This report highlights the 2009-2010 academic year.
This report highlights the 2009-2010 academic year.
The center of Knox's mission statement is teaching and learning, and teaching and learning flourished on Knox's prairie campus last year.
Knox's Asian and religious studies programs were strengthened with the addition of minors in Chinese language and Chinese studies and the establishment of the College's first faculty chair in religious studies and culture.
In May 2010, Knox was notified of its reaccreditation for 10 years (the maximum period possible) by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), reaffirming the campus's shared sense of institutional mission and its success in consistently meeting that mission. Upon recommendation of the HLC, Knox will build on the institutional assessment generated by the 2008/2009 self-study and implement regular reviews of its academic departments and programs.
Thanks to the renewal of federal support -- $1.5 million over the next five years -- of the TRIO Achievement Program, Knox will continue to work to increase graduation rates of low income and first generation college students.
President Roger Taylor '63, Dean Lawrence Breitborde, and CFO Thomas Axtell discusses enhancements to the College's academic program and the importance of Knox's most recent reaccreditation.
It can't be repeated enough -- Knox's scholar-teachers are the College's most valuable resource.
In addition to teaching, Knox faculty members are well known for their mentoring and collaboration with students. In fact, Knox students rated student-faculty interaction higher than the national average on the 2010 National Survey of Student Engagement.
Outside of the classroom, faculty scholarship and creative work are recognized and supported on the national and international level. Two members of the faculty -- Stuart Allison, biology, and Amy Singer, anthropology-sociology -- received prestigious Fulbright Fellowships. The National Science Foundation awarded a grant to Professor of Chemistry Andrew Mehl. The Lincoln Studies Center, led by Rodney Davis and Douglas Wilson, received a $850,000 challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
A few additional facts and figures:
President Roger Taylor '63, Dean Lawrence Breitborde, and CFO Thomas Axtell discuss the importance of outside funding in support of faculty members' scholarly research and creative work.
Knox students have always been highly engaged with the academic, social, and community life of the Knox campus and beyond. Last year was no different.
Students...
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
31 students completed Honors projects. 32 school athletic records were set -- 11 alone in women's swimming. 51 students were named to the All-Midwest Conference Academic Team. Knox students performed 4,200 hours of community service.
President Roger Taylor '63, Dean Lawrence Breitborde, and CFO Thomas Axtell discuss Knox College's mission of access and its importance to the student body.
Senior Class Speaker Maurice John McDavid addresses his classmates, as well as Knox parents, faculty, staff, trustees, and friends, at the June 5, 2010, Knox College Commencement ceremony.
Bringing in the class is always a team effort, and the Knox community joined together to recruit its new class once again. Faculty, staff, and coaches stepped forward to help in many ways, from opening their classes to prospective students, to eating lunch with families, to e-mailing, calling, and visiting students. Similarly, Knox alumni and friends hosted several very successful off-campus recruitment events. The teamwork paid off.
On September 4, 2010, Knox welcomed one of its largest and strongest classes in nearly 40 years -- 401 new students from 35 states and 20 countries.
As families continued to struggle with current economic conditions, the Office of Admission & Financial Aid received more requests for financial aid than in previous years. And Knox remained true to its mission of access -- 26% of new students are first-generation college students; 28% are low-income; and 68% of all current students receive need-based financial aid.
Knox celebrated the opening of the 2010-2011 academic year with its traditional Pumphandle, where nearly 1,000 faculty, students, and staff shook hands. Watch this 1 1/2-hour event in only 2 minutes!
It was a perfect fall day on the Knox College campus as 407 first-year and transfer students made their way to Galesburg for move-in day. Among them were 40 legacy students, young men and women who were following a relative to Knox.
Knox alumni, parents, and friends continued to generously support the College during yet another tough economic year. In fact, private gifts and grants are second only to tuition as primary revenue sources for the College.
The Knox Fund, which supports the annual operations of the College, received gifts totaling more than $3 million -- the second largest amount ever donated to the fund. In recognition of students' ever-increasing need for financial assistance, Knox earmarked Knox Fund gifts for student financial aid, unless donors chose otherwise. In total, $2,419,958 of the $3 million Knox Fund dollars raised directly supported student need.
Knox's total fundraising came in just shy of $10 million -- nearly $4 million above the previous fiscal year. Bequests, or gifts made through an estate document, represented $3.5 million of that total. In addition, 2 new endowed professorships were created -- the Burkhardt Distinguished Chair in Modern Languages and the William & Marilyn Ingersoll Chair in Computer Science. To date, 8 new professorships, representing $10.4 million, have been created as part of the College's Faculty Salary Initiative.
