Over the last year, as I have met and worked with so many of you, I have learned that you share my belief that to secure the future of our great institution, we need to think big, be bold, and move nimbly. We must be creative and innovative. We need to ensure that the young students with potential from all corners of the country, and the world, know about and have access to a Knox education. We must confront the challenges of declining enrollments, decreased revenues, and unsustainable pressures on faculty and staff head-on. I believe that our most effective means to accomplishing all of these things is the collective power of the Knox community.

The passion our alumni, students, faculty, and staff have for Knox is palpable. The sense of community, pride, and commitment to mission is unlike any other college or university I have been a part of. With this passion and commitment, I know that we can achieve our vision for Knox; to provide an exceptional academic and co-educational experience in a truly equitable, inclusive, and supportive community that enables our students to thrive, achieve postgraduate success, and fulfill their potential.

In just the last eight months, we have hired new leadership in student development, advancement, strategic initiatives, and information technology services. We have restored the retirement plan match for faculty and staff, and are midway through creating a strategic planning framework to guide our work over the next three to five years. We have returned to fully in-person learning and residential life, and initiated a capital needs analysis to better understand and plan for the infrastructure and deferred maintenance needs of the campus. We held an in-person commencement ceremony for the class of 2020 and began planning for a comprehensive fundraising campaign. We refinanced our debt through a very successful bond offering and introduced new admission strategies including the Prairie Promise, which is our commitment to meet the full demonstrated financial need of new students from our home state.

Knox is at a critical stage in our history when we will differentiate ourselves from the pack of small liberal arts institutions by doubling down on our mission and moving at an intentionally rapid pace as we have done over the last eight months. While I will work with our faculty, trustees, staff, students, and administration to move Knox forward, we can’t do it alone.

I have seen the power of our community in action already. For example, Tom ’76 and Ann Feldman Perille ’76 once again organized an incredible student send-off event in Colorado in the middle of a pandemic, and Philip Sidney Post Professor of Chemistry Mary Crawford ’89 chaired the search committee that brought us our new Vice President for Student Development Dr. MarQuita Barker. Trustee Rick Veague ’79 and former Trustee Heather Kopec ’10 traveled to Galesburg to help review and advise us on our information technology services and advancement operations respectively. The results of their important work culminated in Lisa Van Riper being named vice president for both communications and information technology services, and the recent hiring of fundraising veteran Monica M. Keith to lead the Knox advancement team. Provost and Dean of the College Michael Schneider deserves special thanks for his leadership over time and for willingness to continue to serve the College as part of his renewed contract.

Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees Barbara Baird ’73 connected us to a small consortium of liberal arts colleges that consults regularly with leading medical experts on COVID-related matters. Anne ’63 and Roger Taylor ’63 have provided a warm welcome to Camille and our family and remain incredibly loyal and passionate about all things Knox. Trustees Carol Bovard Craig ’89, John Lawler ’88, and Patrick St. Aubyn Lyn ’84, along with faculty members Joan Huguet and Jonathan Powers and staff member Leigh Brinson, are currently serving on the search committee for our new vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer. Harley Knosher; Penny Gold;
Owen Muelder ’63, P’96; and Jorge Prats P’85, P’93 have generously helped me gain a greater understanding of Knox traditions and history, and Gwen Lexow ’90 has lent her expertise to our staff as we reviewed our bias incident reporting processes.

Saxon Alvarez ’23 and Alex Kemmsies ’09 have hosted interviews with me for student and alumni events, and my friends of nearly a decade, Paul ’80 and Tracey Rappaport Greenwood ’80, have provided equal doses of humor and encouragement as well as a very special, handmade purple and gold bow tie you will see later in this issue. Each one of these people, and dozens more who I don’t have room to list here, have shown me their deep commitment and love for Knox with their time and offers of assistance and support.

Knox’s success will be OUR success, and I’m forever grateful for the opportunity to be part of this community, lead our team during this critical and exciting time for our College, and partner with all of you to ensure Knox’s future.

Sincerely,

Andy M.