MOUNT VERNON — The Cornell College fine arts renovation project of Armstrong Hall and Youngker Hall, including Kimmel Theatre, has received an honor award for excellence in architecture in the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Central States Region Awards.

McWethy Hall, the first building completed in the fine arts project, received an honor award from the AIA Iowa chapter.

All projects were designed by Herbert Lewis Kruse Blunck (HLKB) Architecture of Des Moines. Armstrong Hall, built in 1938, was renovated in 2002-2003 for the music and theater departments. Youngker Hall opened in 2003 featuring a new 266-seat, state-of-the-art theater. McWethy Hall, which opened in 1909 as Cornell’s first gymnasium, was renovated for the art department and reopened in 2002.

HLKB won six of the 16 AIA Central States Region Awards, including three merit awards and two citation awards. An honor award is the highest recognition. The Central States Region covers Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma. In the AIA Iowa chapter awards, HLKB received seven of the 11 design awards, including all four of the top honor awards.

Other campus projects completed by HLKB include renovations to Law Hall and Cole Library, the new Marie Fletcher Carter Pedestrian Mall and improvements to Bowman-Carter residence hall.

MOUNT VERNON — Christopher Merrill, director of the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa, will read from his work at Cornell College on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 7 p.m. in Hedges Conference Room of The Commons. Admission is free.

Merrill’s nonfiction works include his most recent, “Things of the Hidden God: Journey to the Holy Mountain,” as well as “Only the Nails Remain: Scenes from the Balkan Wars.” His collections of poetry include “Brilliant Water” and “Watch Fire.”

In “Things of the Hidden God,” Merrill describes the transformative pilgrimages he made to sacred Mount Athos in Greece to visit the ancient monasteries. The book is called a personal tale of Merrill’s quest to overcome despair and aimlessness after covering the Balkan wars of the 1990s.

“Merrill’s great strengths as a writer have always been his ability to braid the past, present and future; his lightheartedness; and his willingness to digest those books the rest of us may never read and give the reader the gift of their essential wisdom,” said a Los Angeles Times review. “In his new book, Merrill, ever God’s fool, also gives us something of himself, of his own wisdom and transformation.”

Merrill earned the 2005 Kostas Kyriazis Award, Greece’s most prestigious journalism honor, for “Things of the Hidden God” as well as the body of his journalistic work. Named after the late owner and founder of Greece’s oldest daily newspaper, Ethnos, the award recognizes organizations and individuals that promote human values. Merrill is only the third American to receive the honor, joining Thomas Friedman and Kati Marton.

Merrill’s visit to Cornell is part of the Visiting Writer Series sponsored by Cornell’s English department.

MOUNT VERNON — “Prosperity,” a new play that follows a band of actors as they improvise a raucous comedy about community greed, murder and sacrifice, comes to the Kimmel Theatre stage at Cornell College on Thursday, Oct. 6, at 8 p.m.

This is a world-premiere co-production with Riverside Theatre in Iowa City, where the play opened Riverside’s 25th anniversary season earlier in September. Performances continue at Cornell on Oct. 7 and 8 at 8 p.m. and Oct. 9 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth, students and senior citizens. Admission is free for Cornell students, faculty, staff, emeriti faculty and retired staff. For reservations, call 895-4293.

“ ‘Prosperity’ is a madcap theatrical journey that spins tales of murder, greed, corruption, ghosts and fairies, even while developing a series of very sophisticated ideas about the nature of truth and narrative,” says director Mark Hunter, chair of Cornell’s theatre and communications studies department. “Never has learning that we all have the capacity to create our own life stories been so much fun!”

Playwright Keith Huff is a graduate of the University of Iowa’s Playwrights Workshop, a Resident Playwright at Chicago Dramatists where he also teaches and is the recipient of numerous playwriting awards and fellowships. His plays have been produced off-Broadway and nationally. He has developed plays at theaters throughout the United States including The Public Theater, Steppenwolf, Berkeley Rep, Studio Arena Theatre, Woolly Mammoth, Florida Studio Theatre and Midwest PlayLabs.

