April 10, 2006
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Dear President’s Circle Member,  As many of you know, applications for this fall’s entering class are ahead of
this time last year: 2,158 compared to 1,836 last year. The number of
students who have been admitted is up also: 1,543 compared to 1,324
last year. Deposits are a tad ahead: 98 compared to 93 last year. I'm
confident that Knox’s deposit numbers will
continue to grow, especially
after more than 120 students attended Knox’s first Admitted Students
Days on Friday, April 7. Led by the Admission staff, the Knox community has worked together again to position the College to bring in another large and well qualified entering class. Of Knox’s more than 1,800 admitted students, 42 percent are in the top 10 percent of their high school class, the average ACT score is 28, and 24 percent are students of color. What factors have led to the increase in applications and stellar prospective students? Paul Steenis, Dean of Admission, cites two factors: Knox’s status as one of the featured schools in Loren Pope’s book Colleges That Change Lives and Knox's new test optional policy. Another factor that has led to such good results for Knox is the fact that our College on the prairie is gaining national and regional attention. In November, education critic Andrew Hacker wrote an article called “The Truth About Colleges” in The New York Review of Books. Hacker discusses the teaching and learning that goes on—or doesn’t go on—in our nation’s colleges and universities. He concludes: “I am convinced that despite differences in endowments and  faculty
salaries,
as good an education can be had at . . . Whitman College in Washington
and Knox College in Illinois as at the brand-name schools like Williams
and Swarthmore.” On Friday, March 24, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch highlighted this same attribute in the article “Finding the Right Fit," which explores how colleges and universities distinguish themselves as learning institutions. “All classes at Knox College are taught by professors, not teaching assistants, and . . . the instructors are scholars, leaders in their field . . . the little school makes an impact far beyond its Midwestern location,” stated the paper. In the day of so-called distance learning, internet colleges, and introductory classes of 700 students, colleges like Knox have not forgotten that real teaching and learning takes place in the close exchanges between the student and the teacher. Knox students, alumni, friends, faculty, and staff recognize this attribute. More prospective students are recognizing it as well.  In other news, Knox welcomes Bob Lindsay, 1973 Knox graduate and owner and president of Lindsay Automotive Group, to the Board of Trustees. Bob speaks with convincing passion about the power of his Knox education and will be a great spokesman for the College. Bob has already helped the College shape its new business program by serving on the Knox Business Advisory Council, which consists of national business leaders who provide a sounding board for the College’s business program. In fact, Bob recently took over as president of this valuable organization. Bob is a successful businessman, an alumnus of Knox, and a genuine enthusiast about the liberal arts. I look forward to having him on the Board. I look forward to seeing you at the Trustees’ Tribute to the President’s Circle in Oakbrook. Sincerely,  Roger Taylor '63 President
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