Knox in the News

From the Register-Mail:

Continuing a year-long theme on the Mississippi River and environmental science, Monmouth-Roseville Junior High School hosted several representatives from the Knox College Environmental Studies Department Thursday morning.

The Prairie Fire presenters had two themes, “Sustainability” and “Nature is really cool.” A side goal was to provide students with ideas and inspiration to do small things that add up to a big difference.

“We are trying to raise awareness,” said Knox College Chair of Environmental Studies Peter Schwartzman, who led the group. “We are trying to plant a few seeds on ways to live more respectfully of the environment and each other. To live so others can live.”

The Knox College student presenters, Brann Gallagher, Kaitlyn Puling, Creal Zearing, Annika Paulsen and Tory Kassabaum volunteered their time during exam preparations to travel to MRJHS. Gallagher, who spoke to an assembled group in the gymnasium, focused on nature and the outdoors.

“It is important to encourage them to get outdoors. I think that is important,” he said.

From the Register-Mail:

Calvin Zirkle has been boxing since he was in high school. Back in Kankakee, it was something to do.

It would lead him to a Chicago Golden Gloves title.

Now a junior at Knox College, he found a home away from home in Galesburg. Going to school some three hours away from home could have put a damper on his training, but his coach put him in contact with Carlos Duncan, who runs his gym on Simmons Street.

When Duncan first saw Calvin come in, he knew he wasn’t just meeting another gym rat. He was looking a potentially electric talent and model pupil.

“Carlos defined my skills (at his gym),” Zirkle said. “A lot of people come to Carlos for a good workout and to gain discipline.”

Besides running a gym for people interested in learning the Sweet Science, Duncan was a boxing standout. Once rated as the 10th best welterweight in the world, Duncan moved on to be a Level IV Elite coach for USA Boxing. He would often travel with them to the World Championships and even went to the Olympics in 1996.

From the Register-Mail:

Author, political analyst and former presidential adviser Leslie Sanchez will speak about her work in Washington at 7 p.m. May 18 in Kresge Hall, Ford Center for the Fine Arts, Knox College.

The talk is free and open to the public. The lecture was originally scheduled for Feb. 9, but was rescheduled due to weather.

Currently a columnist and commentator on CNN, Sanchez was named one of the nation’s “100 Most Influential Hispanics,” by Hispanic Business magazine. She has written two books, “Los Republicanos: Why Hispanics and Republicans Need Each Other,” and “You’ve Come a Long Way, Maybe: Sarah, Michelle, Hillary, and the Shaping of the New American Woman.”

In 2001, Sanchez was appointed by President George W. Bush as executive director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans. Before that she was a spokesman and deputy press secretary at the Republican National Committee, where she was one of the principal architects of the Republicans’ first-ever multimillion dollar advertising campaign aimed at Hispanic voters.

From WGIL radio:

Only at Knox College could you get pulled out of bed early to take the day off.

That was the case Monday, as it was designated “Flunk Day” on the Knox campus. It’s a day, officials say, built into the college schedule, but is otherwise secret, where students and staff alike essentially get to take the day off, and where students get to take part in games, free food, and other activities on campus.

Or, if you’re student Olivia Zurek, not do any of that, except have lunch.

“Actually, my honors paper is due today, which is a big deal. That is why I can’t go too crazy,” Zurek, who lives in the Chicago suburbs, said. “So I’m going to grab lunch and study at a nearby coffee shop, as lame as it sounds.”

From the Register-Mail:

For the second year in a row, the U.S. State Department has awarded Fulbright Scholar fellowships to members of the Knox College faculty to conduct international teaching and research.

Stuart Allison, professor of biology, will travel to the United Kingdom starting in the fall to compare ecological restoration practices in Europe and the United States.

Amy Singer, assistant professor of anthropology and sociology, will work in Indonesia on a study of the global flow of agricultural commodities and cultural markets.

Assistant professor of music Jeremy Day-O’Connell and professor of political science Karen Kampwirth received Fulbright Scholar grants in 2009-10. Day-O’Connell will return to Scotland later this year to complete his research on music and language. Kampwirth taught in last fall in Argentina. In recent years, Knox has been among the top liberal arts colleges for faculty and students receiving Fulbright grants for international research and teaching.

From the Daily Review Atlas (Monmouth, IL):

A public opening for student-produced exhibit entitled “Forgotten Tales Along the Rails” will take place in The Box on April 30 at 6 p.m. The exhibit explores what life was like for Irish immigrants coming to Galesburg between 1850 and 1870 while also considering how immigrants were nationally perceived at the time.

Unlike the frequently studied immigrant experience in New York City or Boston, few historians have examined the experience of Irish immigrants in smaller communities, like Galesburg. Knox College senior Margaret Spiegel has conducted such a study for her history honors project. Wanting to make this information accessible to the Galesburg community, she has presented it in a visually-compelling way by constructing an exhibit.

“Their stories need to be told,” Spiegel said. “The Irish accounted for approximately 6 percent of Galesburg’s population by 1870. That is too significant a number to ignore.”