Knox in the News

From the Washington Post:

NBC hopes the denouement of the Booker-O’Brien kerfuffle attracts a lot of viewers — both to the Friday broadcast and its online afterlife. To some extent it will depend on how well Booker performs. When Booker’s good — as when he appeared on Rachel Maddow’s MSNBC show on election night in 2008 — he’s very, very good. But when he’s bad — as when he appeared on “The Colbert Report” on Sept. 14 to plug “Brick City” — he’s horrid.

Conan’s feud with Booker is similar to the one Colbert ginned up in 2007 when he threatened to burn his honorary doctorate of fine arts that Knox College awarded him when he gave the school’s commencement address the previous year. On his show he said he would torch the document on air if the school bestowed the same honor on Bill Clinton.

A faux feud erupted; Knox College President Roger Taylor finally offered to go on Colbert’s show to explain the difference between Colbert’s degree and Clinton’s. And, in his commencement speech, Clinton spoke thusly:

“When Lincoln ran for president in 1860, the truth is that’s why he got this honorary degree. Your college was trying to help him get elected and you wanted to give him a little boost. One hundred forty-six years later, you gave Stephen Colbert a degree to give his ratings a boost. That’s what Al Gore now calls an assault on reason.”

From the Register-Mail:

Members of the City Council got a glimpse of campus life Tuesday when they were given a guided tour of Knox College.

Knox College President Roger Taylor escorted Mayor Sal Garza, City Manager Dane Bragg and three City Council members around the campus, making stops at Old Main, the Seymour Library and the Knosher Bowl.

Garza said it was important to broaden understanding of the role Knox plays in the local community and the many benefits the college brings to Galesburg. “It is a great stabilizer for the local economy. The jobs at Knox are really recession proof and they are always very inviting to the local community,” he said.

Knox College Chief Financial Officer Tom Axtell gave a presentation to the City Council at Old Main that underlined the importance of the economic contribution the college makes to Galesburg.

The college employs 378 faculty and staff with an annual payroll of about $16 million. “Most of those people live in Galesburg and they buy stuff in Galesburg,” Taylor said.

From the Register-Mail:

Approximately one in four Illinois college students will be left out in the cold come Jan. 1, 2010. Many highly motivated, bright students will not be able to continue attending Illinois colleges and universities because the state of Illinois has eliminated funding for the Monetary Award Program….

In this current recession, Illinois students forced to drop out of college are unlikely to find jobs. And students who drop out of college before graduating rarely return. Some of those students may well leave the state, taking with them one of Illinois’ most valuable natural resources — tomorrow’s teachers, business leaders, inventors, doctors and artists.

For these students, a quality education like that offered by Knox College, Monmouth College, and Carl Sandburg College is the step up they need to become successful citizens in Illinois. Help us remind the governor and General Assembly of how important MAP is to our common future. Contact your state representatives and senators in the next few days and urge them to find a funding solution to restore the MAP grant.

From the Register-Mail:

Knox College’s Roger Taylor will begin his ninth year as president when students return to classes Sept. 10. A board member of the Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association, Taylor says his school’s model could help Galesburg climb out of its current local recession. He sat down with The Register-Mail’s education reporter Marco Santana to talk about his recent appointment to the Illinois Humanities Council, the future of the Knox County Courthouse and what he thinks about Knox College’s reputation and relationship with the city of Galesburg….

Q: As you prepare for your ninth year, what is your mindset with the year coming up soon?

Taylor: My thought process is how short the summer is because it seems like commencement was just over and already we are geared up for new students to move in on Sept. 6. Classes will begin on Sept. 10. And today, (July 31) we’re in the process of welcoming about 160 prospective students for the fall of 2010. We’re a year ahead.

Q: The school was recently named to two national college guides. How do you promote that with prospective students?

Taylor: We promote more Loren Pope’s book, “Colleges that Change Lives.” In part because, that’s what we do at Knox, transform students. I’m starting my 9th year. I have never had a question about the Princeton Review, never had a question about the Fiske guide, never had a question about U.S. News. But from time to time I’ll have a parent carrying Loren Pope’s “Colleges that Change Lives.” There are 40 colleges similar to Knox in the book. It’s a good write-up of Knox so that’s the guide.

Q: As president, what do you think when you see your school in those guides?

Taylor: When it’s good, and it mostly is, it’s terrific. Sometimes they say things that are not the greatest, either about the college or the town. One of these books, I think it was Fiske, had kind of a back-handed slap at Galesburg. I didn’t care for that.

From the Peoria Journal Star:

Knox College has received a $1.5 million gift to establish a distinguished chair in modern languages.

Dr. Richard W. Burkhardt and Dorothy Johnson Burkhardt, 1939 graduates of Knox, provided the gift. A professor is expected to be named to the Burkhardt Distinguished Chair in Modern Languages at the opening of the 2010 academic year.

A separate, $50,000 gift from the Burkhardts will go toward renovation and upgrading of the college’s language laboratory facilities this winter.

“With their most recent gift, Dorothy and Richard Burkhardt continue their history of 70 years of service and generosity to their alma mater,” said Roger Taylor, Knox president.

From Chicago Press Release:

The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) Board of Directors elected five new members at its April 24th meeting. The new members are Rodrigo del Canto, Adam P. Green, Thomas E. Kallen, Roger L. Taylor, and Kay Torshen. On July 1st, each member began a three-year term and is eligible for two more terms.