Video Montage of Roger Taylor (Multimedia Story #3)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGU0R5KJd7Q

Dean of Knox College and Vice President of Academic Affairs Larry Breitborde (Multimedia Story #2)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qGwXhsA28

Q and A with Chancie Ferris Booth Professor Lane Sunderland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5HrUkIpeS8

Faculty Story on Roger Taylor (Short Feature Story #1)

“I’d give him an A,” said Dean of Knox College and Vice President of Academic Affairs Larry Breitborde grading Roger Taylor’s presidency. Knox’s faculty overwhelmingly agrees that Taylor has improved the college’s standing.

Chancie Ferris Booth professor of political science, Lane Sunderland, believes that Taylor was a dynamic president. “Energy in the executive is the leading character in the definition of good government,” said Sunderland referencing Federalist No. 70 since his main area of study is constitutional law.

Improving Knox’s standing was part of Taylor’s energy in the executive. “We’ve seen our financial picture improve dramatically and we are now in a position where we are securing our endowment without drawing out of it,” Sunderland said. Knox at the time needed an engaged leader that would fundraise to increase the endowment.

Charles W. and Arvilla S. Timme professor of economics Roy Andersen had very similar thoughts about Taylor. "He came in at a time of financial instability,” said Andersen, “this is not a rich school, we’re relatively poor.” He like Sunderland believes that Taylor helped the college to substantially increase the capital of the college.

However, Andersen believes that Taylor was not the only person who helped. Andersen referenced to the dedicated staff that contributed to Taylor’s efforts. "Roger came in and he was blessed with a very good dean and an outstanding C.F.O. so that helped him a lot," Andersen said. Yet, Taylor’s personality was overall a pivotal factor in guiding the staff to improve the college.

Taylor’s friendliness made him a successful president. "Most of all, I guess I’ll remember him for his pleasantness, his love of the college, his love of the students and that, I think, helped him," said Andersen.

Sunderland also pointed out Taylor’s personality as a positive factor. . “[Anne and Roger Taylor] do a multitude of acts of kindness to people,” Sunderland said.

Dean of Knox College, Larry Breaitborde, believes that Taylor deserves a lot of praising. Taylor, as an alumnus of the college, established his own authority. “He had a certain knowledge of the college … the fact that he was an alumnus of the college was huge given the financial fragility of the college at the time,” Breitborde said. Taylor’s personal career achievements boosted the college’s standing

Taylor’s involvement in the prestigious Kirkland & Ellis law firm showed prospective students that Knox College can make successful individuals. “For him to say ‘Knox did that for me,’” Breitborde believes this showed the positive impact that Knox can have on individuals.

However, Knox still needs improvement. “It would have been nice to make more progress on some issues … He could’ve raised even more money,” Breitborde said. Even though Taylor almost doubled the college’s endowment from $40 million to $81 million, the college still needs more resources.

Lane Sunderland agrees. “Salaries need to be increased to keep us competitive with other institutions we are compared to,” said Sunderland. Once salaries are increased then Knox will be able to overcome the other colleges more attractive benefits for qualified faculty.

Roy Andersen believes that having a higher endowment will ultimately benefit the college. “Our endowment isn’t big enough and that really underlies a lot of things,” said Breitborde.

Dr. Teresa Amott is viewed favorably. Money is a problem at Knox College but faculty believes that she will raise more money for the college. “One of the things she’ll do is strategic planning,” said Sunderland. Taylor had to act quickly in order to financially rescue the college but Sunderland believes that Dr. Amott has plenty of time to plan more fundraisings.

Breitborde sees Dr. Teresa Amott as a perfect fit for Knox. “She has a very strong record of academic leadership,” said Breitborde, “but she has also been involved in institutional fundraising.” Like Andersen and Sunderland, Breitborde also believes that more money is necessary to make Knox College and Dr. Amott will aid that effort.

Overall, faculty agrees that Taylor accomplished a lot for Knox College. “There is no question his presidency was a success,” said Sunderland. Sunderland referenced to the increase of enrollment and endowment all due to his personality and career.

Taylor’s profession as a lawyer benefited the presidency. “It’s just a mindset that you want to move forward,” said Sunderland. According to Sunderland, Taylor’s law mindset encouraged him to tackle down newer issues rather than outdated conflicts that the college had before he took office.

