Lincoln Scholar to Receive Honorary Degree

Douglas Wilson, co-director of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College and one of the nation's leading scholars on Abraham Lincoln, will be awarded an honorary doctorate by Knox College this June.

Wilson, the George A. Lawrence Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus of English, joined the Knox faculty in 1961 and retired from active teaching in 1997. Since his retirement, Wilson has written three books and co-edited three books on Lincoln.

"Professor Wilson's latest work on Lincoln, 'Lincoln's Sword,' elegantly reveals how Lincoln uses the power of the spoken and written word to inform and shape public opinion. The book already is considered by Lincoln scholars as a pivotal work in the study of our 16th president," explains Roger Taylor, Knox College president.

Wilson taught English at Knox for more than 30 years, developing several innovative, interdisciplinary courses and co-founding the American Studies Program. He also served for 19 years as the Director of the Library. Starting at Knox, and later as director of the International Center for Jefferson Studies, Professor Wilson did significant research on Thomas Jefferson. For the past ten years, he and Rodney Davis, co-directors of the Lincoln Studies Center at Knox College, have been making significant contributions to scholars' understanding of Abraham Lincoln.

Wilson's written works comprise dozens of scholarly publications, including nine books -- one on George Santayana, three on Jefferson and five on Lincoln -- as well as articles for Time, American Heritage, and two cover stories for The Atlantic Monthly. Two of Wilson's research projects with Davis have made thousands of hand-written Lincoln-related documents freely accessible on-line and fully searchable by scholars, students and the general public. Wilson and Davis are currently completing a new edition of the texts of the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

Wilson is only the second repeat winner in the history of the Lincoln Prize, the highest award for Lincoln scholarship. Wilson received it first in 1999 for his book "Honor's Voice," about the development of Lincoln's character prior to entering politics. He received the award again in February 2007 for his book "Lincoln's Sword," which examines Lincoln's skill as a writer and communicator.

Wilson has received numerous research awards and academic honors, including from the National Endowment for the Humanities, Huntington Library, Newberry Library, Civil War Society, Abraham Lincoln Institute, New York Civil War Roundtable and Abraham Lincoln Institute of the Mid-Atlantic. He currently serves on both the U.S. and Illinois Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commissions.

A graduate of Doane College, Wilson completed his master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1991 he received both an Alumni Award for Distinguished Scholarship from Doane College and an Outstanding Faculty Award from Knox College.

Also on Saturday, June 2, Knox will award an honorary doctorate to former United States President Bill Clinton, who will deliver the commencement address.

Knox College was chartered by the Illinois Legislature on February 15, 1837. Among the members of the General Assembly was Abraham Lincoln, who would later rise to national prominence in the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates, one of which was held at Knox's Old Main. Today, Old Main is the sole remaining site from the historic debates. A nationally ranked liberal arts college with 1,351 students from 45 states and 44 countries, Knox also is one of the 40 colleges listed in the book "Colleges That Change Lives," by former New York Times education editor Loren Pope.