Campus News

Spadafora Makes History
David Spadafora, professor of history and former president of Lake Forest College, was named the new president of the Newberry Library in Chicago, effective October 1.

He came to the College in 1990, served as Provost and Dean of the Faculty from 1990 to 1993, and as President from 1993-2001. In 2001, he received a one-year teaching and research fellowship at the Newberry from the Associated Colleges of the Midwest.

Although Spadafora will assume his post full time in December, he continues to be a prominent presence on campus during the school year. This fall he is teaching two courses in the First-Year Studies program, and in the spring will team teach a Master of Liberal Studies class on Tudor-Stuart England with Professor of English Richard Mallette.

 

Abt-Perkins Receives Award
A researcher in a classroom observes a third-grade teacher show a racist attitude toward African American students who speak English differently than white students. Does the researcher hide or expose this incident in her article? This is one of many dilemmas a researcher faces when looking at how teachers approach race in the classroom and whether this explains why an achievement gap exists between white, black, and Latino students.

It was one that Dawn Abt-Perkins, associate professor and chair of the education department, explored as co-editor of the book Making Race Visible: Literacy Research for Cultural Understanding. “If we don’t make this public, we can’t continue the discussion,” says Abt-Perkins.

The book received the 2005 Richard A. Meade Award for Research in English Education from the National Council of Teachers of English. The award recognizes an outstanding piece of published research in either preservice or inservice education of English/language arts teacher development at any educational level in any setting.

 

Muslim Specialist Visits
In August, Lake Forest College welcomed Khedija Arfaoui, an English teacher from Tunisia, for six weeks as part of the Fulbright Visiting Specialists Direct Access to the Muslim World Program. The program promotes understanding of the Muslim world and civilization by providing opportunities for U.S. higher educational institutions to host specialists for lectures and public outreach.

One of her goals is “to give the American people another picture of Islam and Muslim culture. A picture that is different from the one that is being given by some who pretend to be acting under the name of Islam.” While on campus, she gave lectures and met with faculty, students, and staff.

 

Calling All Readers
Do you know anything about the Japanese garden that once graced middle campus or what led to that graffiti about Professor Cowler on a pillar in the Durand Art Institute? If you have information, anecdotes, or photos about these or other places on or features of the campus, Christopher Reed, professor of art history, wants to hear from you.

Reed, who will teach a new class this spring called “Lake Forest College as a Cultural Landscape,” needs interesting or amusing stories about places on campus, why they look the way they do, what they used to look like, and activities that happened there.

The class will coincide with a comprehensive inventory of the College’s architecture and landscaping, which will be used to create a long-term plan for the preservation and restoration of historically significant features of the campus. Students will interact with architects and consultants on hand for the inventory and produce a walking guide and booklet about the campus for use by incoming students, staff and faculty, tourists, and townspeople.

Please send information or old photographs to Professor Reed at Box P-10, Lake Forest College, 555 N. Sheridan Rd., Lake Forest, Ill. 60045, or e-mail reed@lakeforest.edu.



150 Years Young
In 2007, Lake Forest College will commemorate its sesquicentennial and has already started to plan for the 150-year milestone. You can help by starting to think about what made your college experience special and unforgettable. In our winter alumni newsletter, we will ask you to share some of these memories with us as we get ready to celebrate. So stay tuned….

 

Stentor Subscriptions
Lake Forest College’s weekly student newspaper, the Stentor, is now offering subscriptions for $25 per semester or $45 for the academic year (23 issues). The Stentor covers issues affecting the campus community and serves as a channel through which students can express their opinions. For information, e-mail editor@lakeforest.edu or call 847-735-5215.

