This has been an exciting year at Knox!

Last summer, nine Knox students participated in a teaching camp in Naperville, Illinois, along with students from several other colleges. The students each had a grade school class. For five weeks, they taught low income children. In one fifth grade class, taught by a Knox student, the reading levels ranged from normal to students who could not recite the alphabet. This is real experiential learning in teaching.

Nora Heide, a Knox senior from Kenosha, Wisconsin told me about her experience. She told me that one thing that struck her was that if she or any of the other Knox students ran into problems with their classes, they thought nothing of calling one of the Knox Educational Studies professors on their cell phone and asking for advice. Nora said that the students from other colleges were blown away at the access to their professors that the Knox students enjoyed.

Frank McAndrew, a professor in psychology, has done serious scholarship on the very human practice — gossip. He has concluded that humans have used gossip since pre-historic days to navigate social relationships. Professor McAndrew says that it’s okay for us to look at the headlines on the National Enquirer in the grocery check-out lines — it’s very human to do that, although he doesn’t opine whether it is okay to actually buy the National Enquirer.

Last July, Professor McAndrew appeared on the Today Show to talk about his work. He appeared only briefly, and from a remote location. He turned down the free trip to New York and a fancy hotel, because he was taking some Knox students to psychology conference.

On August 15, Knox finished a $6.2 million renovation to Hamblin Hall. I have told the seniors living in Hamblin that their first apartment after they graduate from Knox will not be as nice. None has disagreed.

On August 23, 80-mph winds damaged the roof of Old Main — which meant that for its 150th birthday, Old Main is getting a new copper roof.

On September 1, Knox welcomed 349 new students, for a total enrollment of 1,370. This is Knox’s largest enrollment in decades!

On September 6, the academic year formally began with Opening Convocation. The principal convocation address was given by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. She encouraged Knox students to take advantage of the wonderful opportunities to pursue their ideas and interests, to explore, understand, and improve themselves at Knox.

On September 30, we learned that Tim Stedman, a senior non-traditional student — a little older than your average Knox student — had been a successful designer in Los Angeles before coming to Knox. His credits included designing CD covers for Lyle Lovett. It was Lyle Lovett himself who told us. Tim is a really big deal.

On November 30, Donni Forti, a member of the Class of 2006 and now a TV journalist, had his first story run on ABC News.

That same month, five seniors in the Knox Business Club participated in a competition at the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester, in New York. They were competing with students from 50 other schools. It was a case study competition, analyzing the strategic business plan of IKEA. Knox students placed on the 2nd and 4th place teams.

Also in November, Knox sent two separate delegations to China. One delegation, with financial support from the Caterpillar Foundation, began to negotiate exchange programs with Beijing University and Fudan University. The other delegation negotiated an agreement with Anhui University for Knox students to travel to China to teach English.

On February 4 of this year, representatives from the Peace Corps were on campus to recruit Knox students, under a pioneering agreement between the Peace Corps and Knox. Knox College’s Peace Corps Preparatory Program is a model for other colleges and universities.

Just this term, Knox began using a new module in a piece of chemistry lab equipment, an Olis RSM 1000 spectrophotometer. The inventor, Dr. Richard DeSa, has told us that, as the instrument is configured now, Knox students will be the only undergraduate students in the country who can study microscopic interactions using circularly polarized fluorescence.

On April 18, 2008, the Admissions Staff of Knox College, in connection with this Admitted Students Open House, arranged for an earthquake at 4:37 this morning!

On April 22, the Knox Republicans will host former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft for a lecture at Knox. On June 7, Knox’s 163rd Commencement, former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright will deliver the Commencement address.

This has been an exciting year at Knox and promises to continue to be.

The second most exciting thing at Knox this year is that the College broke the all time record for the number of applications for admission — 2,843 applications — for 400 slots, compared to 2,540 applications last year.

We have had to make some tough admission decisions. And we know that we will have a great entering class this fall. Congratulations to all the admitted students who made the cut! We read the entire application file. If we have admitted you, that means we want you. If we have admitted you, that means we believe you will flourish at Knox,that you belong to Knox, and that if you enroll, you will soon decide, as the students who are here now have decided, that Knox belongs to you.

I say that our record admissions was just the second most exciting thing, because the most exciting thing, for me at least, has been once again to witness the examples of the teaching and learning that go on, day in and day out at Knox College — because of our gifted faculty, dedicated coaches and hard working staff. Examples like Nora Heide on her cell phone, working out difficult teaching challenges with her Ed Studies professor. Examples that I suspect many of you have seen this morning — faculty interactions with students, and students collaborating with each other.

