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Faculty awards announced at
MC commencement
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Monmouth College's Hatch Award winners for 2006-07 include, from
left, Marlo Belschner, Distinguished Service; William Urban,
Distinguished Scholarship and Research; and Stacy Cordery;
Distinguished Teaching.
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Monmouth College’s celebrated its 150th commencement exercises on May
20, not only by recognizing the academic achievements of the graduates,
but also by honoring some of the faculty responsible for their success.
The annual Hatch Academic Excellence Awards, funded by Chicago
alumnus Jerry Hatch, a retired executive for American National Can, were
also announced. The Hatch Awards recognize outstanding faculty work in
the areas of teaching, scholarship and service. Through cash stipends,
they honor faculty who have excelled in their academic disciplines and
who have served as an inspiration to both their students and their
colleagues.
The Distinguished Teaching Award winner was Stacy Cordery, professor
of history, who joined the faculty in 1994. The Distinguished
Scholarship and Research Award was presented to William Urban, Lee L.
Morgan Professor of History and International Studies and a member of
the faculty for more than 40 years. The Distinguished Service Award
winner was Marlo Belschner, assistant professor of English, who just
completed her sixth year of teaching.
Release Date:
May 23, 2007
Monmouth College Office of College
Communications
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Monmouth College student Patrick
McGuire poses with famed Washington historical interpreter William
Sommerfield at Mount Vernon last summer. |
Monmouth's McGuire interns at Mount
Vernon
Discovering the adventurous life
of a 17th-century farmhand
Mention the name "George
Washington"
and dozens of images immediately come to mind. There’s the stoic
face staring back at you on the dollar bill, for instance. The "I
cannot tell a lie" cherry tree legend also comes to mind, as does
the famous painting of him crossing the Delaware.But senior Patrick McGuire gained a
whole new perspective about our first president in his 10 weeks at
Mount Vernon, Washington’s landmark home and plantation in eastern
Virginia. There, he was introduced to George Washington, farmer
extraordinaire.
"He much rather wanted to be
remembered as a farmer than anything else," said McGuire, who spent
his summer as a "historical interpreter" at the home’s Pioneer Farm
site, describing Washington’s role in late 18th-century agriculture
to as many as 1,200 visitors per day."I didn’t know much about
Washington before I went," said McGuire, who heard about the
opportunity from history professor Stacy Cordery. "I got to learn
there was a lot more to him than just the boring guy on the $1
bill."
Among the interesting nuggets of
information, McGuire learned:
- Washington had a 16-sided barn.
"He was the only one to ever have a barn designed like that. It was
designed for threshing wheat. The barn had two levels, and the top
level had gaps in the floor. Horses would trot on top of the wheat,
and the grains would fall through."
- "He was at the forefront of
farming in his day. He was one of the first farmers to experiment
with fertilizer and to have a seven-year crop rotation, rather than
the standard three."
- Washington was the first person
to introduce mules to America.
- "His main cash crop was wheat,
which was turned into flour, which is where he made his money. He
was also the biggest distiller of whiskey in the nation."
- Washington followed the custom of
the time and had slaves – numbering 316, according to McGuire – but
he was ahead of his time in granting them their freedom. His will
arranged for his slaves to be freed after his wife, Martha’s, death
and provided for the continued care and education of some of them.
He was the only Founding Father to free his slaves.
- On a non-farming note, "He was a
great dancer, and he loved hunting. One of my favorite stories was
hearing about a great big dinner Martha had prepared. One of his
dogs jumped up and took the ham off the table. Instead of being
angry, Washington just laughed for the next 10 minutes."
As one of five interns, McGuire
lived on the estate in guest quarters. There were 20 other employees
at the farm site, and about 400 workers in all at Mount Vernon."On a slow day, we’d have about 650
visitors, but on busy days, it would be about 1,200," said McGuire.
"We had lots of visitors on school trips when I first got there."
McGuire plans to be a teacher, and
his internship only strengthened his belief that some learning needs
to be done outside the textbook and, preferably, outside the
classroom, as well."You can sit in a classroom and
tell students these things, but it’s so much more valuable to
actually experience it," he said. "For example, I got to see letters
he wrote to Martha."
To earn academic credit for his
experience, McGuire did a research project on Washington and his
farm equipment.
"I loved it," McGuire concluded.
"It’s something I wish everyone could experience. It was the
greatest summer I’ve ever had."
Release Date:
February 2, 2007
Monmouth College Office of College
Communications
Two MC history majors have their undergraduate research
published
Monmouth College history majors Daniel Walker of
Springfield and Joseph Babich of Schaumburg wrote two of the 44 papers that were
selected to appear in a publication from the 14th Annual Clement S. Stacy
Undergraduate Research Conference in English and Philosophy.
Along with associate professor of history Simon Cordery, Walker and Babich
attended the 2006 conference, which was held on the campus of Purdue
University-Calumet. Their works were published in the American history section
of the 300-page bound volume.
Walker wrote his paper on “Theodore Roosevelt’s 1912 Progressive Campaign and
the Chicago Presses,” while Babich’s subject was “Samuel Wood and the City of
Monmouth: Growth on the Prairies.”
“I enjoyed meeting students from other colleges and listening to their
presentations,” said Walker. “There were some really amazing talks given.”
Added Babich, “I enjoyed working closely with Dr. Cordery to try to shorten my
paper by more than half and to a new style. It was great experience for me.”
“To any who may have doubts about the quality of the work being done by some of
today’s undergraduates, I recommend a reading of these proceedings,” wrote Stacy
in the book’s foreword. “They demonstrate a level of commitment to scholarly
activity that should be a source of pride for the students, their professors and
the schools they represent.”Release Date:
March 21, 2007
Monmouth College Office of College
Communications
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