Knox in the News

 From PR NewsWire:
Ridge Global, an international provider of security and risk management services, today announced the appointment of Timothy Sutherland, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Pace Global Energy Services, LLC (Pace Global), to the company’s board of advisors.

“Tim Sutherland has a keen understanding of energy and environmental markets and the diverse business and economic strategies that must guide their success,” said Tom Ridge, president and CEO of Ridge Global. “As the world’s public and private sectors continue to look for ways to improve energy options and sustainable business practices, Tim’s insights will help us to further meet our clients’ energy needs in an increasingly complex and changing market environment.”

Mr. Sutherland, who holds an MBA from New York University and a BA from Knox College, founded Pace Global more than 35 years ago, guiding the company’s growth from a start up to an internationally recognized energy consulting and management firm with extensive client relationships in more than 60 countries throughout the energy, transportation and financial communities. He has led the development of the company’s chief business services, including strategic planning and strategy implementation, counterparty negotiations, comprehensive fuel supply planning and acquisition, financial structuring evaluation and private placements within the energy and transportation industries..

From Swampland: By Michael Grunwald

Jared Bernstein, the most prominent Manhattan School of Music alumnus on the White House economic team, has left his job as Vice President Biden’s chief economist… Before he left, we exchanged e-mails about the economy, liberal complaints about the President…

Q: You came from the progressive movement, and you’re returning to the progressive movement; a lot of your progressive allies feel let down by the Obama administration. What do you say to them?

A: Very, very simple. I’d tell them to go read [President] Obama’s 2005 commencement speech at Knox College and compare that with his speech at GW a few weeks ago on fiscal issues… the President’s essential vision of a government that helps to foster private sector innovation, that temporarily intervenes when needed to at least partially offset market failures… that to me is a progressive vision, and it’s one that Obama has consistently stood for…

From The Register-Mail:

Organizational meetings are planned the next two Tuesday’s for the Galesburg Wrestling Foundation, a group that hopes to unify all wrestling entities in Galesburg from youth through Galesburg High School varsity.

The GWF will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday and again May 24 in Lecture Room C at Galesburg High School.

The GWF’s organization is being spearheaded by GHS wrestling coach Chris Carpenter and Knox College coach Tony Islas.

“The GWF is founded on the principles of solid citizenship, great physical and mental development and high academic achievement for our wrestlers,” said Carpenter. “Our vision is to gain support from for parents and business members.”

Questions on the GWF can be directed to Carpenter at ccarpenter@galesburg205.org or Islas at tislas@knox.edu.

From The Register-Mail:
Helmut Mayer is rather modest when he explains why he began buying locally produced food to incorporate into menus he develops for Knox College.

“Many things here are student driven,” said Mayer, the college’s director of dining services. “I’m a no bars hold kind of guy and the students here are too — not beating around the bush.”

So when Mayer, 61, heard students demanding not just organic food, but locally produced food, he stepped up the challenge.

“There’s a very high demand here for locally grown. Organic used to be the thing, but kids know organic can be mass produced — industrialized,” he said. “Locally grown is the big thing now.”

This year marks the third year Mayer will be purchasing produce through the area’s Local Grower’s Network…

For his efforts to incorporate Galesburg area-produced food into the meals served to Knox students, faculty, and staff, Mayer recently was honored by the Illinois Stewardship Alliance.

The Alliance created the awards to recognize what it calls “the creative, innovative and pioneering local food activities in Illinois.”

He was one of 18 recipients of the 2011 Golden Beet Award. He was selected in the category of “Farm to School.”

Mayer’s nomination for the Golden Beet stated: “For several years, Helmut has made a special effort to purchase locally produced food for dining services at Knox College. He beats the drum for local food and educates staff and students about it. He was also interviewed for the ‘Wa$sted’ show on the Planet Green Network.”

Mayer said he was “totally surprised” by the award, but honored.

From WGIL.com:

The president of Knox College can’t speak highly enough of another college.

266 students comprising CSC’s three campuses all received diplomas Thursday night. The ceremony was held in the Galesburg High School Auditorium, just a day after CSC’s ceremony for those receiving GED’s at the Orpheum Theatre.

From TheEcologist.org:
We live in a world where children find it easy to identify brand names but difficult to identify native plants. This cultural phenomenon is highlighted by American Artist Heidi Cody’s brand alphabet installations.

The online sphere is alive with blog posts arguing that advertising is wrong, unethical and even ‘evil’.

In 2010 the UN warned that climate change and a culture of consumerism were the greatest threats to the civilisation’s future wellbeing and prosperity - and there is no doubt that advertising drives consumerism…

Tim Kasser, Professor of psychology at Knox College in Illinois, US, is strongly for advertising bans. He says ‘Public advertising on places like billboards and in subways contributes to social norms suggesting the consumerism is a good thing and also serves as a stimulus in the environment that can momentarily activate materialistic, self-enhancing values.’ Both of these effects are associated with worse ecological attitudes and behaviours.

Holding a bad attitude towards the environment and prioritising materialistic values makes us less happy. Kasser adds: ‘Much advertising relies on creating a discrepancy in people’s minds between where they are and where the beautiful, successful, highly loved people in the advertisement are; such discrepancies are known to create negative emotional states.