There is another kind of interaction that goes on at this residential college — interactions among students in the class rooms, laboratories, performance venues, athletic venues, student clubs and organizations, and residence halls. Students are earning from each other, through interactions among students from different cultures, different races, and different economic backgrounds.

In closing, let me ask two favors of you, the admitted students. First, as we say down in Fulton County — where I come from — “Let’s not forget them that brung you.” Those of you who have been admitted to Knox College, in this record year of applications, have every right to be proud of your accomplishments. You have every right to be proud that this College has decided that “You are Knox!”

But there are others here today who nurtured you, dropped you off at school, attended your performances and athletic events and maybe nudged you to do your homework — your mothers and fathers, and grandmothers and grandfathers. On your way home today, or when you get home, do me a favor — Take a moment and say, “Thanks, Mom. Thanks, Dad.”

And the second favor — on your way home, please think back and reflect on the reasons why you applied to Knox College in the first place. Reflect on why you were curious to discover whether you are Knox. And reflect on whether what you have learned, and your experiences here on campus, have convinced you that you are Knox.

Finally, a comment from Edward Lanphier, a Knox graduate in the Class of 1978 — a biochemistry major who heads a biotech firm on the west coast. A couple weeks ago, he said to me, “College is not a prize to be won. It is a match to be made.” I hope that you have decided that Knox College is a match for you so I can greet you in September as students at Knox College.

Knox College President Roger Taylor speaks at the retirement reception
for Grounds Department Foreman Terry Like

My name is Roger Taylor, and I was graduated from this terrific college in 1963. On November 1, 1961, when Anne and I were juniors at Knox, seventeen-year-old Terry Like joined the staff of Knox College. Dick Winter — assistant director of the physical plant and father of then-seven-year-old Denise Bailey — took Terry Like under his wing. According to Dick, Terry was a real good worker, and kind of bashful; some things don’t change.

Terry has worked in the heating plant and on the grounds during his 46 years service to Knox. Terry has worked with four grounds directors: Paul Garhard, Frank Blaze, Charles Cunningham, and John Steller. He has worked with seven physical plant directors: Swede Johnson, Joe Vacek, Dick Baldwin, Web Wilke, Kevin Miner, Doug Sandford, and Scott Maust. He has worked with six presidents: Sharvey Umbeck, Inman Fox, John McCall, Rick Nahm, Richard Millman, and the guy who first came to Knox at about the same time Terry did.

During his 46 years with Knox, Terry was — as far as anybody knows — the first person to mow the Knox Bowl. He hauled cadavers into the Umbeck Science Mathematics Center. And he has taught generations of Facilities Services workers how to cuss!

The saga of all great institutions is made up of the separate stories of the individuals who serve there. It is, of course, the faculty who do the core work of Knox. But one of the very special characteristics of Knox College is the respect and appreciation that is afforded to each and every individual who works here. Please join me in recognizing and thanking Terry Like for 46 years of service to Knox College.

Welcome to the prospective Knox College students and their families. And thanks to the Knox faculty and staff who braved iffy — winter — weather to make the trip from campus.

On campus, the push is starting toward the end of the academic term. Winter sports are winding down their seasons. And we are all pretty much ready for spring to start.

Just a couple of Knox’s recent headlines:

• Former United States Attorney General John Ashcroft will speak on campus April 22.
• Knox just learned that the Commencement 2008 speaker will be former United States Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

We are excited at Knox as we continue to get to know those of you who will be Knox students starting this fall.

We have had another record year for applications for admission at Knox. Last year, which was a record, Knox received 2,540 applications for admission. Already this year, the college has received 2,708 applications for 390 slots. That has meant some tough decisions. And those of you, who have been admitted, can take pride in that.

For those of you still waiting, the Admissions staff is hard at working getting through yours and the rest of the files.

At Knox, we read the entire admissions file. We just don’t tote up some numbers and make a decision. We look at your entire file. Because we want to make sure that those students whom we admit, have the academic potential to flourish at Knox.

In other words, when we admit a student to Knox, that means that we want you to attend Knox. When we admit a student to Knox, we have decided that you belong at Knox. And, I suspect that you have picked up from the Knox students, with whom you have talked today, or while you visited campus, that very soon after students begin at Knox, they come to know that they belong at Knox. And very soon after Knox students begin, they come to know that Knox belongs to them.

Now I think that rather than taking more time to talk, I would like to let us get back to our conversations. And we’d love to hear from the students and their families what they like about Knox. Let’s first get to know each other just a little better by going around with some introductions, and, if you don’t mind sharing, what you like about Knox.

I’ll start — My name is Roger Taylor. I graduated from Knox in 1963, and what I like about Knox is that I met my wife of 44 years there.

