Dear President's Circle Members,Knox professors have published nine scholarly books and one novel during the 2003-2004 academic year. That translates into over ten percent of the Knox faculty publishing a book in a single academic year. I doubt if any other college or university in America has ten percent of its faculty publishing a book in a single year. Given the caliber of the Knox faculty, nurturing academic excellence is proving to be the easiest of my goals.
Nurturing Academic Excellence
Publishing scholarly and creative works brings vitality to the Knox faculty's teaching. Faculty scholarship, creativity, and performances also contribute to a campus climate that encourages scholarly and creative work by undergraduates. For example, Mujures y Textulidad, an organization of scholars of Spanish literature, routinely asks professors and, occasionally, graduate students to present papers at its conferences. It never asks undergraduates to present papers. That changed on March 22, when Suzanne Heller, a Knox senior, presented a paper at a conference in Barcelona. Professor Robin Ragan in Modern Languages encouraged Suzanne to submit an abstract of her work that prompted the unprecedented invitation.
A few days into the field work, the student from the University of Illinois said to Kelly, "You do research with Professor Ewy. All I do is wash test tubes and beakers!"
Kelly Ramig '04
Strengthening Institutional Self-Confidence
Getting the Knox story out more systematically has begun to get the College the recognition it deserves. At the January meeting of the American Association of Colleges & Universities in Washington, D.C., out of a total of 22 panel presentations, Knox was one of only three colleges asked to have its faculty and students make a panel presentation about some aspect of its education program.
The topic "Curricular Renewal at Knox College" gave our faculty and student presenters a chance to showcase the new education program. The room grew quiet when Beth Marzoni, a senior English major, shared her perspective as a student. The Q&A session after the formal presentation filled the allotted time and spilled out into the hallway with academics from all over the country trying to find out more about Knox's approach to the liberal arts.
The Business and Management Program is one new component of the Knox educational program that came out of the recent faculty review of the curriculum. The Center of Inquiry in the Liberal Arts -- a Lilly Endowment funded think tank -- just selected Knox as one of two American liberal arts colleges with a distinctive approach to teaching business and management. The Knox program is the only one up and running.
The Center found that most colleges simply have appended mini-MBA programs that lack coherence with the rest of the curriculum. In contrast, the Knox faculty has firmly rooted the study of business and management in the college's broader curriculum. For example, Business Ethics is taught in the Philosophy Department and Organizational Psychology is taught in the Psychology Department. The program includes a reflective course, Business and Society, that studies the role of business in society and people's lives. The Center intends to assist Knox in assessing the impact of the Business and Management Program.
Charting a Course Toward Financial Impregnability
The new education program, an exciting faculty, a new web site, a new generation of admissions publications, an experienced Admission Staff, and alumni who talk the college up have captured the interest of high school students. Knox has enjoyed record applications for admission this year. More than 350 of the current 1,940 applications came from alumni referrals. Faculty and staff are pulling together to bring in a class of high achieving students.
The College's planning and hard nosed budgeting have positioned Knox to finish the academic and fiscal year on June 30 with a balanced budget and the lowest percentage draw from the endowment in fifteen years. The percentage increase in next year's comprehensive fee will be the lowest in over thirty years. The College has pursued a pricing strategy of moderate increases to give students and families predictability and to make Knox attractive. The school has continued its policies of need blind admissions and offering financial aid and scholarships to deserving students.
Still, to chart a course toward financial impregnability will require continued generous support from current members of the President's Circle and also will require persuading alumni and friends who have not previously been donors to contribute to Knox. That is why I am tickled that 70 donors have increased their annual giving this year to join you in the President's Circle.
Susan Haerr
Zucker '78, Paul Zucker '78and Paula Barrow Danoff '77
In addition to annual gifts from President's Circle members and others, major capital gifts also are necessary to secure the College's future. The Board of Trustees emphasized that at its February meeting when it expressed "unequivocal support" for the Alumni Hall renovation and approved moving forward with the so-called silent phase of fund-raising. During the silent phase, the Advancement staff and I will be soliciting substantial lead gifts. After that we will begin a general fund-raising campaign. Naming opportunities exist throughout Alumni Hall, ranging from $25,000 and up. For more details on the renovation and floor plans, see www.knox.edu/alumnihall.xml.
The President's Circular enables me to express my appreciation for your support of Knox and to bring you, Knox's most significant financial supporters, up-to-date on developments at our great college. Yet, there is no substitute for seeing the campus in action. Please visit at Homecoming or other times. When you do visit, please stop by so that I can say "Thank you" in person.
Sincerely yours,
Roger L. Taylor, '63
President