Homecoming 2008

Knox College will dedicate new academic and athletic facilities and host nearly 100 campus events, as the College welcomes hundreds of alumni returning to Galesburg to celebrate Homecoming 2008. From October 30 through November 2, Knox will sponsor 16 public events, five athletic events, and more than 50 alumni and class reunions.

In addition to three informal classes, Knox has opened 25 regular courses for attendance by alumni on Friday, October 31. Because Knox's Homecoming coincides this year with Halloween, a Halloween carnival is one of three events designed specifically for alumni children.

Events include a free, public panel featuring Knox faculty and alumni who will discuss the upcoming presidential election, the presentation of Knox Service Awards and induction of new members to the Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame.

Dedications of Facilities
The public is invited to celebrate three major campus renovation projects -- at Borzello Hall, the Knosher Bowl and Turner Track.

Renovated this past summer, Borzello Hall at 115 East South Street houses the College's journalism program, offices for faculty and the public relations department, a high-tech classroom and a media lab. The free, public dedication at 2:30 p.m., Friday, October 31, will recognize Robert Borzello, a 1958 Knox graduate whose gift of $300,000 supported the purchase and renovation; and the building's previous owner, Donald Fike, chief executive officer of RFMS, Inc. After a successful career in journalism in the United States, Borzello moved to England, where he is a trustee of MediaWise, an organization that promotes ethics in reporting. Fike made an in-kind gift valued at $150,000 toward the renovation project.

Also on Friday, Knox will dedicate Turner Track, the renovated outdoor track named in honor of Harold Turner, who taught and coached at Knox for 25 years. At the time of Turner's retirement in 1963, he was the only coach in the Midwest Athletic Conference to have won conference championships in three sports. The free, public dedication will be held at the track, just west of the Andrew Fitness Center and Memorial Gymnasium at 3:30 p.m., Friday, October 31.

On Saturday, Knox will dedicate the Knosher Bowl, the extensively renovated football field named in honor of Harley Knosher, Knox's athletic director from 1964 until his retirement in 2000. The free, public dedication begins at 12:45 p.m., Saturday, just prior to the 1 p.m. kickoff of the homecoming football game with Lake Forest College.

Sports
In addition to the football game, campus athletic events will include a volleyball game at 7 p.m., Thursday; a cross country meet at 11 a.m., Saturday; men's soccer at 11 a.m., Saturday; and women's soccer at 1:30 p.m., Saturday.

Symposium on Debate and Politics
Free, public events also will include an alumni-faculty symposium, "Presidential Debate in American Politics," at 4 p.m., Friday, October 31. Participants are Rodney Davis and Douglas Wilson, co-directors of the Lincoln Studies Center; television news reporter Robert Jamieson '65; Michael Lawrence '64, retired director of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute; and Norm Winick '64, newspaper publisher. The moderator is Robert Seibert '63, professor of political science. The symposium is free and open to the public in Kresge Recital Hall, Ford Center for the Fine Arts.

Exhibit, Lecture by Anissa Lewis
The annual Alumni Art Show and Lecture showcases the work of Anissa Lewis, a 1996 Knox graduate. Lewis earned an M.F.A. in painting and printmaking at Yale University School of Art. In addition to group and individual exhibitions, Lewis has taught in Temple University's Pan African Studies Community Education Program. The lecture and reception are free and open to the public at 7 p.m., Friday in the Ford Center for the Fine Arts.

Homecoming Convocation
At the annual Homecoming Convocation, Knox will honor three alumni with 2008 Alumni Service Awards: Phyllis Holowaty Albrecht '56, of Lake Bluff, Illinois; George B. Eaton '80, of Davenport, Iowa; and Carolyn Swartz Park '55, of Galesburg. The award recognizes outstanding volunteer service to Knox. The free, public convocation is 10 a.m., Saturday, November 1 in Kresge Hall.

• Phyllis Holowaty Albrecht serves on the Knox Alumni Council and as a class correspondent for Knox Magazine. After graduating from Knox, she taught on the clinical faculty in Northwestern University's Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders until her retirement in 1997, and served as trustee and president of the Village of Lake Bluff.

• George B. Eaton has served as president of the Knox Alumni Council and as an Alumni Trustee. He retired from the U.S. Army in 2001 with the rank of lieutenant colonel and currently is command historian for the U.S. Army Field Support and Joint Munitions Commands at Rock Island, Illinois.

• Carolyn Swartz Park has served on her class reunion campaign committee, as an award selection committee member, and as a volunteer for the Fifty Year Club, annually writing more than 1,500 birthday cards to club members. She has taught in Galesburg and performed with the Galesburg Community Chorus, Knox-Sandburg Community Band, Knoxville Summer Band and the Knox-Galesburg Symphony.

The convocation also will feature remarks from class speakers Caroline Andrews Porter '58, of Galesburg, and Senior Class President Michael Dooley '09.

Theatre, Literature, Dance
Arts events include performances of the comedy "Tartuffe" at 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday in Harbach Theatre. Tickets for Tartuffe are available at the door and are $10 for adults, $5 for Knox alumni and senior citizens, and free to all students. Abigail Yoder, a 2004 Knox graduate, will give a free, public art history lecture, "The Influence of da Vinci on Odilon Redon," at 3 p.m., Saturday in the Round Room, Ford Center for the Fine Arts. Associate librarian Sharon Clayton will give a free, public talk, "How the First Books Were Made," and display rare, medieval books from the College's Special Collections at 3 p.m., Saturday in Seymour Library.

Noted Knox College authors, both faculty and alumni, will sign copies of their books in the lobby of Ford Center for the Fine Arts, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday. Authors will include Rodney Davis, Douglas Wilson, Robert Hellenga, Karen Kampwirth, Magali Roy-Fequiere, Jeremy Day-O'Connell, Natania Rosenfeld and Owen Muelder.

Local History Exhibit
A free, public exhibit that brings 19th-century Galesburg to life, "Boomtown 1858: Galesburg and the Fifth Lincoln-Douglas Debate," will be on display on the South Lawn of Old Main from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday. Assembled last year by a Knox class in public history, the exhibit recreates the site of the Lincoln-Douglas Debate, with additional informative displays. The students dress in period costumes and portray typical audience members at the debate, telling and showing visitors what Galesburg and Knox College were like 150 years ago.

Sports Hall of Fame
The Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame will induct four new members, Friday at 6 p.m. in Seymour Union:

• Beth Conant '02, NCAA national qualifier in women's golf
  
• William Fuerst '69, all-conference in men's basketball
  
• Megan Owens '01, NCAA and school record-holder in women's soccer and an NCAA national qualifier in track and field
  
• Russell Schwem '54, letterwinner in swimming and conference champion in men's golf
  

Fifty-Year Club
The Knox-Lombard Fifty Year also will induct new members at its luncheon at noon on Saturday, Nov. 1. Both events require advance registration with the Knox College Alumni Office.

Reunions, Receptions
Alumni events include an all-class reception Friday night in T. Fleming Fieldhouse, dubbed "Taste of Galesburg" because all the hors d'oeuvres are provided by downtown Galesburg restaurants. Information on the Hall of Fame, Fifty Year Club, and other alumni events and class reunions is available from the Knox College Alumni Office, 309-341-7238 or at http://www.knox.edu/homecoming.xml

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 48 states and 42 nations. Knox's 'Old Main' is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.