Thank you Mr. Chairman. My name is Roger Taylor and I was graduated from this terrific college in 1963. Your president asked me to give a few remarks on the state of the College, and to respond to questions. Thanks for inviting me to appear.

I am very upbeat about the state of Knox College. Let me tell you why, using as a framework the three goals that I stated when I was formally installed as president, on October 11, 2002: To Nurture Academic Excellence. To Strengthen Institutional Self Confidence. And to Chart a Course Toward Financial Impregnability.

Nurturing Academic Excellence requires academic integrity — absolute academic integrity. It also requires academic freedom and a gifted faculty — a faculty, which as Professor Lynette Lombard once wrote: “provides a place where a student can take risks, fall, stumble, and discover, because there is a safety net, a constructively critical yet supportive community.”

Knox has academic integrity, enforced by a student administered Honor Code. Knox has academic freedom, as stated in the bylaws of the College. And Knox has a gifted faculty.

One thing that I fret about sometimes — under the goal of Nurturing Academic Excellence — is the quality of the discourse on campus. There are occasions when individuals say things or write things that reflect disrespect for others. Disrespect is really inconsistent with the constructively critical safety net that Professor Lombard wrote about.

We can disagree, but with mutual respect and civility.

I recognize that I am preaching to the choir. I recognize that the Student Senate has taken a leadership role in discussing civil discourse on campus. I thank you for that, and I encourage you to keep at it.

I acknowledge that comments reflecting disrespect have been made by others than students. For example, a few of you have heard or seen comments by a few faculty — a very few — that reflect disrespect for those students who belong to sororities and fraternities. I regret that, and I commend Elaine Wilson, the Student Senate’s Director of Communications, for having the courage to point out the disrespect concerning one of the comments. I encourage the Senate to use those few comments as another reason for the Senate to promote civil discourse on campus as a part of the Senate’s agenda.

I would like to give you a couple of examples that might be useful to you as the Senate continues to take a leadership role on this issue.

Think about those whom you consider gifted public speakers, and ask yourself if they don’t have two common traits:

First — they have a gift of connecting.

Second — they do not personally attack the character of those with whom they disagree. Instead they attack their ideas with which they disagree.

A second example. As some of you know, I practiced law for thirty years. I had the opportunity to work with experienced trial lawyers who were also great teachers, and they taught me that the art of advocacy is not argument. The art of advocacy is persuasion.

Any good jury lawyer will tell you that when the jury knocks on the jury room door, to signal that it has reached a verdict, you don’t care if the jurors think that you are the smartest person that they have seen. You care if you have persuaded them to return a verdict in favor of your client.

With the exception of some of the discourse, the progress on Nurturing Academic Excellence has been just terrific.

We have a first-rate faculty creating new opportunities for students.

As recently as the 2001-2002 academic year, Knox did not have a journalism minor, a dance minor, or a business and management minor. Today, the neuroscience major is three years old, Chinese language was added two years ago, and the faculty will soon consider a new program in film studies. The process of creating new opportunities for students is ongoing and never ending.

Strengthening Institutional Self-Confidence: Progress on that goal is hard to measure quantitatively, but it is one on which Knox has made great progress.

I travel a lot. I talk with a lot of alumni. They, and you, are less bashful about telling others where you go to College. And what a great college Knox is!

And as I said in my installation speech in 2002, institutional self-confidence also means speaking out for what is right. I said then that speaking out against discrimination based upon disability and sexual orientation is not entirely accepted in our society, but that should not stop us from speaking out. Just as the fact that speaking out against racial discrimination was not well accepted in 1837 did not stop the founders of our college from speaking out.

I commend the student leaders who remind us of the need to be sensitive to irrational discrimination of all kinds.

Institutional Self-Confidence contributes to Knox’s reputation for academic excellence, innovative educational programs, and undergraduate research — with the unique financial support provided for student research by the Richter Foundation.

The College’s reputation for student involvement: on faculty committees and Task Forces such as the Dining Services Director Search Committee; on The Honor Board; on the Senate’s Sustainability Committee which has helped me form a campus task force on sustainability; and in a vibrant student life, nurtured by Dean Romano and his staff.

All these contribute to Knox’s reputation. Just this morning, a program officer from the Hearst Foundation in New York visited campus in connection with a grant application. She told the Senior Staff — and I wrote this down! — “Knox is every bit as good a college as Bates or Colby. I hope you understand that.”

Charting a Course Toward Financial Impregnability: I chose those words carefully in 2002. I don’t expect Knox to reach financial impregnability while I work here. But we can Chart the Course. And we are.