Breitborde talked about Taylor’s legacy. “He’s gonna get his own chapter,” said Breitborde, “Roger was the perfect person at the perfect moment.”

Student Story on Roger Taylor (short feature story)

“He’s the person that put Knox College on the map!” said Supriya Kasaju, a current junior student at Knox College.

A few Knox College students spoke up about Roger Taylor who after ten years, has finally decided to retire from his job. A lot of them had positive things to say about his administration. Kasuju said, “He brought positive changes, that is, he made the school more lively.” She explained how he was very friendly with students and occasionally, he would go to the cafeteria and have lunch with students. She also added that he was easy to talk to and would always listen when people voiced their opinions.

Freshman Marcus McGee praised Taylor for his fundraising. “Roger restored our schools financial power, I would not have been able to come here if Knox hadn’t offered many scholarships,” he said. He explained how he works for the “phonathon” of the college which consists of calling Knox College alumni to request funds and donations for the school. He added, “I realized how involved he was in getting funds for the school … and I respect him for what he has done for the school.”

Junior Celestina Agyekum pointed out that Taylor, being a Knox alumnus, was beneficial to the college. “Being a Knox alumnus plays a big role. He understands the needs of the people and always encompasses the culture of Knox in whatever he does,” she said. Agyekum had brief encounters with Taylor and described him as a very nice and approachable person.

Freshman student senate member Shelly Bhanot agreed with Agyekum. She mentioned that his administration was “student-friendly.” “I attended a board of trustees meeting and everyone liked his administration, he is a really nice guy,” Bhanot said. She described Taylor as approachable and stern at the same time.

Sophomore Tarere Eyimina pointed out that Taylor and his wife Anne host an annual Thanksgiving dinner for students that don’t leave campus. She added that on one occasion she was present, “they initiated us into the holiday, they told us stories about themselves and I got to know a lot about them.” Eyimina added that she had a lovely time with the couple and will love to do it again.

Senior Audrey Savage reaffirmed Eyimina’s statement. “The stories he tells about how he met is wife shows he's dedicated to Knox which helps with our self-confidence,” she said. She further explained the fact that Taylor shares his stories with students makes them proud to be a part of Knox. McGee stated, “Roger had a vision to make the school what it wasn’t and he did.”

Interesting Facts on Knox Presidents (Side II)

Hiram Huntington Kellog (1841- 1845)- He sold his domestic seminary at Clinton, New York to become president of Knox College.

Jonathan Blanchard (1845-1857)- As a Cincinnati minister he hated sins such as rum, Sabbath’ breaking, and free masonry.

Harvey Curtis (1858-1863) and William Stanton Curtis (1863-1868)- They had the same name but no relation and were devout Presbyterians. During their presidencies, the Civil War depleted the college of male students.

John Putnam Gulliver (1868-1872)- He made Knox College co-ed but sexes were seated separately in chapel and classrooms.

Newton Bateman (1874-1892)- He introduced a military drill on campus.

John Huston Finley (1892-1899)- He was the first Knox alumnus to become president of the college and became the youngest president of any American college at the time.

Thomas McClelland (1900-1917)- He was known for increasing Knox’s endowment and honored by City of Galesburg for bringing $50,000 of Carnegie funds to the city library.

James Lukens McConaughy (1918-1925)- As president, he wiped out the old traces of the old prairie college which had served long and well; a modernization that began with Finley.

Albert Britt (1925-1936)- He was the second alumnus to serve as president and built stimulated interest in athletic sports.

Carter Davidson (1936-1946)- His administration was shadowed by the Great Depression and WWII but despite this he raised faculty’s salaries and modernized the curriculum.

Lyndon Osmond Brown (1947-1948)-He had the shortest presidency in Knox College’s history with 18 months of service to re-enter his special field of marketing research in New York.

Sharvy G. Umbeck (1949-1973)- He was the longest serving president of Knox College with a 24 yr and expanded the college from 37 acres to 72 acres.

E. Inman Fox (1974-1982)- He was an eager participant of Flunk Day.

John Patrick McCall (1982-1993)- Under his presidency, the field house and the A.B.L.E house were built and he believed that no student should be deprived of a Knox education beyond their control.

Frederick c. Nahm (1993-1998)- He was the author of many articles and book chapters on fund-raising, strategic planning and management.

Richard S. Millman (1999-2001)- He was also a professor in the mathematics department during his administration at Knox.

