December
2005
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Dear President’s Circle Member,  Sgt.
1st Class Kyle Wehrly, a member of the National Guard from Galesburg,
was killed on November 3 by a roadside bomb in Iraq. His body was
returned to Galesburg for burial with military honors on November 15.The Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas is anti-gay. It claims that the Army has been taken over by gays. To publicize their views, members of the Westboro Baptist Church attend funerals of servicemen and carry placards that say “God hates faggots,” “God hates America,” and so on. The group made plans to attend Sgt. Wehrly’s funeral. Somehow, Knox students found out about the Westboro group’s plans. They decided that Sgt. Wehrly’s family and friends should not be subjected to the group’s hateful messages during their time of grief. The leaders of two Knox student organizations, Common Ground, the student gay and lesbian organization, and Alliance for Peaceful Action arranged for a small group of Knox students to attend the funeral. They stood in front of the Westboro group and remained silent when the Westboro group shouted hateful things at them. As the funeral procession came by, our students raised umbrellas they had brought with them, blocking the view of the Westboro group’s placards from Sgt. Wehrly’s family and friends. This gesture by our students has touched a chord with Galesburg residents and individuals from around the world. “As a retired Navy Chief Petty Officer, I applaud the act of kindness done by [Knox] students and thank them from the bottom of my heart.”—William Nanny, United States Navy Retired, Galesburg “I wish to pass on my personal thanks to the following groups at [Knox], Common Ground and the Alliance for Peaceful Action. . . . [T]hey might not agree with what we are doing over here, but they understand that we are still human beings with feeling, hopes, and dreams. . . . [W]e may not agree on religion, politics, or personal preferences, but we do agree on common courtesy and decency in this event.”—Major Arthur Fager, Illinois Air National Guard, Baghdad, Iraq “We are honored to be a part of a community where the students can behave so admirably in such a potentially volatile situation.”—Linda Young, Galesburg, from The Register-Mail I never have been
more proud of our students.  In addition to our students, I am proud of the many
exciting events that took place on campus over the 2005 fall term: more
than 800 Knox alumni and friends returned for Homecoming 2005, the best
attendance rate in recent Knox history; the Prairie Fire defeated the
Grinnell Pioneers 57-31 in the Homecoming game; Knox signed an
early-admission agreement with The George
Washington University
Medical
School, providing Knox students with another option for
early-admission to medical school (Knox has had an agreement with the
Rush Medical College since 1984); Knox moved up four ticks in the U.S.
News & World Report rankings
and placed in the
top quarter in the newly-established Washington
Monthly rankings; the Knox Jazz Program was featured in Downbeat Magazine, one of the
country’s leading jazz magazines; and
Knox was favorably compared to
Swarthmore and Williams Colleges in the November 3
issue of the New York Review of Books.As of December 9, 1,165 applications for admission have been received, compared to 937 last year. The College has admitted 587 students, compared to 508 last year. Knox’s Admission counselors continue to burn the midnight oil reviewing application files. Their hard work will pay off when another great class arrives on campus next fall. Just as the Admission office is progressing ahead of last year at this time, so is the Advancement office. As of Friday, December 9, total giving is $1,887,170 (10 percent ahead of last year); after having its best November in five years, the Knox Fund is at $663, 801 (five percent ahead of last year); and 1, 334 alumni have given to Knox so far this fiscal year, an increase of 28 percent over last year at this time. Barely half-way through our giving year, we know that these numbers and rates will fluctuate in the coming months, but we are confident that more Knox alumni and friends are recognizing the importance of giving back to their alma mater.
The new state-of-the-art fitness center—named the E. & L. Andrew Fitness Center in honor of the Andrew family, the project’s lead donors—is nearly complete. Final interior details are being completed with equipment to be installed in January. An official ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on February 17, 2006—a perfect close to the week celebrating Founders Day. Knox continues to enhance its academic program. In November, eight new faculty positions were authorized. One is a new position in anthropology-sociology, which has seen enrollment increases in recent years. If successful, these searches will bring the number of tenure line faculty to 91, while maintaining a faculty-student ratio of 12:1.
And finally, the Board of Trustees welcomes three new members—Susan Haerr Zucker ’78, vice president and general counsel of Chicago’s City Real Estate, Inc.; Richard Riddell ’72, assistant to the president of Duke University; and David Soskin ’64, CEO of David Soskin Associates, a Connecticut-based private equity and marketing consulting company. Between the good news from the Offices of Admission and Advancement, as well as the other exciting events happening on campus, I am certain that 2006 will be a another great year for Knox College. Thank you for your continued support, and I look forward to seeing you at the E. & L. Andrew Fitness Center ribbon cutting or at the President's Circle dinner in April. Happy holidays and best wishes for a happy and healthy New Year.
Sincerely yours,
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