The 2016-17 academic year at Knox College got under way on Monday, September 12, with the traditional Opening Convocation. Vice President for Student Development Anne Ehrlich delivered the Convocation address, in which she described the Knox community as "an ever-changing dynamic that is defined and redefined on a daily basis by all of us, but most importantly, by you, the students."

"Creating community is an active project that I hope you will approach with reflection and intentionality," she said.

Creating nourishing, sustaining relationships is a significant part of the college experience, she said, adding: "But we can't do this in a lazy way—simply with people who look like us, who come from the same backgrounds, with whom we are most comfortable."

Ehrlich recalled a conversation with a student who said she deeply valued the opportunity to talk to her Knox professors and classmates "about really difficult, complex, and sensitive topics." Listening to others' views and perspectives helped the student to "form and reform her own opinions."

That's a key part of the Knox experience, Ehrlich said, because true learning requires being exposed to wide-ranging views.

"If you live in a well-cushioned silo surrounded only by like-minded people, you will get very comfortable, but you will never get very smart," she said. "At Knox, our purpose is to know more, to understand more, so we can make the world a better place."

(Photos below: Vice President for Student Development Anne Ehrlich delivers the Convocation address; Director of Spiritual Life Lisa Seiwert presents the invocation; Music Professor Laura Lane directs the Knox College Choir; Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the College Laura Behling presents the Philip Green Wright/Lombard College Prize to Professor John Dooley, and President Teresa Amott presents the Janet Hunter Prize to Terrie Saline.)

Opening Convocation also featured an invocation from Director of Spiritual Life Lisa Seiwert, a welcome from President Teresa Amott, and a performance by the Knox College Choir, directed by Professor of Music Laura Lane.

"My friends, as we embark on this year, may the work we do and the community we build—in our classrooms, our residence halls, our administrative offices, and across our campus—serve to deepen our connection to one another and to our global family in every part of our world," Seiwert said.

In her welcome, Amott noted that 2016 marks the first time that most Knox students will be eligible to vote in a U.S. presidential election. She said that students will need to apply their critical thinking skills as they evaluate what candidates and others say, and she encouraged students to "turn this into an occasion for deliberative dialogue."

"Listen openly to as many voices as you can, and hardest of all, listen critically to yourself when you are the one talking," she said.

Also as part of the Opening Convocation ceremony, several College prizes and honors were awarded to Knox faculty, students, and staff.

The Philip Green Wright/Lombard College Prizes for distinguished teaching went to Anne Steinberg, assistant professor of modern languages and literatures (French), and John Dooley, who holds the William and Marilyn Ingersoll Chair in Computer Science. Steinberg received the award for non-tenured faculty, and Dooley received it for tenured faculty.

Trevor Marshall ‘17, a theatre major, received the Elbridge Pierce Prize for scholastic improvement. It is awarded to the senior who has made the greatest scholastic improvement since the end of the first year at Knox.

Kenneth Bartelt ‘17, a history major, received the Faculty Scholarship Prize. The prize is the highest honor that Knox faculty accord to a student, and it goes to a senior who has exhibited exceptional academic ability while participating significantly in extracurricular activities.

Richard Hatfield, a custodian in the Office of Building & Facilities Services, and Terrie Saline, assistant dean and director of the Bastian Family Career Center, were selected as recipients of the Janet C. Hunter Prizes. The prizes recognize outstanding accomplishments and service to the College by staff members. Hatfield received the prize for hourly staff, and Saline received the prize for salaried staff.