October 1, 2013
Dear President's Circle members,
It's hard to believe that an entire summer has come and gone since I last wrote. Thanks to my travels around the country, I've had the opportunity to visit with many of you over the last few months, updating you on what’s happening at Knox and in higher education as a whole. It is always an honor and a pleasure to meet with you and to learn your hopes and dreams for Knox College, and I am continually impressed and inspired by the dedication members of the Knox community display toward our prairie college.
The new academic year is off to a great start, and the energy and excitement we all feel here on campus is palpable. Knox continues its strong showings in national rankings -- it was ranked 12th in the nation by Washington Monthly, which ranks schools according to their "commitment to the public good," and, for the first time, Knox was listed among U.S. News & World Report’s "Great Schools at a Great Price," which ranks academic excellence and affordability. In both of these rankings, we were in impressive company with Amherst, Bryn Mawr, Swarthmore, Williams, Grinnell, Carleton, and Macalester.
We welcomed 405 new students to campus on September 7, and, when combined with our returning students, our total enrollment stands at 1420. Our student body continues to reflect the changing demographics of our country--one third are low income and 35% are students of color -- providing Knox students a full mosaic of our society in which to live and learn. The power of the American liberal arts education is that people so different from one another live together in a community formed, constituted, and held together solely by learning. And I am energized by the interactions I see among students, faculty, and staff of varied backgrounds I witness each day.
A wonderful example of this is our Prairie Fire Men’s soccer team, with a coach from England and student-athletes from Brazil, China, Japan, Trinidad & Tobago, Zimbabwe, and other countries. They’ve even created a wonderful video highlighting their international diversity -- you can watch it here. What’s even more exciting is that the team has won all but one match this season and is well on their way to setting a college record. As our student-athletes and coaches say, Go Fire!
As I’ve mentioned before, the current admission climate is challenging and, as our nation’s demographics continue to shift and families’ financial need continues to grow, it will remain challenging for the foreseeable future. In such a climate, I’m heartened by the fact that Knox maintains a strong enrollment. This cannot be said for all small liberal arts colleges. After speaking with many of my fellow presidents at peer institutions, I’ve learned that this climate is taking its toll on enrollments across the country.
Knox recently hired two well-respected firms to help us implement these recommendations -- Generation, who will focus on the creative vision and messaging, and Brooklyn United, who will focus on the website. Both firms bring excellent portfolios, having worked individually or collectively for the nation’s most highly respected colleges, including Bates, Wheaton, and Wellesley, and both were well vetted through a campus interview process. We are eager and excited to engage them on this crucial project.
Our new dean, Laura Behling, is off and running. One of the many hopes I had for the new dean of the College was for this person to be a strong public speaker, someone who could hold his or her own in front of any audience, from faculty to students to alumni. And someone I knew could step in for me if necessary. My hope was realized in Dean Behling, who has already delivered a moving welcome address to new students and an inspiring Opening Convocation address to the campus. She also led a luncheon discussion on contemporary liberal arts education with alumni in Chicago this summer and has dedicated much of her time to acquainting herself with our campus and our faculty. To date, she has met with more than 60 individual faculty, and will meet one-on-one with nearly all available faculty by the end of this fall term. I hope that many of you will make it to campus for the Homecoming President’s Circle reception so that you may meet Dean Behling in person. I’m confident that you, like all of us here on campus, will be impressed. The start of this academic year also brings with it the launch of a campus strategic planning process, known as Knox 2018. The overall purpose of Knox 2018 -- both its outcomes and its process -- is to engage Knox faculty, staff, students, and alumni in planning that advances the mission of Knox College and its core values: educational excellence; civic engagement and social responsibility; access, inclusivity and social justice; and sustainability. Our work will be built around six areas:
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Enrolling a 21st Century Student Body - Providing a 21st Century Education
- Engaging the Knox Community
- Supporting a 21st Century Faculty and Staff
- Sustaining Knox Financially
- Designing and Maintaining a 21st-Century Campus
Each area will frame the work of a task force over a nine-month period. Our collective work will set an agenda for the future success of the College and its graduates.
I invite and encourage you, our most generous and dedicated community members, to participate in Knox 2018 via our website, www.knox.edu/knox2018. Please share your thoughts on the six framing questions we are addressing, as well as others that you feel are relevant to the discussion. Your input is a vital component of the strategic planning process, and I look forward to hearing from you and other members of the Knox community as we collectively explore our future.
And, finally, I'm thrilled to report that the renovation of Alumni Hall is well underway! After opening the project up for bids in August, the construction process, which is being managed by P.J. Hoerr out of Peoria, began in earnest in early September. Construction crews are currently shoring up the building’s foundation and walls so that the interior can be rebuilt. Steel work is projected to be underway by Homecoming, drywall by Founders Day, and finishing work by Commencement. If all goes as planned, you’ll be able to tour a transformed Alumni Hall during Homecoming 2014.
Construction progress, as well as fun facts and trivia about the past and future of Alumni Hall, will be highlighted on a new blog. As President’s Circle members, we’d like to offer you a special sneak peek at the blog -- visit blog.knox.edu/alumnihall and catch a glimpse of the progress to date. The blog will be officially launched on the website, Facebook, and Twitter in early October. In the meantime, enjoy a first look at the transformation of Alumni Hall.
Thanks, once again, to the many leadership donors to the Alumni Hall renovation -- your generosity has made this project a reality and helped Knox raise more than $17 million last fiscal year (which ended June 30), setting a new fundraising record for the College. Your gifts help Knox weather the changing landscape of higher education and provide a transformational education to students of talent and promise.
On behalf of the entire Knox community, I offer you my sincere thanks.
Teresa L. Amott
President
2 East South Street, Box 230
Galesburg, Illinois 61401
888-KNOX-COL Toll free, www.knox.edu
