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• George Drake '56, president emeritus and a former professor of history will be delivering next week's convocation lecture. "Phi Beta Kappa, Grinnell and the Liberal Arts," will explore the mysteries of Phi Beta Kappa membership and its nearly one-hundred-year history. "As a Phi Beta Kappa member, I want to discuss the importance of the national organization and what it means to academia," Drake said in a college press release. Drake is an alum of the college, he was a Rhodes and Fulbright scholar and served as president of Grinnell for 12 years before retiring from that office in 1991. He retired from his teaching post in 2005 and was named president emeritus that same year.
• The Conrad Environmental Research Area Center for Prairie Studies honored two Grinnell College professors recently. Kenneth Christiansen and Benjamin Graham, both retired biology professors from Grinnell, had two laboratories at the center named in their honor. Christiansen came to Grinnell in 1955 and was granted emeritus status in 1994. Graham was granted emeritus status in 1991 after he began teaching at Grinnell in 1958 and became a professor in 1964. Karen Van Dusen '77 and Joel Spiegel '78 granted the gift and chose the name for the laboratory. "His enthusiasm for science, his energy and his remarkable lecture style left an indelible mark on us, his students," said Anne Spence '66 of Professor Graham in a college press release. "It is an honor to be able to say ?thank you' for all the former students." Former students of Graham also sponsored the naming of the second laboratory. The two labs are part of Phase II of building of the center.

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