Dedication Set For Garden To Commemorate Life And Legacy Of John Locke

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Within days of the death of University of Arkansas associate professor John Locke, students and colleagues created a fund to establish a memorial garden in his honor. Three years later, the Oriental-style meditation garden is complete, and will be dedicated on September 9 at 11 a.m. in front of Kimpel Hall. All are welcome to attend.

Speaking at the dedication will be Provost Bob Smith, Fulbright College Dean Donald Bobbitt, former student Jim Gamble, and Mark Cory, Director of the Comparative Literature Program.

Dr. Locke was killed on the first day of classes, August 28, 2000. Former graduate student James Kelly, who had been dismissed from the doctoral program in comparative literature after years of unsatisfactory progress at the University, entered the Kimpel Hall office of his former adviser, John Locke. After locking the door, Kelly shot Locke three times and later turned the gun on himself.

Peggy Maddox and Kirsten Day, graduate students in the comparative literature program, along with alumnus Noah Shumate, organized the memorial fund to create the garden. Provost Bob Smith provided $33,150 from a reserve fund, while former students, faculty, and community members donated approximately $9,150.

Dr. Locke received his bachelor’s in English from the University of Virginia in 1960. He received his Master’s in Creative Writing from the University of Iowa in 1962. He also held a master’s and Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Iowa.

Dr. Locke began his teaching career in 1961 at Culver-Stockton College in Canton Mo. He remained there as an assistant professor of English and modern languages until 1964. Before joining the faculty at the University of Arkansas in 1967, he served as a French interpreter for the U.S. Army in Europe and as Director of the Paris Program and the Lausanne Program at the Academy of International Studies.