Roger Taylor (2001-2011)- He was the third alumnus to serve as president and was the smallest member of the Knox football team during his time as a student.

Main Story on Roger Taylor

After 30 years of working as an attorney, Roger Taylor was ready to retire but his Alma Mater called him home.

Taylor originally planned to retire in 2001 from Kirkland & Ellis law firm in Chicago. Instead, he chose to strengthen Knox College’s institutional self-confidence. Now he’s ready to retire. “On June 30^thabout 4:35pm, I will walk out, salute and go to the farm,” said Taylor.

Born to a small farm in Fulton County, Illinois, Taylor graduated from Knox College in 1963 and Northwestern University Law School in 1971 with honors. Since 1988, Taylor was the Chair of Knox’s Board of Trustees but left in 2001 to become interim President of Knox College for 6 months. Taylor officially became president on October 11^th, 2002.

After former President Dr. Richard Millman’s unexpected leave, the Board of Trustees turned to one of their own. “It was a calling to do the job,” Taylor said. The Board believed that having an alumnus president would benefit the college. Taylor reaffirmed by saying, “All I had to do is say Roger Taylor class of 1963, and that was the end of the introduction minuet.” In fact, he stayed for 10 years because he felt that as alumnus, “you can’t just walk out or stay for a while and 10 years seemed like a nice time.”

Taylor had several challenges. In 2001, Knox College had a 43 million dollar endowment and a 16 percent spending rate. In 2010 the endowment was 81.9 million dollars and a 5.3 percent spending rate. “Everyone had become an accountant,” said Taylor. The college could not afford several necessities. Taylor added that, “the college had required students to clean their own bathrooms…that didn’t many any sense.” There was a loss of self-confidence which in result caused low enrollment and poor endowment.

To improve Knox College’s institutional self-confidence, Taylor mentioned fixing the Old Main bell. It was a “metaphor for strengthening the institutional self-confidence of the college,” said Taylor. Chancie Ferris Booth professor of political science, Lane Sunderland, agreed with Taylor. “Fixing the bell was one of the highpoints all right…it boosted institutional self-confidence,” Sunderland said.

The president relaxed the formal tone normally associated with his job. “The law firm where I practiced was open door, on a first name basis,” Taylor said. He moved out of the spacious president’s office into a joining conference room to be more open to staff and students. Moving out of this office stripped away the “status consciousness” as Taylor put it. He also introduced himself to all as Roger not Mr. Taylor or Mr. President.

His humility is one of his distinguishing attributes. “Legacy is too fancy for a farm boy from Fulton County Illinois,” said Taylor. He also denies taking all the credit for Knox’s improvement. “I can’t take credit for that myself…I happen to be at a time with gifted faculty and dedicated senior staff.”

Taylor has some regrets. The biggest challenge for Knox College is “raising money, raising money, raising money … Knox has always struggled,” he said. He also regrets not collecting enough money to remodel the Alumni Hall. Freshman senate member Shelly Bhanot stated, “Each year we don’t repair Alumni Hall it costs us a million dollars more, had we repaired alumni hall 5 years ago, it would have been much cheaper.” The current endowment is healthy but it is not strong enough to add newer academic buildings or remodel older ones. The last academic building built in Knox College was the Science and Math Center.

Money is needed for faculty. “I wish I could have raised money to increase salary of the staff,” Taylor said. One of the main concerns is losing academically attractive professors to colleges other than Knox. “[Salaries] need to be increased to keep us competitive with institutions that we compare ourselves too,” said professor Sunderland.

After these 10 years, he feels that this phase of his life is over. He will not return to Knox for two years. The first thing Taylor will do is go to his family farm located 30 miles south of Galesburg and fix his 2001 pickup truck. He and his wife Anne want to travel while still being active in non-profit organizations. He serves in Galesburg Regional Economic Development Association and is active in the Rotary Club.

In 2012, he will return for the celebration of the 175^th Anniversary of Knox College’s founding. He believes that the anniversary would be a good platform for Dr. Teresa Amott, his successor, to begin her presidency.

On July 1^st, 2011 Dr. Amott will succeed Taylor. Dr. Amott has extensive academic experience. She was provost and dean of faculty for Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, New York. She assumed these positions for 6 year and renovated HWS’s facilities. In fact, she raised $200 million to add new academic buildings. Unlike Taylor who holds a law degree, Dr. Amott has a doctorate in economics from Boston College and a B.A. from Smith College. She held academic appointments to Bucknell University, Harvard University, University of Massachusetts - Boston and Amherst, and Wellesley College. She will be the first female President of Knox College.

