Kasser receives fellowship

Tim Kasser, associate professor of psychology at Knox College, has been awarded a fellowship to collaborate with researchers at the University of Surrey, United Kingdom, into the links between happiness, prosperity, and ecological sustainability. The fellowship will allow Kasser to spend four weeks this fall at the University of Surrey's Research Group on Lifestyles, Values, and the Environment (RESOLVE).

"RESOLVE and I are both interested in personal values and in broader societal values," Kasser said. "I have focused on the problems of materialism and overconsumption -- the consequences of 'buying into' the consumer culture that suggests happiness and success come from having more money, status and possessions. RESOLVE takes an interdisciplinary approach to values, lifestyle, consumption and ecology, and focuses on policy solutions."

Kasser said he plans to give a series of talks and to meet with researchers at the University of Surrey and other schools, as well as to begin work on a forthcoming book on integrating personal, social and ecological well-being.

The author of numerous research articles and book chapters, Kasser gained critical praise for his book, The High Price of Materialism, from such diverse reviewers as The American Library Association, Laura Schlessinger's "Reading Corner" and the journal Rethinking Marxism. A member of the Knox faculty since 1995, Kasser received his bachelor's degree at Vanderbilt University and his master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Rochester.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 45 states and 44 nations. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.

Tim Kasser, below, feeding goats on his farm