Knox College Homecoming, Oct. 22-24

Knox College looks to welcome more than 1,000 alumni to Galesburg for the College's 2010 Homecoming Weekend festivities, October 22-24.

Events for alumni include reunions organized by class years, clubs, sports teams, fraternities, sororities and academic majors. Knox Service Awards will be presented to Bernard McCune '88; Mike and Patricia Ruffolo, both '58; and John Sauter '63. The Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame will induct Mark Junk '91, John Liston '58, Thomas Neagle '04, and Steven Varick '76.

Knox faculty have opened almost 30 of their classes for attendance by alumni visitors on Friday, October 22. The Friday night All-Class Reception features hors d'eouvres provided by downtown Galesburg restarants, including Cherry Street Restaurant and Bar, Chez Willy's, Coney Island, Cornucopia, Innkeeper's Fresh Roasted Coffee, Knox Dining Services, Landmark Cafe & Creperie, McGillacuddy's, New China Cafe, Packinghouse, Pizza House, Uncle Billy's Bakeryand Vintages Wine Tasting Room & Wine Garden.

Reunions and dinners are open to all Knox College alumni. Some events, including the Hall of Fame induction, require advance registration with the Knox College Alumni Office, by phone at 309-341-7238. The complete schedule is online at www.knox.edu/homecoming

Several Homecoming events are free and open to the public:

On Friday, October 22 --

• Lecture: "Kepler: Are There Any Good Worlds Out There?" Dr. Jeffrey Smith '01, 4 p.m. in D-108, Umbeck Science-Mathematics Center.

• Alumni Art Showcase, 7 p.m.-9 p.m., in the Ford Center for the Fine Arts. Works submitted by Knox College alumni will be on display through Saturday, October 23.

• Alumni Jazz Jam Session, 9 p.m. - midnight at Cherry Street Restaurant and Bar, 57 S. Cherry, Galesburg.

On Saturday, October 23 --

• Homecoming Convocation and Knox Service Awards Presentation, 10:00 a.m., Kresge Recital Hall, Ford Center for the Fine Arts.

• Knox Alumni & Faculty Book Signing, 11 a.m., Lobby, Ford Center for the Fine Arts. Knox alumni and faculty will sign books and have them available for purchase.

• Walking Tour of Knox College and Hope Cemetery, 1 p.m. Rex Cherrington '73 will lead the tour of historic sites at Knox and in nearby Hope Cemetery. The tour begins at Old Main on the Knox campus.

• Lecture: "The Neurobiology of What Drives Our Desires (Drugs, Sex and Donuts)," by Esther Penick, assistant professor of biology. 1:30 p.m. Francois Classroom, Ubmeck Science-Mathematics Center.

• Lecture: "Medium as Disruption: Pop Art Drawings," by art historian Anna Kryczka '07. 3 p.m., Round Room, Ford Center for the Fine Arts.

• Lecture/Discussion: "Ernest Hemingway, The Man Behind the Mask," by Robin Metz, professor of English and director of the program in creative writing. 3 p.m. at Olyve's Martini Bar, 58 S. Cherry, Galesburg. Works covered will include Hemingway's "Complete Short Stories" and novels "The Garden of Eden" and "The Green Hills of Africa."

• Art Exhibition and Reception: Works by Christopher Reno. 4:30 p.m. at The Box Gallery, East Simmons and South Kellogg Streets, Galesburg.

Knox College athletic events are also free and open to the public on Saturday:

• Prairie Fire Football vs. Carroll University. 1 p.m. at the Knosher Bowl.

• Prairie Fire Women's Soccer vs. Beloit College. 1 p.m. at Jorge Prats Soccer Field.

• Prairie Fire Men's Soccer vs. Beloit College. 3:30 p.m. at Jorge Prats Soccer Field.

More about the Knox Service Award winners:

Bernard McCune '88
A 1988 graduate in economics and business administration, Bernard McCune has been active in Knox's Black Alumni Association and is a member of the Knox College Alumni Council. Through his involvement in a wide range of formal and informal activities, he has helped prospective students, current students and Knox alumni. McCune lives in Chicago and is deputy director of the Chicago school district's Office of College and Career Preparation.

Mike and Patricia Craig Ruffolo '58
Both 1958 graduates with degrees in economics and business administration, Mike and Patricia Craig Ruffolo of Piedmont, California, have served Knox as fundraising volunteers, event hosts for the Golden Gate Knox Club and admission volunteers. Donors to Knox every year since they graduated, they co-chaired the 2008 record-breaking class reunion fund drive. Mr. Ruffolo is retired president of McKeany-Flavell Company, a commodity brokerage firm in Oakland, California, where the Ruffolos' son Craig, a 1992 Knox graduate, is currently vice president.

John Sauter '63
A Galesburg native and 1963 Knox graduate in economics and business administration, John Sauter has served on the Knox Alumni Council and for the past 15 years as club leader of the Washington, D.C., Knox Club. He has volunteered for admission and fund-raising activities at Knox and served as Knox's delegate to the recent presidential inauguration at Goucher College. Sauter holds master's and doctoral degrees from Indiana University and is president of Acton Associates, a consulting firm in Reston, Virginia.

More about the Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame Inductees:

John Liston '58
A 1958 Knox College graduate with a degree in biology, John Liston set Knox basketball records in field goals and free throws made, total points for one season, scoring average, rebounds and free throw percentage. As a senior, Liston worked as basketball team manager and assistant coach at Knox, and following graduation coached basketball at his high school alma mater, Knoxville High School. In 1999, he was elected into the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame. He is retired and lives in Gilson, Illinois.

Tom Neagle '04
Tom Neagle lettered in both football and baseball at Knox College. In football, he ranks first or second in every Knox career receiving category and ranks in the Top 10 for eight Midwest Conference career receiving categories. In baseball, he holds the record in career home runs, and is ranked second in RBIs and total bases, and third in at-bats and runs. A 2004 graduate in economics, he is employed by Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Mark Junk '91
A Galesburg native, Mark Junk was an all-Midwest Conference selection in basketball for all of his four years at Knox College. He also won MVP honors in both 1989 and 1991, holds the single season record for steals and is third in career points and fourth in career points per game. A 1991 Knox graduate in economics, he lives in Saint Joseph, Michigan, and is employed by Whirlpool Corporation as Project Manager, North America Procurement.

Steven Varick '76
In his swimming career at Knox, Steven Varick set school records several events, including 100 and 200-yard freestyle, and he still holds the Knox record in 500 yard freestyle. He was voted Most Valuable Swimmer in 1974, 1975, and 1976, and won every event that he entered in the 1974-75 and 1975-76 Midwest Conference Championships. A 1976 Knox graduate in political science, Varick received his law degree at the University of Chicago. He lives in Glencoe and is an attorney in Chicago.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 45 states and 48 countries. Knox's 'Old Main' is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.