The co-production is the sixth Cornell-Riverside collaboration since 1996. Riverside Theatre’s artistic directors, Ron Clark and Jody Hovland, are artists-in-residence at Cornell, and Clark appears in the play. “Prosperity” director Hunter is artistic associate at Riverside, where he has directed a production at the Riverside Theatre Shakespeare Festival each summer since its inception.

MOUNT VERNON – Cornell alumni photographers present their work – including traditional and digital ranges of the spectrum, manipulated imagery, documentary subjects, portraiture both human and canine, and landscapes of a personal and universal nature – in a homecoming exhibit opening Sunday, Sept. 18, in the Peter Paul Luce Gallery of McWethy Hall.

Featured artists in “Cornell College Alumni Photo” are David Bauer ’88, Steve Carter ’02, Bridgett Chambliss ’04, Brice Critser ’95, Clare Ellison ’02, Marie Griffin ’01, Genevieve Lally-Knuth ’02, Sarah Kellogg ’04, Stephanie Penn ’05, Jordan Running ’04, James Salaiz ’98, Jen Schneidman ’04, Patti Streeter ’97, Victoria Thomas ’98, and William Widmer ’04.

On Saturday, Oct. 15, from 3 to 5 p.m. is a homecoming reception with the artists. On Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. in McWethy Room 222A is a lecture by University of Iowa professor Margaret Stratton, on a related topic. The lecture is free and open to the public.

The exhibition runs through Oct. 23. Admission is free and open to the public. Gallery hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday.

MOUNT VERNON – Seven Cornell College students in an upper-level French class are headed to Louisiana on Thursday, Sept. 15, for the Festivals Acadiens in Lafayette, well to the west of areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina but a haven for evacuees from the New Orleans area.

Cornell French professor Jan Boney, who was raised in Slidell, La., has been taking her classes the 1,050 miles to Lafayette for seven years. They enjoy the festival’s Cajun music, dance a lot, eat well, meet the people of Louisiana and converse with other French-speaking people. Squeezed into their van this year will be donations of socks, toiletries, backpacks for elementary school students and duffle bags and soft-sided or collapsible luggage – the latter a need identified by a Cornell administrator whose parents live in Baton Rouge, where many evacuees have relocated at least temporarily.

Boney’s students, on the first day of class Sept. 5, discussed the pros and cons of the journey, which had been a planned field trip for their course, “Francophone Cultures of North America.”

“The overall message I heard was that Francophone culture is what the course is about. Students want to go help if they can but also experience and support a culture that has been challenged a bit,” Boney says.

She plans to have a Cornell counselor talk with the students before departure, offering advice on ways to interact compassionately and respectfully with evacuees they might meet, and tips on how the students can process their own emotions.

“One of the most important things we could do would be to listen if they choose to talk about their experiences,” says Maria Neis, a junior from Iowa City. “This trip is different from every other trip that Cornell French classes have taken to Louisiana, because of the relief efforts. That we not only get to use our trip as cultural experience but as a means to help is just great.”

The class has reserved beds at a Lafayette hostel where Boney traditionally stays. Space is available because evacuees have moved on, or people who planned to attend Festivals Acadiens have canceled. Maintaining the flow of tourist dollars to Louisiana is another reason Boney didn’t want to cancel the trip. The class plans to return to Iowa on Monday, Sept. 19.

MOUNT VERNON – A few Cornell College freshmen spent their Saturday elbow to elbow with the college president, sorting donations at a Goodwill collection site. Other new students helped the college dean clean apartments in a low-income neighborhood.

They were among nearly 350 Cornell students, faculty and staff contributing 1,400 hours of community service in a single day — Saturday, Sept. 3 — before opening the school year today. Volunteers worked from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. at approximately 25 sites around eastern Iowa.

New Student Orientation Service Day marked its 11th year at Cornell, where approximately three-fourths of Cornell’s nearly 1,200 students participate in service projects annually.

“Having the entire first-year class engage in service during orientation teaches them how important it is to volunteer your time and your talent, and that leadership in any form begins with service to others,” says RJ Holmes, a staff member in Cornell’s Division of Student Affairs and an alumnus who participated in Cornell’s first Service Day, in 1995. “After graduation from Cornell, I’ve made it a priority to volunteer in the communities I’ve lived in, and NSO Service Day helped start me on that path.”

