February 18, 2012

Dear Knox College President's Circle Members,

At Homecoming when I announced $2 million in new gifts for Alumni Hall, I said I’d look forward to sharing more good news regarding Alumni Hall in the months to come. Today, I am pleased to share that I announced to the Knox College Board of Trustees and campus community on this Founders Day/175th Celebration weekend that we have surpassed $5 million in gifts and pledges for renovation of the interior of this hallmark building.

Since Homecoming, we also have worked with campus constituencies and our architects, Holabird & Root of Chicago and Metzger-Johnson of Galesburg, to solidify space allocation and programming for the building. Their estimate on costs for the interior re-construction of the building is $10 million. As we all know, construction estimates are only good for a certain amount of time, so we plan to move aggressively forward in our efforts to secure the remaining funding.

During the coming months, I and others at Knox will be talking with alumni and friends about making this wonderful building a philanthropic priority. Our emphasis will be on securing as many cash gifts as possible in this time frame, as the architects expect to complete construction documents this fall. I’d love to see activity move from the exterior of the building to the interior by early 2013. Work began last fall on reconstruction of exterior entrances to Alumni Hall.

Once architectural plans are completed, I will share with you the final programming for a transformed Alumni Hall. At this time, I can say that it will house Knox’s Office of Admission and Financial Aid, Center for Career and Pre-Professional Services, the Gerald and Carol Vovis Center for Research and Advanced Study, and a Visitor's Center, among other signature College programs.

In 1889, 123 years ago, the Knox Alumni Association joined forces with two of the College’s literary societies to pool financial resources and construct a new building on the Knox campus. The cornerstone was laid in1890 and carved into the top of the building above the front door are the words “Alumni Building.” I have always believed that alumni of this College will rise up to support the building that bears their name.

As the momentum keeps growing, I look forward to sharing more good news in the coming months.       

Sincerely,

Teresa L. Amott
President

2 East South Street, Box 230
Galesburg, Illinois 61401
888-KNOX-COL Toll free, www.knox.edu