MONMOUTH, Ill. — Jeff Rankin, director of college communications at Monmouth College, will address the next Monmouth Associates gathering on Feb. 20 at noon in the Whiteman-McMillan Highlander Room in the college’s Stockdale Center.

Rankin, an authority on Monmouth College history, will speak on “A Thousand Hearts’ Devotion: A History of Monmouth College.” That is also the title of the college’s sesquicentennial history that Rankin co-authored with Daniel Meyer, archivist at the University of Chicago. The newest history of Monmouth College is an attractive 216-page coffee table book. Copies are still available and can be purchased following the program.

During his talk, Rankin will treat the audience to a pictorial presentation of interesting and amusing anecdotes from the MC archives.

Celebrating sesquicentennials is not a new experience for Rankin. In conjunction with the Monmouth community’s 150th anniversary in 1981, Rankin edited the book “Born of the Prairie,” a 140-page history published by the Kellogg Printing Co.

The Associates program is free; a buffet lunch costs $6. Please call 309-457-2316 to make luncheon reservations. A free shuttle van will transport passengers from downtown to all luncheons. The van leaves from the northeast quadrant of the Public Square at approximately 11:55 a.m., and returns immediately following the program. Shuttle reservations can be made by calling the number above.