From: NBC TV 5 (Chicago, IL)
There’s another, more obscure, county that also serves as a bellwether for Illinois. That’s little Knox County, pop. 52,000, in northwestern Illinois. In every election since 1964, [Knox County] has voted for the candidate who won the state’s electoral votes… Knox County has another presidential distinction: it’s the home of Knox College, in Galesburg, where both Barack Obama (then a senator) and Bill Clinton have delivered commencement speeches.
Unlike many Downstate counties, Knox County voted for Clinton and Obama in both their elections, but it also voted for Michael Dukakis, Al Gore and John Kerry — who [lost the Presidency, while they] won Illinois… Read more at NBC TV 5… Read more about Barack Obama at Knox, and other US presidents at Knox…
From: The Register Mail (Galesburg, IL)
In conjunction with the Great American Cleanup, various Knox College organizations and students spread across Galesburg Saturday morning, beautifying the city as they went.
Although the main focus of this year’s cleanup program was freeing Galesburg of trash and litter, some groups took on different projects of landscaping, home repair, planting trees and other various jobs.
“This is a really busy time on a college campus. We’re hurdling towards the end of the term and graduation. The fact that so many kids would still come out today is a great thing,” said Knox College President Teresa Amott… Read more…
From: The Register Mail (Galesburg, IL)
Historian Tom Wilson notes a few interesting episodes from Knox College history: “When young Albert Britt entered Knox in the 1890s, there was no examination, no aptitude tests and no psychological examinations. Tuition was $40 and there were no official athletic teams… [20 years later, when Britt was serving as President of Knox, he was] the toastmaster when the inventor of basketball, James Naismith, spoke at the college basketball banquet…
[Wilson also describes how] “the original Knox College charter was very specific in spelling out that any land it sold would be given back to the college if intoxicating liquor was used or sold on the buyer’s property… [In the 1930s] Knox sold property to the federal government for the current Post Office on East Main Street… Knox filed suit against the Federal Government, [apparently] to establish punitive damages if the Federal Government decided to sell liquor on the Post Office site at a future date and even use a room on the premises… The jury [decided] that Knox College might collect as much as a dollar if an infraction occurred…” Read more…
From: The Dispatch Argus (Moline, IL)
Officials at Knox College say fundraising to renovate the school’s historic Alumni Hall has exceeded the $8 million mark. Knox College President Teresa Amott announced the milestone for gifts and pledges Friday during homecoming festivities… Read more…
From: WGIL (Galesburg, IL)
The president of Knox College says there’s a pretty big challenge in the way for hers and other institutions of higher learning: getting students to come here. Teresa Amott just finished her first year on the job, and says what she calls the market of 18-year old college students is shrinking, particularly in the Midwest region… “That means we need to look outside the Midwest for more students. So I would say the big directions for us are to ask what do we need to do to be competitive in that competitive landscape and what do we need to do to be affordable to families.”… Read more…
From: The Register Mail (Galesburg, IL)
For someone passing by, it may have been rather difficult to tell where the carnival ended and the street fair began at the 35th annual Railroad Days celebration Saturday.
[Events included] a tram tour, put on by the Galesburg Historical Society… [At Old Main, the] tour showcased impersonators of historic Galesburg residents, both past and present. Among this group was Hiram Kellogg, the first president of Knox College [portrayed by Bill Butts of Galesburg, and the current Knox President] Dr. Teresa Amott, first female president of Knox College. Also seen on the tour was William Patch, first CB&Q conductor in Galesburg… On the Hope Cemetery Tour, riders were able to see some of the most influential of Galesburg’s historic residents… The Galesburg Historical Society decided to focus the tram tours on the various “firsts” of Galesburg, in celebration of the city’s 175th anniversary. Read more…
