Logsdon to Be Eureka College Founder’s Day Keynote Speaker

EUREKA – Eureka College English professor emeritus Loren Logsdon will be the keynote speaker at Eureka College’s 159th Founders’ Day convocation at 4:00 PM, Friday, February 7 in the Cerf Center. Admission is free and open to the public.

Logsdon’s presentation will be based on Philippians 4:8, which reads “…whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Logsdon also will refer to Walt Whitman’s poem “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry” and Neil Postman’s book “Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology.”

“Beginnings are so difficult yet so important in any human endeavor, especially in the founding of a college,” Logsdon said. “The apostle Paul’s advice to the Philippians expresses the best values to embrace as guidelines for beginnings, but in order to endure and maintain a dynamic spirit, the college must pay homage to the past, respond to the needs of the present and look forward to the future.”

Logsdon graduated from Eureka College in 1958. He taught full-time at the college for 22 years and currently teaches part-time. He formerly taught at Western Illinois University for 24 years.

Eureka College was founded by members of the Christian Church and is among 14 colleges and universities affiliated with the church. The college was incorporated on Feb. 6, 1855, by an act of the Illinois Legislature. The founding date coincides with the birth date of the college’s most famous alumnus, Ronald Reagan, who graduated in 1932. In recognition of both the founding date and Reagan’s birth date, the college traditionally serves birthday cake at the reception following the convocation.

For more information about the convocation, contact Chaplain Bruce Fowlkes at (309) 467-6429 or bfowlkes@eureka.edu.