Attorney General to students: "Get involved right now."

"Use your talents and skills to make a difference," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan told Knox College students at the College's 2007-08 Opening Convocation. The convocation was held Thursday, September 6, the first day of class for the fall term.

Madigan, whose first job after college was as a teacher, gave a two-part history lesson, covering Knox's founding in 1837 by anti-slavery activists, as well as Abraham Lincoln's opposition in the 1850s to the expansion of slavery in the United States.

The abolitionist founders of Knox "wanted to provide education and religious training to people they hoped would become agitators against slavery," Madigan said. "What is remarkable about Knox to me is that its dedication to social justice isn't relegated to history. Through its programs and people, Knox continues its long tradition of improving not just good students, but society and the world."

Photos above, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan; below, Roger Taylor, President of Knox College; Jan Koran, Chair of the Board of Trustees.

Madigan urged students to consider Lincoln, who had his budding political career derailed when he lost a bid for re-election to Congress in 1848 and for several years concentrated almost exclusively on his legal practice.

But following federal legislation in the 1850s that would have allowed the expansion of slavery into new federal territories, "Lincoln's concern for the future of the nation motivated him to speak out, and to re-engage in public service," Madigan said. "Every generation faces its own social, moral and political battles, and yours is no different... You can get involved right now."

Also speaking at the convocation were Roger Taylor, President of the College; Janet Koran, Chair of the Board of Trustees;  Lawrence B. Breitborde, Vice President and Dean of the College; and Stephen Bailey, Associate Dean of the College.

Student, Faculty and Staff Awards

Taylor announced the winners of the Faculty Scholarship Prize and the Janet C. Hunter Prizes.

The Faculty Scholarship Prize is awarded to a member of the junior class who has exhibited exceptional academic ability while significantly participating in extra-curricular activities.

"The Faculty Scholarship Prize is the highest honor the Knox faculty accords a student," Taylor said, "This year two students were found to be equally meritorious -- Leigh Abrams, a chemistry major, and Erica Jaffe, a double-major in political science and economics." The Prize was established in 1922 by contributions the faculty made to an endowment campaign.

The Janet C. Hunter prizes are intended to recognize outstanding accomplishments and service to the College. One prize is awarded to a member of the hourly staff and one to a member of the salaried staff.

The winner of the 2007 Janet Hunter Prize for salaried staff is Karen Benedict, office manager in the Registrar's Office. 

Benedict assists both "students and faculty with an unparalleled efficiency and a command of massive amounts of detail," Taylor said. Recipients are selected by a campus committee and, Taylor said, "Karen's professionalism, efficiency, good humor and forethought have saved one member of the nominating committee from more headaches than they could enumerate."

Benedict is a member of the Junior Women's Club, which assembles "survival kits" for Knox students at the end of each term, and is also a fundraiser for Relay for Life.

The winner of the 2007 Hunter Prize for hourly staff is Sherrill Zaric, project coordinator in the Admission Office.

Zaric "works away from the general public and most of the campus, so the strength of her commitment to Knox may not be well known," Taylor said. "She routinely goes above and beyond -- the first to arrive in the morning and the last to leave."

Zaric also has served as a "mentor and teacher to the dozens of students who work for her each year,"

Taylor said. "Her goal is to do a job exceptionally well and to help Knox look the best when providing customer service. She is a team player, a role model for her colleagues, and a wonderful baker."

The prizes were established in 2000 by contributions from friends and colleagues of Janet C. Hunter, a longtime member of the staff.

Breitborde presented the Philip Green Wright-Lombard College Awards for Distinguished Teaching.

The award for untenured faculty was presented to Emily Anderson and Gina Franco, both assistant professors of English, who were judged equally meritorious, Breitborde said. Anderson and Franco joined the Knox faculty in 2003.

The award for tenured faculty was presented to Lawrence Welch, professor of chemistry. Welch has taught at Knox since 1988.

Recipients are chosen by the Faculty Personnel Committee, based solely on a record of outstanding teaching. The awards are endowed by gifts from Sewall Wright, Theodore Wright and Quincy Wright, whose father, Philip Green Wright, was a noted faculty member at Lombard College in Galesburg.

Bailey presented the Elbridge Pierce Prize to Matthew J. Stockov, a senior from Canton, Illinois. The award is given annually to the student who has made the greatest academic improvement during the sophomore and junior years. The prize was endowed by a gift from Elbridge Pierce, a member of the Knox College Board of Trustees from 1956 to 1960.