Now as a builder, Taylor’s return to Knox shaped his life. “[Knox College] made me a little more patient, but not much and a little more careful of what I say, but not much,” he said. In fact, Dean of Knox College and Vice President of Academic Affairs Larry Breitborde backed Taylor’s statement. “It was like this long term, higher ed. seminar kind of thing … when he talks about learning patience he had to do that,” Breitborde said.

As Taylor recalled, being President of Knox College was more time consuming than practicing law and he is not sure whether he enjoyed the job. “I enjoyed it most of the time, but I still have not decided. I’m going to decide when I retire whether it was a good idea or not,” said Taylor. He also said that he gained more respect working in higher education. “It gave me enormous respect for people that work in higher education for peanuts…those who are called to teach in our colleges.” However, working for higher education was not always pleasant.

Taylor disliked how people brought petty issues to discussion. “My least favorite thing is that sometimes some on campus spend more time talking about petty issues than the issues really deserved,” said Taylor. He mentioned that “some people got jazzed up about the landscape; there [were] some dead trees by the Center of Fine Arts.”

However, Taylor sees positive qualities in his job. He appreciates seeing students grow from freshman year to graduation. “Being able to watch high school students who I met when they were high school juniors and seniors as prospective students coming through Old Main the watching them come to Knox. Mature, for the most part, intellectually and mature emotionally and then walk across the stage at commencement…and I get to hand them their degree,” said Taylor.

Blog Post (Side I)

Blog Post on Roger Taylor

Roger Taylor’s retirement is the current Hot Topic at Knox College. After ten years of dedicated service to Knox College, on April 2010, Taylor announced that he would finally call it quits. We chose to cover this topic because it was one that everyone kept talking about. As freshmen, we were astonished by how much we got to know about the president of our school in such a short period of time. Everyone we had encountered praised Taylor’s administration and we were curious to know why, and the history of how he brought Knox to where it is today.

The interview we had with Taylor was more than we hoped for. He seemed like a friendly man when we met him around campus but interviewing him was totally different. I [Ema Bassey] was very excited, all that was going through my mind was “I can’t believe I’m interviewing the president of Knox College!” One thing that we admired about Roger was his modesty. He talked about how the college was going through a financial crisis, low enrollment and low endowment and most importantly, the lack of “institutional self-confidence.” In Taylor’s administration, Knox regained its self-confidence and both endowment and enrollment increased significantly. Roger refused to take all the credit for Knox’s advancement during his ten years he noted that it was because an excellent senior staff and C.F.O. It was a joint effort. I [Alex Uzarowicz] found Roger’s humility too big to describe. When I asked him what kind of legacy he was going to leave he responded, “Legacy is too big of a word for a farm boy.” Even though he is a wealthy partner of the important Kirkland & Ellis law firm and dramatically changed Knox College for the better he barely talks about what “I did” but what “we did.” For Roger the successes are shared with faculty and staff.

Taylor had a huge impact on students, faculty and staff of the college. Most people remember him for his famous saying, “when someone asks you where you went to college, do you look down at your shoes and say ‘small school, probably haven’t heard of it?” As freshmen, we have already heard him say it about four times and it doesn’t get old. Taylor constantly reminds Knox students to be proud of their alma mater because we are receiving top-notch education. This statement actually made me [Ema] more confident when telling friends and family about my school. They didn’t need to have heard about it; all they needed to know was that it was a great school.

To me [Alex] Roger’s informality was paramount. When I visited Knox for the first time, I walked with my tour guide in Old Main and Roger popped out of his room. He shook my hand and started a friendly conversation. My eyes became wide open once I found out that he was the president of the college. I knew that Knox was a friendly place from the moment I met Roger.

After hearing lots of positive comments about Taylor, the subject piqued our curiosity even more and we wanted to know more about the college’s history and how the other Presidents contributed to the campus that we am currently studying. From what we found out, Roger’s predecessor (Richard Millman) left the college in the worst condition it had ever been. We admire Taylor even more for his ability to lift Knox from the poor condition he met it, to the prestigious institution it is now.

Knox is still struggling but we can say we are better than we could have hoped for, thanks to Roger Taylor’s administration.