Knight, Louise W. 1949–

(Louise Wilby Knight)

PERSONAL: Born May 2, 1949, in Evanston, IL; daughter of Augustus, Jr., and Frances (Berna) Knight. Education: Attended Wheaton College, Massachusetts; Wesleyan University, B.A., M.A., 1972.

ADDRESSES: Home—Evanston, IL. Office—Department of Communication Studies, School of Communication, Northwestern University, 1815 Chicago Ave., Evanston, IL 60208. E-mail—lwk@louisewknight.com.

CAREER: Writer, consultant, and independent scholar. Learning Magazine, Palo Alto, CA, research assistant, 1973; Addison-Wesley, Menlo Park, CA, marketing editor, 1973–74; Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, Washington, DC, annual report editor, 1974–75; Education Funding Research Council, Washington, DC, editor, 1975–78; Office of Research Support, Duke University, Durham, NC, federal relations coordinator, 1978–80, coordinator, 1980–86; Wheaton College, Foundation and Corporation Relations, Norton, MA, director, 1986–91; United South End Settlements, Boston, MA, director of development, 1991–92; Grantsmanship Center, Los Angeles, CA, trainer and consultant, 1993–96; Knight Consulting, principal, 1993–; Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, adjunct professor, 1998–.

Durham Dispute Settlement, cofounder, 1981–85; Wesleyan University, board of directors, 1979–82; Boston Women's Fund, board of directors, 1988–89; Center for Effective Philanthropy, member of advisory board, 2003–.

WRITINGS:

Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy, University of Chicago Press (Chicago, IL), 2005.

Contributor to books, including Women Building Chicago, 1790–1990, edited by Rima Lumin Schultz, and others, Indiana University Press (Bloomington, IN), 2001; American Reform and Reformers, edited by Paul Cimbala and Randall Miller, Greenwood Press (Westport, CT), 1996. Contributor to periodicals, including Gender & History, Journal of Women's History, New York Times Book Review, and Nonprofit Management and Leadership.

SIDELIGHTS: Louise W. Knight is an independent scholar and a consultant on management and planning for foundations and nonprofit organizations. Knight has a long history of working with foundations and various funds for the promotion of education and other causes. With this background, Knight set out to write a book about Jane Addams, a wealthy Illinois-born woman who spent her life aiding the poor, children, immigrants, and striving for peace through charitable means. In writing Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy, Knight did not write a full biography of Addams, who is considered to be one of America's leading social reformers. Instead, the book covers the earlier years when her character is formed, ending in 1899, when she was awarded the Nobel Prize, some thirty years before her death.

Many reviewers praised the work. Alan Ryan, writing in the New York Review of Books, stated, "Knight has a particular talent for writing as though she knows at any point in the narrative no more than her heroine does of what is about to befall her next; it is a technique that suits her subject perfectly." Additionally, Alan Wolfe reviewed the book in the New York Times and felt that "Knight's decision to focus on Addams's early years is a stroke of genius." Wolfe stated simply: "In Knight's book, Jane Addams comes to life."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Library Journal, October 1, 2005, Frederick, J. Augustyn, Jr., review of Citizen: Jane Addams and the Struggle for Democracy, p. 89.

New Republic, May 15, 2006, Christine Stansell, review of Citizen.

New York Review of Books, May 11, 2006, Alan Ryan, "Founding Mother," review of Citizen.

New York Times, January 15, 2006, Alan Wolfe, review of Citizen.

ONLINE

Louise W. Knight Home Page, http://www.louisewknight.com (April 19, 2006).

School of Communication, Northwestern University Web site, http://www.communication.northwesternedu/ (April 19, 2006), profile of Knight.