From the Peoria Journal Star:
A Knox College professor who is the co-author of a textbook on the Middle East said Wednesday Iran’s form of government makes it extremely difficult to predict what may happen as protests continue in the streets over Friday’s presidential election.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the overwhelming winner.
Roy Andersen, a professor of economics at Knox, said confusing the situation even more is opposition candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi.
“The defeated candidate himself is a hard-liner,” Andersen said. “So it isn’t like he’s a great reformist, at least by history. Although he seems to be moving that way.”
Also in the Register Mail.
From the Quad-Cities Online (Davenport, IA):
Robert Hellenga, novelist and professor at Knox College, will speak at a luncheon during the annual David R. Collins Writer”s Conference on Thursday, June 26th at 11:45 a.m. This luncheon is open to the public as well as conference participants, but reservations and a $15 fee are required.
Robert Hellenga is currently the George Appleton Lawrence Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of English and Distinguished Writer-in-Residence at Knox College in Galesburg, IL, where he has been teaching since 1968. At Knox he began writing fiction, publishing his first short story in 1973. He has published three novels, Blues Lessons, The Fall of a Sparrow, and The Sixteen Pleasures, and his fourth novel, Philosophy Made Simple, is forthcoming. He has directed two programs for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest, one at the Newberry Library in Chicago, IL and one in Florence, Italy; he has been awarded an Illinois Arts Council Finalist Award and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities, in addition to many other honors.
From MarketWatch (WSJ Online):
The Nielsen Supervisory Board of Directors has appointed James M. Kilts as its Chairman. Mr. Kilts, 61, is a founding partner of Centerview Partners and has served on The Nielsen Company Supervisory Board since November 23, 2006. Centerview Partners’ private equity fund has a minority ownership position in Nielsen. Kilts’ appointment became effective on May 21, 2009….
Prior to Gillette, Mr. Kilts served at different times as President and Chief Executive Officer of Nabisco, Executive Vice President of the Worldwide Food group of Philip Morris, President of Kraft USA and Oscar Mayer, President of Kraft Limited in Canada, and Senior Vice President of Kraft International.
A graduate of Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois, Mr. Kilts earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago. Mr. Kilts is currently a member of the Board of Directors of MetLife, MeadWestvaco and Pfizer.
From the Anchorage Daily News (Anchorage, Alaska):
Most of us feel guilty about how much we love to gossip. Calling someone “an old gossip” is hardly a compliment.
But new research is showing that gossip helps us. It’s a source of useful information, concludes Frank McAndrew, professor of psychology at Knox College.
Our prehistoric ancestors lived their lives in small groups where people knew everyone in a face-to-face, long-term kind of way. Living under such conditions, our ancestors faced a number of problems, such as figuring out who would cheat you, who would be a good mate, and how to successfully manage friendships, alliances and family relationships.
They needed social intelligence for success, the ability to predict and influence the behavior of others. Gossip gives you just this sort of information.
People who were interested in the lives of others were more successful and it is their genes that have come down to us through the ages. Our inability to resist gossip shouldn’t be a source of guilt. It’s a sign of valuable talent at gathering useful information
If you can remember details about the temperament, predictability and past behavior of individuals whom you knew personally, you are much better off. You can predict what they’re likely to do and do to you.
We want stories about particular people. “I’m not surprised when the same psychology students who get glassy-eyed at any mention of statistical data about human beings become riveted by case studies of individual people experiencing psychological problems,” McAndrew points out.