The entire Knox community thanks the 9,000 donors, including 4,900 alumni, who supported the College last year.
President Roger Taylor '63, Dean Lawrence Breitborde, and CFO Thomas Axtell discuss the importance of endowed professorships at Knox, especially in regards to their impact on faculty, donors, and the College's budget.
President Roger Taylor '63, Dean Lawrence Breitborde, and CFO Thomas Axtell discuss the importance of creating a culture of philanthropy on the Knox campus.
Since its founding, Knox's mission has been to educate students regardless of financial means. Take a few minutes and see how financial assistance and scholarships are making the Knox Experience possible for four students: Maurice McDavid '10, Amy Randall '10, John Eisemann '10, and Rose Van Grinsven '10.
President Taylor readily admits that of the three goals he set for the College upon his installation in 2002, institutional self-confidence became the most important. Not because academic excellence or financial impregnability are any less significant, but because these goals cannot be met if the Knox community doesn't have pride and confidence in the College. This fact is nowhere more apparent than within the alumni community.
More alumni are engaged with the College than ever before. Nearly 1,300 alumni attended the 37 Knox Club and FYC events hosted around the country, including a Rep Term Reunion, which drew nearly 40 Rep Term alumni, and a Chicago Knox Club career networking event, attended by close to 50 people. Homecomings have attracted 1,000 or more alumni over the last five years, and roughly 5,000 alumni give to the College each fiscal year.
Knox also has reason to be proud of its alumni. The accomplishments and careers of Knox alumni received international, national, and local recognition over the last year. To name a few -- Matt Berg '01 was named one of Time Magazine's "100 Most Influential People of 2010," Bree Elrod '00 and Amy Rieckelman '01 made their screen debuts; and Lori Sundberg '95 became the first woman to be president of Galesburg's Carl Sandburg College.
Nearly 1,000 alumni and friends came home to Knox for Homecoming 2010. A full moon on Friday evening kicked off the weekend's nearly 100 separate activities, which included the "Taste of Galesburg" all-class reception, alumni and faculty book signing, athletic events and tailgate, and much more.
Thanks to gift and grant support, as well as creative and careful use of resources, Knox has the ability to make continued enhancements to campus buildings and facilities without a large endowment or extensive capital resources.
This agility has allowed Knox to continue its work to meet the Illinois law mandating that all college residence halls have sprinkler systems by 2013. In addition to the sprinklers installed in 8 facilities in 2009, Knox installed sprinklers in another 8 residence halls over the summer and is on track to finish the installation of sprinklers in all campus facilities within the next year.
Last spring, the College began temporary renovations on the student lounge in the basement of Seymour Union, including an exterior ADA ramp that leads to the lounge. Over winter break, the College began full renovations on the lounge area, which, when complete in the spring, will provide students with a 24-hour study and gathering space.
The newly renovated Dorothy Johnson Burkhardt '39 and Richard Burkhardt '39 Laboratory for the Modern Languages was completed and dedicated in May. The new laboratory provides students with state-of-the art language learning technology, as well as study and video production space.
Other recent campus projects include renovating student housing, reconfiguring campus offices, replacing roofs and exterior doors, adding new carpeting to campus buildings, installing a new cooling system in the computer center, and upgrading fire alarms in Seymour Union and Post Hall.
President Roger Taylor '63, Dean Lawrence Breitborde, and CFO Thomas Axtell discuss the enhancements made to the Knox College campus during the 2009/2010 academic and fiscal year.
It was a good year for Knox College financially, particularly considering the harsh environment that persists in the aftermath of the recession.
Knox ended its fiscal year with a balanced budget for the 10th year in a row. The College's endowment grew 17.2% last year and was valued at $67.4 million on June 30, 2010. The endowment spending rate was at 5.6%, the lowest rate in at least 21 years. The Knox Fund exceeded its goal, and Knox received more unrestricted bequests -- monies that can go directly to the endowment -- than it has in recent years.
As of December 31, 2010, the endowment stood at $81.9 million -- the highest quarterly value in Knox's history. The growth in the endowment is attributable partly to the recovery in the nation's financial markets, but current gifts and bequests have also helped the endowment grow. Over the last five-and-a-half years (July 1, 2005-December 31, 2010), Knox has raised $58 million in total private gift support; $32 million of that sum has gone directly into the College's endowment.
Knox still faces challenges as it works to balance the fiscal year 2010/2011 budget and strives to fulfill its mission of access -- a mission that becomes more challenging as student need continues to increase.
President Roger Taylor '63, Dean Lawrence Breitborde, and CFO Thomas Axtell gives a report on the current state of Knox's finances, including an update on the College's endowment value.