Among the projects were:

- Gathering and sorting donations at Goodwill West in Cedar Rapids. Cornell President Les Garner, his wife, Katrina, and their son, William, assisted the student crew. This was one of five Goodwill locations in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City where Cornell groups worked.

- Cleaning apartments and the grounds for the Mid-America Housing Partnership at the Osada Apartments, Cedar Rapids. Brenda Tooley, in her first year as dean of the college, assisted more than 30 Cornell volunteers. The apartments could be used to house Gulf Coast residents displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

- Cleaning the grounds at Lisbon schools. Working at this site was RJ Holmes, a member of Cornell’s Division of Student Affairs who participated as a student in Cornell’s first Service Day, in 1995.

- Painting the dugouts and bleachers at Davis Park, Mount Vernon.

- Cleaning the facilities and exercising the dogs at the Cedar Valley Humane Society, Cedar Rapids.

- Installing insulation at a house for Habitat for Humanity, Iowa City.

MOUNT VERNON — A $3 million matching grant from the Hall-Perrine Foundation of Cedar Rapids will help Cornell College expand and remodel
The Commons, its 1960s student center.

Cornell must match the award 2-to-1 by Dec. 31, 2008. Fund raising for the $6 million balance is under way.

Opened in 1966, The Commons houses the campus dining halls, bookstore, mail center, a fitness center, offices for student activities including the newspaper and radio station, a coffeehouse and several rooms for classes, meetings and small lectures. The facility is visited daily by all Cornell students.

The renovation is expected to cost $19 million, and work is to begin in spring 2008. Plans are to build a three-level, 13,000-square-foot addition on the building’s east side. The new space will accommodate an expanded dining area and renovated kitchen; a larger fitness center featuring a workout area, aerobics room, intramural office and locker rooms; a multipurpose room that can seat 170 for a lecture or can be subdivided; and three new classrooms.

“The Commons is the living room, dining room and meeting place for students, faculty and staff. With Cornell’s increasing enrollment and the growth in our student activities and campus programming, we are eager to enhance the facility,” said Cornell President Les Garner. “We greatly appreciate the Hall-Perrine Foundation’s support for this project and its continuing commitment to Cornell.”

In 1995 the Hall-Perrine Foundation awarded Cornell $3 million for renovations to Cole Library, which also serves as Mount Vernon’s public library. In 1998 the foundation awarded a $3 million challenge grant for renovations to Cornell’s fine arts facilities.

Cornell is a private, liberal arts college expecting a record enrollment this fall of 1,200 men and women from over 40 states and a dozen foreign countries. The entire campus of 43 buildings on 129 acres is one of only two colleges in the country listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

MOUNT VERNON — Cornell College welcomes 360 new students for a six-day orientation beginning Tuesday, Aug. 30.

New Student Orientation features activities designed to introduce students to the academic and social aspects of Cornell, to new friends and to support systems that enhance the student experience. For family members bringing their students to campus, Day One of orientation offers special sessions where parents can get tips on transition issues, meet the faculty and take a campus tour.

Classes begin Monday, Sept. 5, for all students. Cornell is anticipating a record enrollment near 1,200. The official enrollment will be calculated in October, after the college completes one full term on the nine-term One-Course-At-A-Time academic calendar.

Among Cornell’s new students, 314 are first-year students, 36 are transfer or exchange students and 10 are international students. The new students represent 31 states and 11 foreign countries. Thirty percent are from Iowa, with Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado and Wisconsin rounding out the top five states represented.

Academically, 24 percent of new students rank in the top 10 percent of their class and 56 percent are in the top 25 percent of their class; the average grade point average is 3.54; the ACT score range is 23-29 for the middle 50 percent of the class; and 60 percent of the class has participated in community service.

MOUNT VERNON – Cornell College is featured in the new 2006 edition of “The Best 361 Colleges” from the Princeton Review.

