Central College
PELLA – Hannah Marcum of Blockton, a graduate of Central College, joined Josh Dolezal, professor of English, in presenting at the 17th International Willa Cather Seminar.
K.E. Daft and Hannah Marcum Wells joined Dolezal at “Unsettling Cather: Differences + Dislocations,” held June 17-21 at Shenandoah University in Winchester, Virginia.
Daft presented “A Sociological and Literary Examination of Willa Cather’s Fraught Relationship with Czech Culture.” A 2019 Central graduate from Clive, Daft’s recent projects also included an honors thesis on cryptography and Masonic symbolism in Edgar Allen Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” as well as creative work on innovative poetic form.
Wells, originally from Blockton, presented “’Keen Senses Do Not Make a Poet’: Cather’s Respectful Rebellion Against Whitman in ‘O Pioneers!’” Wells graduated from Central in 2018 and is a Ph.D. student in English specializing in early American literature at Baylor University in Waco, Texas.
Dolezal’s presentation was titled “’Lost By a Song’: The Neuroscience of Epiphany in ‘Lucy Gayheart.’” Dolezal teaches American literature, medical humanities and creative writing at Central. His memoir, “Down from the Mountaintop: From Belief to Belonging” (2014), was short-listed for the William Saroyan Prize.
Central College of Pella is a private, four-year liberal arts college. Central is known for its academic rigor, leadership and character development, global experiential learning, STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and sustainability education, athletics and service. For more information about Central College, go to www.central.edu.
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Iowa Western Community College
COUNCIL BLUFFS – The following individuals participated in the May graduation ceremonies at Iowa Western Community College: Alexus R. Larkin of Creston, Associate of Arts in general studies.
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Simpson College
INDIANOLA – Simpson College is proud to introduce the 113 students who landed on the president’s list for the 2019 spring semester. To qualify for the president’s list, students must achieve a perfect 4.00 GPA for the semester, and included Madison Hance of Creston and Jenna Taylor of Creston.
Simpson College is proud to introduce the 227 students who qualified for the dean’s list for the 2019 spring semester. Students on the dean’s list achieved a GPA between 3.70 and 3.99 throughout the semester. They included Blair Glendenning of Redding, Kaitlyn Klommhaus of Mount Ayr, Logan Pettit of Creston and Madison Travis of Creston.
Simpson College is located in Indianola, a short drive from Iowa’s capital city of Des Moines. Founded in 1860, Simpson College has approximately 1,300 full time undergraduate students and approximately 400 part time students. Simpson also has a campus in West Des Moines serving primarily adult learners. Simpson offers 80 majors and minors, is a member of the NCAA Division III American Rivers Conference, hosts eight Greek houses on campus and sponsors many extracurricular options for student involvement.