Alter Egos
The Hidden Lives of Campus Characters
Willamette is full of renaissance people, as the four here show us. Who knew that there were such creative, nostalgic, crafty and imaginative people all around us?
Kristen Grainger | John Peel | Tim King | Chuck Williamson
Kristen Grainger
Singer/Songwriter, True North Band Member
Vice President and Executive Assistant to the President
WU Arrival: 2002
“For a singer-songwriter like me, it’s a real privilege to [work] around so many creative people. I always walk through the Mary Stuart Rogers Music Center on my way to and from my office, just to listen in.”
John Peel
Sportsman, Hunter, Collector of Early-20th-Century Firearms
Irene Gerlinger Swindells Professor of Music; Composer-in-Residence
WU Arrival: 1990
“It goes back to a connection with my father. We hunted together when I was young. I grew up with the ethics of the fair chase, respect for the quarry — and an aesthetic respect for gunmakers’ fine skills.”
Tim King
Alice-in-Wonderland Wonderer, Memorabilia Collector
General Books/Computer Shop Buyer
WU Arrival: 1999
“I’ve been intrigued by the writings of Lewis Carroll since I first read Alice in my twenties. Around the same time I spotted a small glass ornament at a gift shop downtown, and as anyone with a collection can attest, once friends and family get word, things tend to grow exponentially.”
Chuck Williamson
Lego Architect, Construction Project Foreman
Professor of Chemistry
WU Arrival: 2005
“Legos were a significant part of my childhood, to the point that my mother would often have to shoo me outside for what she called ‘bigmuscle time.’ Both of my sons are Lego aficionados as well.”
About the Artist
Call it alter ego number five: Annie Aguirre ’10 also happens to be a web developer at Willamette.