About 15 percent of the four-year colleges in America are featured in the book, which went on sale Tuesday. The Princeton Review surveyed 110,000 students on specific topics and their overall campus experiences, ranking the schools in 62 categories. Ranking list categories range from best professors, administration and campus food to lists based on student body political leanings, interests in sports and other aspects of campus life. Cornell ranks among the top 10 at colleges where students are pleased with their financial assistance, and among the top 20 where class discussions are encouraged and professors make themselves accessible.

“The professors make this school what it is. Most don’t hold scheduled office hours because they’re there all the time, and they’re always there for the students, whether it be to talk about last night’s game or the upcoming test,” according to a student quoted in Cornell’s two-page profile.

Recognized as one of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges, Cornell College is distinctive in U.S. higher education in offering the combination of liberal arts and science study within the One-Course-At-A-Time framework in an active residential community. Cornell also is featured in the Princeton Review’s 2006 edition of “ America’s Best Value Colleges,” Loren Pope’s “Colleges That Change Lives,” Student Horizons’ “Colleges of Distinction” and Kaplan’s “Guide to the 331 Most Interesting Colleges.”

MOUNT VERNON — Cornell College’s 2005-06 Chautauqua program for adult learners features six courses led by Cornell faculty, emeriti faculty or guest lecturers on the topics of Japanese-American internment, the differences between the sexes, outlaws and lawmen of the 19th century, earthquakes and other natural disasters, religion and poetry.

Chautauqua begins Sept. 12, but there is a free reception Monday, Aug. 15, from 2-3 p.m. in Harlan Dining Room of The Commons. Many Chautauqua lecturers will attend to discuss their upcoming courses, and door prizes will include free books and free classes. Although not required, reservations are requested for the reception by Aug. 12. To make a reservation for the reception, or to sign up for a Chautauqua course, call (319) 895-4119 or e-mail cdeneve@cornellcollege.edu.

During the school year, Chautauqua classes meet Mondays from 9 a.m. to noon in Hedges Conference Room in The Commons. The cost for each three- or four-week program is $30 with a pre-registration deadline on the Wednesday prior to the beginning of the course. A luncheon is served at noon for all participants for all sessions of every course. The cost for each luncheon is $5 per person. Free parking is available on campus with a special permit from the Office of Academic Affairs at the phone or e-mail contact above.

The schedule is:

“War and the Constitution: The Imprisonment of Japanese Americans During 1941-1946,” Sept. 12, 19, 26. Pre-registration by Aug. 31. Richard Thomas, professor emeritus of history, will examine the events leading up to the incarceration of Japanese Americans in World War II, life within the camps, programs and problems in their release and the many contributions they made to the war effort. The role of the courts will be discussed as well as the official apology by the U.S. government.

“Vive la Difference!” or “Does Sex Matter?,” Oct. 3, 10, 17, 24. Pre-registration by Sept. 22. Barbara Christie-Pope, associate professor of biology, will examine the differences related to sex and gender, including the latest research into these differences and how these differences impact health — such as why some drugs work better in women and others work better in men.

“Outlaws and Lawmen: Justice in the Late-19th-Century Trans-Mississippi West,” Oct. 31, Nov. 7, 14, 21. Pre-registration by Oct. 26. Richard Peters, professor emeritus of education, will evaluate the rise and fall of gun violence, based on the foundation of outlaw gangs and the establishment of justice.

“Geologic Hazards,” Feb. 6, 13, 20, 27. Pre-registration by Feb. 1. Paul Garvin, professor emeritus of geology, will examine the geologic origins of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, floods and other natural disasters, plus consider how their effects on humans might be mitigated.

“Four Great Religions of the World: Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and Islam,” March 6, 13, 20, 27. Pre-registration by March 1. Joseph Molleur, assistant professor of religion, will use selections from each religion’s sacred scriptures to illustrate how these religions motivate and inspire their adherents.

“Poetry as an Act of Witness and Healing,” April 10, 17, 24, May 1. Pre-registration by April 5. Mount Vernon writer Barbara Lau will explore developments in the world of poetry, considering celebrated poems on war, race relations, the women’s movement and 9/11.