June 12, 2006
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Dear President’s Circle Member,  Last weekend’s
Commencement was a fitting end to an exciting year for our College on
the prairie. Comedian Stephen Colbert entertained and touched the crowd of more than 4,500 people, including Knox students, their families, faculty, staff, and alumni, as well as members of the Galesburg community. Colbert’s memorable address has received national attention from CNN to the New York Daily News to hundreds of internet sites. Colbert even wore his hood and displayed his honorary degree on his show, The Colbert Report, on Thursday, June 8. Shirley E. Barnes, former United States Ambassador to Madagascar, Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, and our very own Diane Smatlak Rosenberg ’63, retiring Board chair, also received honorary degrees under a sunny sky. Timme Professor of Economics Roy Andersen was awarded the Caterpillar Faculty Achievement Award, presented by Knox trustee Sid Banwart, vice president of Caterpillar, Inc. Senior Class Speaker Brent Jacob Aronowitz of Neenah, Wisconsin, entertained his classmates with tales of his four years at Knox. It is only fitting that the day was sunny and balmy as long-time College Marshall, Seeley Distinguished Service Professor of Theatre Robert “Doc Bob” Whitlatch presided over the day's festivities for the last time. It was a great day to be a member of the Knox community! At the Commencement Board meeting, Jan Koran ’71 was elected Board chair, for a three year term starting July 1. In addition, Ralph Walter ’69 was elected vice chair for Finance; Chuck Smith ’84 was elected secretary; and Laurel Andrew ’86 was elected as an at-large member of the Board’s Executive Committee. Please join me in congratulating Jan and the other new officers and Executive Committee members. With the students gone for the summer, the campus changes gears. The faculty are engaged in research projects and preparing for next year’s large entering class. Outside contractcors are at work on installing new heating and ventillation systems, lights, and other improvements that are part of the College’s $2.3 million energy conservation project. Other contractors are at work on renovations to Knox’s outside track (see below for more information on the track renovation). And the Knox staff is working hard to prepare for next year’s incoming class—one of the largest in 35 years—and to reach our fundraising year-end goals. On May 2, 2006, Knox College did something new, which caused some excitement on campus. It started telling prospective students who had failed to get their enrollment deposits sent in by the May 1 deadline that the College could not assure them a place in this fall’s entering class. The goal was 345 new students. As applications poured in, I authorized Paul Steenis ’85, vice president for admission, to manage toward an entering class of 370 new students, plus or minus 20. As of June 8, Knox has 457 enrollment deposits. On campus, we are planning for the “melt” among deposited students that the College has seen in the recent past, about 7 percent. Unless the College has more melt than in past years, providing reasonable choices in courses for first year students, housing, and dining will be significant challenges that senior staff will focus on this summer. These are all good challenges, and I know our dedicated staff will meet them successfully. As of June 8, the Knox Fund stood at $2,262,424, compared to $2,022,638 the same day last year. Thanks to the $10.3 million Hobbs gift, total fundraising was $14,685,258 compared to $4,740,427 last year. There are 5,836 donors, compared to 5,149 last year.
In other news, on May 11, 2006, upon my recommendation, the Executive Committee of the Board of Trustees approved moving forward immediately with renovation of the track and field venues at Trevor Field. The bid for  the
track replacement is $619,454. Other elements of the project—electrical work, irrigation
replacement, equipment
storage facilities, equipment, construction
contingency, and engineering—bring
the total project cost to $800,000.Of that amount, the College plans to raise $500,000 from alumni and friends who have indicated an interest in supporting athletics. Trustees and other alumni have committed half the monies needed thus far. The extra $300,000 will be be allocated from the Capital Projects Budget over the next three years. I recommended moving forward with the track project because the current track and field venues are an eyesore, an inferior facility for intercollegiate and recreational athletes, and a detriment to the Track Program. We are also about half-way to our goal of renovating the Knox Bowl and renaming it the Harley Knosher Bowl in honor of Coach Harley Knosher, who served Knox as a coach and director of athletics for 40 years. The College’s three current interim fundraising priorities are faculty salary enrichment, Alumni Hall, and the Fitness & Athletics Initiatives. For now, the Advancement staff and I will concentrate our time and energy on faculty salary enrichment and the track and Knox Bowl elements of the Fitness & Athletics Initiatives. We will continue to seek major donors for Alumni Hall as a part of the so-called “quiet phase” of fundraising. Once sufficient major gifts are committed, we expect to begin a general fundraising campaign for Alumni Hall. Diane Smatlak Rosenberg ’63 will provide more details on the College’s current fundraising projects, as well as additional information from the most recent Board meeting, in her “Report from the Chair,” which you will receive in the next few weeks. Please join me in thanking Diane for her five years of dedicated and tireless work on behalf of her alma mater, as she steps down as Board chair. It has been a pleasure working with her. It’s been a great year here on the prairie. We all have reason to celebrate and to scratch our heads and wonder how we will top this. We will, though. Of that, I am confident. Have a great summer. Sincerely,  Roger Taylor ’63 President
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