short time at Knox, Hemingway has been instrumental in expanding and enriching the College’s range of outreach programs to Knox’s various constituencies. She has put in place the infrastructure for a successful Knox Parents program, as well as the Advancement Student Ambassador program.
Although Ivan Davidson, professor emeritus of theatre, is no longer directing theatre in Galesburg, he’s bringing his directing talent to his new home, Mobile, Alabama. Davidson recently directed the play Christ in the Concrete City for various churches within the Mobile community. Read more about Davidson . . .
In addition to teaching a business and technical writing class during winter term, John Haslem, director of the Center for Teaching and Learning, was recently asked by State Representative Don Moffit to serve again on General Assembly Scholarship Committee, which serves Knox, Henry, Stark, and Bureau counties. In addition, Haslem’s article, “Two Poems, an Incident, and a Dealer: Ted Cooper and the Currency of Knowledge,” was recently published by artlinePlus.
Tim Kasser, associate professor of psychology, has given talks on materialism at several colleges and conventions around the country, including the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, the 28th Annual Brown Symposium at Southwestern University in Texas, and Monmouth College.
Poems by Robin Metz, Phillip Sydney Post Professor of English, recently appeared in Lalitamba, a New York City magazine devoted to the interdisciplinary arts, and Parnassus Literary Journal. His poem “Director’s Cut” was named a semi-finalist in the 2005 national poetry competition sponsored by New Millennium Writings. He has been named literary consultant for a forthcoming film on Carl Sandburg by Bonesteel Films of Asheville, North Carolina, and outside evaluator for the Columbia College (Chicago) graduate and undergraduate creative writing programs.
Jim Mountjoy, assistant professor of biology, recently published a chapter, “Family Bombycillidae (Waxwings),” in Volume 10 of the critically acclaimed series, Handbook of the Birds of the World.
Bruce Polay, professor of music and music director/conductor of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony, recently guest conducted the Guanujauto Symphony Orchestra in Guanujauto, Mexico.
Robin Ragan, assistant professor of modern languages (Spanish), recently gave a talk at the University of Louisville’s 20th Century Literature and Culture conference. The title of her talk was “La frontera de la familia: Family Systems Theory in the Films of Icíar Bollaín.”
Peter Schwartzman, associate professor of environmental studies, organized and spoke at a Public Hearing on Coal Power in Chicago on February 13. Sponsored by the Chicago Clean Power Coalition, the hearing was attended by 140 Chicago residents and several public officials. His presentation was titled “What is coming out of those stacks and how is it affecting my family and community?” In association with the event, he was interviewed on WBEZ, Chicago’s NPR station.
Lane Sunderland, Chancie Ferris Booth Professor of Political Science, attended the annual meeting of the Supreme Court Fellows at the Supreme Court of the United States.
Marilyn Webb, distinguished professor and co-chair of the journalism program, was selected for the Nieman Seminar for Narrative Editors, a prestigious national seminar on narrative journalism, held in March at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. The conference is limited to just 60 journalists from throughout the United States.
Herndon’s Informants: Letters, Interviews, and Statements about Abraham Lincoln, edited by Douglas Wilson and Rodney Davis, co-directors of the Lincoln Studies Center, is now available online through the University of Illinois Press.
Advancement News
And the good news keeps coming . . .
It’s been hard to miss the good news coming from Knox lately—the new record set for the number of applications for admission received in one year to the $10 million bequest from the estate of Walter Hobbs ’25 and the anonymous $1 million gift to establish the R. Lance Factor Chair in Philosophy. Even behind the scenes, Knox’s fundraising numbers continue to rise. As of March 14, the Knox Fund totals $1,480,442 (up 11 percent from last year); total fundraising is at $4,861,112 (up 48 percent from last year); and alumni participation remains high at 2579 donors (up 28 percent from last year). The Office of Advancement will be working hard to maintain and extend these gains through the end of the fiscal year.
We’re All Up for a Challenge!
March 31 is the deadline to qualify for two bonuses that will increase the impact of alumni gifts and alumni participation rates:
- The classes of 1970–1979 are challenged by trustees and contemporaries to increase participation by renewing last year’s gift or making a new gift. Bonuses of $25–$150 will accompany gifts received by March 31. Take the ’70s Trustees Challenge!
- John
’71 and Carolee Burns Hayes
’72
renewed the Young Alumni Challenge
again this year with a $25 match for every gift—no matter what
size—from alumni in the Classes 2001-2005. Take
the Young Alumni Challenge!
Contact Us
Submissions to the Gizmogram should be made to the editor(s) at gizmogram@knox.edu. Submissions may be edited for space.
Editors
Jennie Hemingway
Megan Scott ’96
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