The Grinnellian
The Grinnellian is a monthly e-newsletter launched July 2019 to broadly share Grinnell College stories, events, and activities. Besides being informational, a key goal of the newsletter is to demonstrate the differences donors and volunteers are making in the lives of current and future Grinnell students.
The Archive
Please note, the archived issues of The Grinnellian are exact versions of the e-newsletter sent out. As such, some of the events, contests, and links may have expired. If you have any questions, please contact us at alumni@grinnell.edu.
2024 Archive 2023 Archive 2022 Archive
2021 Archive 2020 Archive 2019 Archive
The Grinnellian Trivia
In each issue of The Grinnellian, we include a Grinnell trivia question. The first five who reply each month with the correct answer wins a prize. Please see the archived questions, answers, and a list of winners.
May 2026
What is the name of the bell rung at Commencement?
Answer: Iowa College Bell
Winners: Cindy Maier ’70, Joshua Snedden ’11, Mark Duncan ’19, and Em Huss-Lederman ’24.5.
April 2026
What physics professor is Grinnell College’s observatory named for?
Answer: Grant O. Gale
Winners: Bob Dyer ’66, Mariana Alwell ’68, Judith Crossett ’68, David Piston ’84, and Brad Meader ’93.
March 2026
Grinnell basketball’s technique of full-court pressure and rapid 3-point shooting is known as what?
Answer: The System
Winners: John Nordmeyer ’83, Maddie Cloud ’14, Abby Hagel ’16, Tino Tazvitya ’23, and Chris Juni.
February 2026
Who was the first president of Grinnell College?
Answer: George Magoun
Winners: James Decker ’75, Jim Silver ’79, Linnet Adams ’21, Gene Wubbels, and Amy Malek.
January 2026
In addition to Renfrow Hall, name another campus space named for Edith Renfrow Smith ’37?
Answer: Smith Gallery or Edith Renfrow Smith Black Women’s Library
Winners: Sam Perlman ’90, Christopher Zug ’93, Claire Davis ’22, and Rachel Woock ’23.
December 2025
What year did the Faulconer Gallery (now known as GC Museum of Art) open?
Answer: 1999
Winners: Carol Cupples ’67, Cindy Maier ’70, and Geneva Guadalupe ’17.
November 2025
Loose Hall is part of the Loosehead cluster with what two other dorms?
Answer: Reed Hall and Haines Hall
Winners: Douglas Cmelik ’78, Anthony Hyatt ’85, Samir Muhith ’91, Chad Stewart ’97, and Elissa Suarez ’23.
October 2025
Harry Hopkins 1912 was chief adviser to what U.S. president?
Answer: Frankin D. Roosevelt
Winners: Sue Steinwall ’74, Mark Ashbaugh ’75, Thomas Jamison ’09, Richard Aberle, and Kim Darling.
September 2025
What landmark did students on the GORP trip see this summer?
Answer: Grand Canyon
Winner: Susan Andersen ’87
August 2025
Opened in 1915, Grinnell’s Merchants National Bank was designed by what architect?
Answer: Louis Sullivan
Winners: Susan Wineke ’64, Lorne Robinson ’78, Mark Valgemae ’81, Matthew Zmudka ’11, and
David Di Gioia.
July 2025
Florin Cîțu ’96 was the prime minister of what country in 2021?
Answer: Romania
Winners: Jerry Kujawa ’77, Andrew Behrendt ’06, Connor Headrick ’21, Romeo Garcia ’23, and Tad Kramar.
June 2025
Students work closely with faculty on summer MAP research? What does MAP stand for?
Answer: Mentored Advanced Project
Winners: Yafa Napadensky ’81, Rebecca Miller ’05, Mark Duncan ’19, Anshul Tambay ’20, and Claire Davis ’22.
May 2025
Commencement speaker Isabel Wilkerson was the first Black women to win what journalistic award?
Answer: Pulitzer Prize
Winner: Jon Gray ’73
April 2025
Sarah Garcia ’25 was the latest student to win what international travel fellowship?
Answer: Thomas J. Watson Fellowship
Winners: Gina Difino ’01, Katie Lee ’09, Eric Mistry ’14, Sara Booher ’25, and Irene Powell.
March 2025
During last year’s Scarlet & Give Back Day, gifts arrived from how many U.S. states?
Answer: 50
Winners: Sam Perlman ’90 and Kayla Estes ’18
February 2025
What civil rights political activist spoke at Grinnell in 1978 and 2007?
Answer: Angela Davis
Winners: Kathy Willhoite ’81, Mary Powell ’07, Cole Thompson ’21, Xonzy Gaddis ’22, and Deborah Dodge.
January 2025
Name a professor who taught in the first Grinnell-in-London program?
Answer: Vic Verrette and Doug Caulkins
Winners: Carolyn Quosig ’67, Jeanne Myerson ’75, Kathleen Ely ’93, Rachel Fritzell ’20, and Arnold Adelberg.