Monica Berlin (English) and Beth Marzoni ’04 have been awarded a 2015 Heartland Poetry Prize, selected by Lee Ann Roripaugh, for their poem “[Begin not with coastline, not with harbor or cove. Begin],” which was just reprinted in New Poetry from the Midwest 2014, and appears in their book, No Shape Bends the River So Long.
Two interviews with Penny Gold (Professor of History, emerita) about her quilting have recently been published. The interviews were both stimulated by the display of one of her quilts at an exhibition in February: “Self-Portrait, Year 2: Beneath the Surface.” The interview by William Volckening is available on the web here. (This is part 2; a link to Part 1 is given at the top.) A second shorter interview by Abby Glassenberg was published in the May/June issue of Generation Q.
Tim Kasser, Psychology, has given four talks over the last few weeks. First he presented (virtually) as part of a workshop on “Values and Frames” at the Unmaking Waste 2015 Conference in Adelaide, Australia. Then he was an invited presenter (virtually) on “Autobiography of an academic activist” at the 2015 Transformative Consumer Research Conference held at Villanova University. Next, Kasser gave a brown-bag to the Positive Psychology group at Claremont Graduate University on “Goal & value circumplex models: An overview for positive psychologists.” Finally, Kasser spoke on “Values, well-being, and ecological sustainability” at the conference, Seizing at Alternative: Toward an Ecological Civilization, held at Pomona College, CA.
Monica Berlin (English) has published three new poems. “[Because I wasn’t thinking peninsula,]”; “[Not only the night,]” and “[The forecast is calling for flurries tomorrow, and worry]” all appear in Quiddity 8.1 (June 2015).
Thanks to all of you who are working so hard on our final preparations for the big event of the year, our 170th Commencement exercises. I write today to invite you to please join us for one of two opportunities next week at which we will share with you news and updates from the June Board of Trustees meeting.
Our first post-Board forum will be held on Wednesday, June 10, at 8:00 a.m. and again on Thursday, June 11, at noon. Both will be held in the Trustees Room (Room 302) in Alumni Hall. The agenda will include a brief presentation on the Board meeting, followed by a time for questions and answers with members of the President’s Council.
We look forward to seeing you at either of the sessions. In the meantime, please make offerings to the weather gods for a rain-free Commencement!
Knox College’s 170th Commencement exercises will be Sunday, June 7, and there’s a lot to know about the event if you plan to attend, if you have a loved one who is participating, or if you simply enjoy a bit of pageantry.
For example, about 300 graduating seniors will receive their bachelor’s degrees at the ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. on the South Lawn of Old Main on the Knox campus.
Another key fact: Emmy Award-winning journalist Bill Whitaker, a correspondent on the long-running CBS News television program 60 Minutes, will deliver the Commencement address. During his 30-year career with CBS News, Whitaker has covered nearly all of the country’s major news stories, including three presidential campaigns; served as a foreign correspondent; and reported a wide range of feature stories and profiles.
Whitaker will be one of three honorary degree recipients at Commencement. The others are June Cross, an Emmy Award-winning writer and producer; and Matthew Berg ‘00, CEO of a Kenya-based social enterprise technology company and one of Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People” in 2010.
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! Yes, Commencement will be on a Sunday (not on a Saturday, as was Knox’s long-standing practice). We can’t repeat this too many times, so remember: Commencement falls on a Sunday.
Spectacular Saturday. Graduating seniors and their families have plenty they can do on Saturday, starting with the inaugural Grads Give Back service project from 9 to 11 a.m. Later on, catch the Knox-Galesburg Symphony Concert on the Lawn at 5 p.m. and the President’s Dessert Reception starting at 8 p.m., with fireworks after dark.
You don’t need tickets to attend Commencement — unless it is moved indoors because of severe weather. If weather forecasts for that day include drizzle or showers (but not lightning), consider bringing rain ponchos or umbrellas because there’s a good chance Commencement still would happen on the South Lawn.
Can’t attend Commencement in person? No problem. Watch it live on our YouTube channel.
We’d love to see your Commencement photos and posts. Please share them with us on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook, and use #knoxgrad as the hashtag.
For more information, keep an eye on http://www.knox.edu/commencement-information for the latest Commencement-related updates, such as best driving routes to campus — which you’ll want to check because some roads may be closed for another community event that is happening on Commencement day.
The Knox College Bookstore will begin summer hours on Monday June 8.
Hours are: Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.