Welcome to you all on this historic occasion for Knox College and the city of Galesburg. As you will shortly see, over the past three years, our historic Alumni Hall has been transformed into a remarkable contemporary space that will serve as the gateway to a Knox education for the next generation of students. When I arrived at Knox, I was struck by the character of the building and its extraordinary history, and I soon grew confident that the alumni of the College would come together to revive the building that bears their name. I knew also that the College's many friends on and off campus would join them. And you did, so on behalf of generations of Knox College students past and generations to come, I thank you all.

This is for many of us, an emotional moment, thirty years in the making, and our hearts are full of gratitude. I am grateful to the nameless workers who over a century ago erected this enormous structure without power tools or motorized lifts. Grateful to the architects, contractors, subcontractors, and College staff who worked for the past three years to build on that 125-year old foundation. And especially grateful to Trustee Mark Kleine, who headed the Gateway Task Force that launched this most recent and successful effort whose completion we celebrate today.

On this occasion, I want also to recognize Vice President Beverley Holmes and the staff of the Office of Advancement, the invisible renovators. Even though they never laid a single brick or drafted a single plan, they criss-crossed the country seeking the support and they raised an unprecedented sum at an equally unprecedented pace. All told, approximately 700 donors supported the project, with 64% of the gifts coming from former and current members of the Knox College Board of trustees.

Among the very first donors to support the vision were the state of Illinois and the U.S. government agencies that together provided over $2 million in funding. Special thanks to Steve McClure,'79, former State Senator Carl Hawkinson, and Representative Don Moffitt, who has services this district in the Illinois House with great distinction for many years and joins us today for their roles in securing State of Illinois monies for the project, We also thank those who assisted the College in securing federal grants: former Congressman Lane Evans, Senator Dick Durbin, and the Honorable Ray LaHood, who assisted us while representing Illinois's 18th congressional district.

And now, I'd like to ask Hiba Ahmed, president of the Knox College Student Senate, a senior from Libertyville, IL, to join us. Hiba will say a few words, but first I have a special presentation. Not surprisingly, over the long dormancy of Alumni Hall, much of the interior finishing of the building had deteriorated but we were able to salvage some oak from the stairway banisters. Trustee Doug Bayer, a very accomplished woodworker in his retirement from Microsoft, offered to craft that wood into a lasting memory of Alumni past, and today I present to you President of the Knox College Student Senate, a ceremonial gavel made of solid oak salvaged from Alumni Hall. May you and your successor student senate presidents wield this gavel in dedication and respect for the mission of this College.

We now turn to the ceremonial ribbon cutting, but first, a few housekeeping details: if you'd prefer not to use the steps, you may walk to the west side of the building where there is an entrance at grade that leads to an elevator inside. Once inside, class photos will be taken on the third floor in the Trustees Room; the book signing is taking place on the first floor in the Knight Student Lounge.

Near the west entrance is a display of the granite and donor recognition that will be in place on the south side of Alumni Hall once the landscaping is complete in the coming weeks. We had hoped to have that done for this occasion, but the weather was uncooperative.

Holding the ribbon for our ceremony today are two Knox alumni who span the generations: Burl George , class of 1943, and Anna Gong, class of 2014. Ribbon holders, please unfurl the ribbon. Joining Hiba and me with the ribbon cutting will be Board Chair Duke Petrovich, Trustee Mark Kleine, Representative Don Moffit, James Baird, from Holabird and Root of Chicago, the architect for the renovation, Kirk Anderson, from P.J. Hoerr of Peoria, the project's general contractor,and Peter Schaudt, from Hoerr Schaudt of Chicago, the landscape architect for the project. Let's all take our places.

Because of you, after one year of construction, three years of intensive fundraising, and 30 years of planning and hoping, the doors of Alumni Hall will be open once again. Please join us inside Alumni Hall.