News in Brief
Beloit was awarded the January Division III Diversity Spotlight Initiative by the NCAA. The award, which focuses on outstanding programming, projects, and initiatives around diversity, went to Beloit in recognition of the college community’s recent work with inclusive projects and hiring practices, including their involvement with Black Lives Matter Beloit (#BLMB). The award comes with a $500 prize to be used toward future initiatives.
Professor of Psychology Larry White made an appearance on the Netflix documentary series, Making a Murderer. White, who also directs Beloit’s Law and Justice Program, consulted on the case the show centers on. White has consulted on hundreds of legal cases that relate to his areas of expertise: the reliability of eye witness testimony and the problem of false confessions.
One of Beloit’s oldest historic buildings, Campbell Hall, will be undergoing a makeover this year. The classic brick three-story, built in 1854 and once known as North College, will have its façade refreshed and its entryway renovated. The newly restored Campbell Hall entrance will be named for Les McAllister, one of Beloit’s legendary professors of economics who passed away last year.
Beloit College Magazine’s publishing schedule has changed. Formerly, the magazine arrived in households in March, July, and November. Starting in 2016, readers will receive the magazine in January, April, and September.
Jeopardy! viewers in January were probably surprised to see Beloit turn up in a clue under the “accounting” category. When the familiar blue box flipped over for Alex Trebek to read aloud, it said: “Beloit is a liberal arts college. This Big 4 accounting firm that rhymes with Beloit has its own university.” The question: “What is Deloitte?” was posed correctly by one of the contestants.
At a February meeting of the college’s board of trustees, board members signed a proclamation pledging their support for Beloit’s Powerhouse project, the reimagining of a decommissioned power plant along the Rock River. The college is currently raising funds for the project, which will serve as both a student union and an indoor recreation center.
Econ Day celebrated its 30th anniversary in February. The event that brings together students majoring in economics, faculty, and economics department alumni in Chicago is Beloit’s quintessential networking event, a time when students get to rub shoulders with successful alumni and focus on what the future may hold.
Pablo Toral received the James R. Underkofler Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award in March. The associate professor of international relations and environmental studies was nominated by students for the honor, which is endowed by Alliant Energy and awarded annually by the Wisconsin Foundation for Independent Colleges.
Vantage, a photography blog, named the Wright Museum of Art’s Conflict and Consequence exhibit the Best Photography Exhibition of 2015. Curated by Todd Tubutis’92, associate director of the Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the exhibit was on display last September through October.
Tubutis was inspired to curate the show because of the work of fellow Beloiter and photographer Luke Somers’08, who was kidnapped and killed while working as a photojournalist in Yemen. The exhibit featured the work of photographers who dedicate their lives to documenting war-torn parts of the world and the human toll of conflicts long after the shooting has stopped. Tubutis said that rather than intending to memorialize Somers, he was motivated to curate this exhibit to offer context to the important work that Somers did.
