With 2014 nearly over, now is a perfect time to look back on some of the year's highlights at Knox College. Check out this student-produced video on "The Knoxiest Moments of 2014."

If you want a quick rundown, here are the top five:

1. Campus Transformation. As the Alumni Hall renovation was completed, the planning process started for a new arts building on campus, thanks to a $5 million gift from lead donors and alumni Dick '57 and Joan Whitney Whitcomb '56.

2. Sustainability. Two "high tunnel" structures opened on the west side of campus, and students started growing tomatoes, and other food there to help make the Knox campus more sustainable.

3. Athletics. The Knox men's soccer team completed a successful and historic season, during which the Prairie Fire won the regular season Midwest Conference title, had a 13-game winning streak, and advanced to the championship game of the Midwest Conference tournament. Also, the Prairie Fire football team won the Lincoln Trophy for the first time in the trophy's three-year history by defeating Eureka College, 26-23, in a thrilling game.

4. The Written Word. Catch, Knox's literary magazine, won a 2014 National Program Directors' Prize from the Association of Writers & Writing Programs (AWP) for outstanding content. The Knox Student, Knox's student-run newspaper, was named a finalist for the 2014 Associated Collegiate Press Newspaper Pacemaker award, which represents the highest honor in the collegiate press in the United States.

5. Success in Science. Knox was awarded almost $600,000 in grants from the National Science Foundation. One of the grants will enable Knox to acquire a new imaging system for biology, biochemistry, and neuroscience. Another will enable Knox to purchase a new, more powerful nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometer -- a device used to analyze and identify chemical compounds. The third grant, which will fund research into making super-computers more efficient, includes stipends for student assistants whose work will help prepare them for leadership positions in science, engineering and technology.

The lead faculty members for the grants are Janet Kirkley, professor of biochemistry; Diana Cermak, professor of chemistry; and David Bunde, associate professor of computer science.

Here are some runners-up that just missed making the "Knoxiest Moments" list.

• Knox won Gold Level recognition from the State of Illinois this year in the Governor's Campus Sustainability Compact Awards. The Gold Level Award honors "institutions that are integrating sustainability throughout their campus and working towards measured improvement."
• Knox earned a spot on Peace Corps' annual list of the top volunteer-producing colleges in the United States, ranking No. 10 among small colleges and universities -- those with enrollments of fewer than 5,000 students.
• Knox was recognized repeatedly for students' dedication to community service. The College received a top 20 ranking in the latest service-oriented rankings from Washington Monthly magazine -- rankings that evaluate colleges for "encouraging students to give something back to their country." Knox also was one of just four finalists in the Economic Opportunity category of the 2014 President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll -- the highest federal award that an educational institution can receive for its commitment to community service.