Photo: Courtesy Jonathan knepp
Juniata Photo File
My Biggest Influence
Photo left, History Professors Belle and Jim Tuten say, “Cheese.” At right, Jonathan Knepp ’08 is the Director of the Mount Union Public Library and holds a master’s degree in Library and Information Science from Simmons College in Boston, Mass.
By Genna Welsh Kasun ’06
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“I was so close with my mentors that I invited both the Stifflers and the Tutens to my wedding. Even though Doug and his wife, Judy, were leaving for Hawaii the day before the wedding, they invited us to their house to toast our wedding. And the next day, we had a traditional Chinese/Amish lunch at the Stifflers’ farm in Big Valley,” Knepp says. Juniata’s entire team of history professors inspired Knepp to follow his experiences at Juniata with internships at Harvard University’s Schlesinger Library and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library. Now, Knepp holds Masters in Library and Information Science degree from Simmons College in Boston, Mass. and is employed as Director of the Mount Union Public Library, a position introduced to him by one of his many historian-mentors, Belle Tuten.
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Fall ’10 | Juniata College
hich came first—the chicken or the egg? It’s a question that relates to the inspiration dilemma of Juniata alumnus Jonathan Knepp ’08. Which professor is his greatest inspiration—the one who helped him gain internships in his discipline that led to his career or the one who interested him in the discipline in the first place? The answer could be Belle Tuten, Juniata’s W. Newton & Hazel A. Long Professor of History, who helped Knepp obtain an internship at Juniata’s Beeghly Library. Or, it might be Belle’s husband, James Tuten, associate professor of history at Juniata, who helped secure undergraduate research funding for Knepp’s subsequent work in Juniata’s collections. “Belle and Jim helped me get the internship at Beeghly and it was there that I realized that I really enjoy working in libraries,” Knepp says. Knepp’s inspiration could also be Doug Stiffler, another Juniata associate professor of history. “Dr. Stiffler helped me realize that I wanted to be a history POE after I came to Juniata without any idea what I wanted to do,” Knepp says. In the end, Knepp can’t pick just one inspiration.