The number of alumni who contribute to the College is moving up. As of today, 4,670 donors have contributed to Knox this academic year, compared to 3,841 this time last year. We are receiving more $25,000 and $50,000 and $100,000 gifts. We are making progress on $1-million gifts. The Bayer endowed chair in earth sciences announced this month is one example.

This progress in Charting the Course is thanks to the hard work of many folks. This includes a number of students who work with Office of Advancement as Student Ambassadors, traveling with Advancement to alumni events and meeting alumni on campus. And the Knox students who ran the phonathon last fall calling alumni and asking for contributions. Special thanks to you who have helped.

We still need more large gifts, like the $10.3-million Hobbs Gift a couple of years ago. Seeking those gifts is an even more increasing focus of my work. That’s why I am around campus less and less. Charting the Course requires strong enrollments. As you know, applications for admission continue to be very strong. Yesterday, the College received the 2,500-th application for this fall’s entering class.

The Senior Staff and I have established an enrollment target of 1,350 degree-seeking students for next fall — right at last fall’s opening enrollment. That’s a target, and we will likely come in a few students under or over.

We have established a target of 370 new students. And 20 transfer students for next fall. That target will be revised — if appropriate. As we continue to refine projects for how many upper-class students will return next fall.

One of the most important factors in a prospective student’s decision is word-of-mouth comments from current students. So I thank the Senate as student leaders. And I thank all the Knox students for the insights that you give the prospective students who visit and talk with you.

Increased enrollments, increased endowment, increased Knox Fund — all are a part of Charting a Course Toward Financial Impregnability. All lead to new faculty and new programs. The Hobbs gift enabled the College to renovate Hamblin Hall. The Bayer gift will enable the College to add earth sciences to the Environmental Science program.

Those who came before you are making the financial contributions that enable Knox to offer and enhance its programs today. You who benefit from their philanthropy will have the obligation after you graduate to support those who come after you.

The State of the College: A great academic program, well grounded institutional self-confidence, growing fundraising, and strong enrollments — which gives me optimism for the future state of the College. I appreciate the chance to share my optimism with you.

Good morning. My name is Roger Taylor, and I was graduated from this terrific college in 1963. It is my privilege to welcome you to this Knox College convocation, celebrating the life and accomplishments of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.One of the many, many eloquent things that Dr. King said during his life was that he dreamed of a day when his children would not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Dr. King was saying — I think — that he looked forward to a day when race didn’t matter.

The founders of Knox College and Galesburg, who came to the frontier prairies of western Illinois in the 1830s to establish a college and a town, believed that race should not matter — as it did for most of America in those days. The founders of this college were strongly anti-slavery.

Knox was chartered in 1837, and the college counted blacks among its students by the 1850s. We have long known that Hiram Revels, who went on to become the first African American to serve in the United States Senate — ironically to take the seat vacated by Jefferson Davis — attended Knox in 1856-57. Senator Revels’ great-great granddaughter — Erica Stringfellow — is a senior now at Knox.

While we have long known that Senator Revels attended Knox, we have recently learned — thanks to the work of Dr. Matt Norman, a history major and graduate of Knox in 1993 — that another black student attended Knox in the 1850s.

Varveel Florville was from Springfield. Mr. Florville’s father was believed to have been a friend of Abraham Lincoln.

On October 7, 1858, in a debate with Senator Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln stood at the east wall of Old Main and asserted that race did not matter enough to warrant whites to hold blacks in bondage. Lincoln said for the first time at Knox that the practice was immoral, and two years later Knox awarded Lincoln his first honorary degree.

President Bill Clinton said last June — when Knox awarded him an honorary degree — that Knox gave Lincoln an honorary degree to help him with the election.

Perhaps. But I’d rather think that Knox awarded Lincoln an honorary degree because his views on slavery were close to those of the founders of Knox.

In more modern times, Knox has awarded honorary degrees to others whose views are similar to those of the founders — the Reverend Jesse Jackson in 1979; and Congressman John Lewis, who marched with Dr. King, in 1999.

And in 2005 Knox awarded an honorary degree to Senator Barack Obama, whose candidacy for President — I believe — has demonstrated that many in our country have reached point to which Dr. King urged us to aspire, where race doesn’t matter.

I cite these examples from Knox’s history — not to try to claim Dr. King as one of Knox’s own, but to show that it is entirely appropriate that Dr. King’s legacy be celebrated at Knox College, because the values that have guided Knox College parallel those stated so eloquently by Dr. King.

Today, as we welcome those who will be the next class of Knox students, let us remember Dr. King’s legacy, celebrate what has been accomplished since he spoke to us, and rededicate ourselves and our College to finishing the work necessary to realize his dream.