We Are Knox...

"It wasn't the research that was paramount, but the process."

"We are all products of our past.

My research experience started at Knox, with the encouragement of Dr.
George Ward. I asked Dr. Ward, 'What is the effect of hormones in our food
upon our reproduction?' My question led to an experiment involving fruit
flies and then two types of mice -- the usual white lab mice, and grey mice trapped from the plentiful George Davis Hall population.

What did I prove? Not a thing. But Dr. Ward provided me with the opportunity to pose a research question and challenged me to find the answer. Looking back, it wasn't the research that was paramount, but the process. As an academic vascular surgeon, I have seen young men and women become better physicians utilizing this process, asking questions, thinking in-depth about patients and their illnesses. Facts can be acquired at any institution, even on the computer. But a Knox education teaches you to always ask why and to acquire the methods needed to answer your questions.

My wife and I enjoyed Knox and were fortunate to have great professional and family lives. When we felt it was time to give back, we established the Baker-Velde Student Research Fund, named to honor our fathers. My father, Dr. Baker, was a urologist in Chicago and a recipient of a Knox Alumni Achievement Award. Ann's father, Mr. Velde, was a noted attorney in Mason County, Illinois, who was active in local civic affairs, especially the Optimists Club. Both were avid Knox supporters.

Ann and I have established the Baker-Velde Student Research Fund to provide students the opportunity to pose questions, conduct research, and find their own answers . . . in short, to become critical thinkers in the Knox tradition."