 

Hurricane Katrina Response
As student groups raised money and donated blood for hurricane relief, we saw some new faces on campus—five newly enrolled students displaced from the storm. The Office of Alumni and Parent Relations also set up a message board for alumni to post updates, news, and information on providing assistance to the Gulf Coast. Here are some excerpts:

Christina Christ ’03:
Louisiana State University School of Medicine student
This is still all so unreal to me; I am still in shock at this point. I left with a suitcase, my cat, and my computer, and for all intents and purposes, that is all I have left. At some point, it will hit me, and the knowledge that the home I know and love will never be the same if I can ever return will become real.

Ben Sandmel ’74:
I am safe high and dry.

Karyn L. Leniek ’00:
Tulane University Hospital resident
We decided to evacuate on Saturday, August 27 around 11:00p.m.…I had been hoping to return to join the recovery team at University Hospital in New Orleans, but that has become impossible. Thankfully, my colleagues have now been evacuated…Many of us will need to find new residencies and new homes for the 2005-2006 academic year. I am thankful for being alive and hope that everyone else’s friends and relatives have made it home in good health.

Russell W. Diehl ’68:
Our thoughts and prayers go out to our fellow countrymen in this time of need.

Woody Price ’83:
We are fine. Evacuated to Houston and now trying to establish schools for kids from NOLA in Dallas and Houston. Good to be busy. Probably lost our house, but it is only stuff.

More can be found at www.lakeforest.edu/alumni.


Q&A: ALEX KOTLOWITZ
Like many Lake Forest College students, Alex Kotlowitz grew up somewhere else (New York) before moving to Chicago. We asked Kotlowitz, the author of Never a City So Real, a book that looks at the city through a collection of stories about people who live in Chicago, to share some tips on how to become familiar with the city.

Spectrum: You’ve been described as an “accidental Chicagoan,” so how did you get to know the city when you moved here?

Kotlowitz: I had the advantage of coming here as a journalist, and so I had an excuse to meet people as I looked for stories. I also did a lot of walking and far too much hanging out.

Spectrum: What are your top five off-the-beaten-path places to go in Chicago?

Kotlowitz: MacArthur’s—one of the best soul food restaurants in the city, located in Austin on the city’s far west side; the lake shore south of the museum complex; along the Calumet River in far south Chicago; Garfield Park Conservatory (a great place for kids); and Argyle Street—a small Vietnamese community in Uptown with some great restaurants.

Spectrum: What advice would you give to students who want to go beyond the tourist attractions and experience the “real” Chicago?

Kotlowitz: Grab a lunch or dinner at the small neighborhood restaurants which dot the city. They’re great portals into the city’s various neighborhoods—and there are some great meals to be had.

Alex Kotlowitz delivered the keynote address to launch the opening of the new Center for Chicago Programs on September 15. MORE >


Foresters in the News
Jennifer Roberts Schmitt ’91 was featured in Sports Illustrated’s “Faces in the Crowd” on Aug. 8 for beating her sister to win the women’s open singles title at the United States Handball Association National Four-Wall Championships. Other alumni mentioned in past columns, which recognizes standout athletic performances, included Megan Mehilos ’04 and Michael Dau ’58.

Ghada Talhami, D. K. Pearson Professor of Politics, was featured on a History Channel program called Brotherhood of Terror about the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt on September 10. She was interviewed twice on National Public Radio about Middle East issues.

Gerard Cebrzynski, director of financial aid, was quoted in a June 6 New York Times article about federal legislation that is making it more difficult for students to receive financial aid.

Robert Baade, professor of economics, was quoted in several newspapers, including New York Times, Newsday, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and New Orleans Times-Picayune, on the economic impact of sports facilities.

Eighteen students and two staff traveled to Foley, Alabama on a spring break service trip to help Habitat for Humanity rebuild homes for victims of Hurricane Ivan in March. They were featured on three Alabama newscasts and a Weather Channel program on storm victims on June 5.

Several students were featured in a May 10 Chicago Sun-Times article on an annual bird banding project led by Caleb Gordon, assistant professor of biology, that studies migratory habits of landbirds in Illinois.