Old Main
At Knox, it feels like you’re surrounded by history, and Old Main is a great example of that. The College was founded by abolitionists and Old Main was the site of the fifth Lincoln-Douglas Debate in 1858. But Old Main isn’t a museum. We have classes here. Visiting scholars drop in to meet with students. Our president’s office is here; stop by and chat!
About Knox
⭐ About Knox
Knox College is a community of individuals from diverse backgrounds challenging each other to explore, understand and improve ourselves, our society and our world.
Our Values
What we stand for: a short list.
- Education is a social good. We believe that knowledge is meant to be shared, tested through experience, revised, and shared again. It is a communal tool, an endlessly renewable resource, a force for change.
- Education should be accessible to all. We were founded on this belief; we live it today; we believe it's the foundation of a better future.
- Education is experience. We put our education to work in the wider world; knowledge becomes more valuable when it's applied. Every Knox student brings their education into what's otherwise known as the real world. To us, it's just the world, and we're here to work with it, learn from it, move it forward.
- Education embraces difference. We believe that you learn the most from the people least like you. We seek out opposing views. We pursue the unfamiliar, the overlooked, the alternative. We're capable of speaking and thinking and acting in dozens of ways. This is how the world works; this is how innovation happens; this is how you belong to (and create) the future.
- Education starts with respect. We don't tolerate discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct. Mutual respect, trust, a recognition of the rights and dignity of every individual. These values are at the core of who we are.
- Education works especially well if everyone is, at heart, nice. We try to be nice in the broadest, deepest sense of the word: we smile at people when we pass them; we see the good in others; we make good food and share it. This is what it means to be from a small city in the heart of the country.
- Education is a social good. We believe that knowledge is meant to be shared, tested through experience, revised, and shared again. It is a communal tool, an endlessly renewable resource, a force for change.
- Education should be accessible to all. We were founded on this belief; we live it today; we believe it's the foundation of a better future.
- Education is experience. We put our education to work in the wider world; knowledge becomes more valuable when it's applied. Every Knox student brings their education into what's otherwise known as the real world. To us, it's just the world, and we're here to work with it, learn from it, move it forward.
- Education embraces difference. We believe that you learn the most from the people least like you. We seek out opposing views. We pursue the unfamiliar, the overlooked, the alternative. We're capable of speaking and thinking and acting in dozens of ways. This is how the world works; this is how innovation happens; this is how you belong to (and create) the future.
- Education starts with respect. We don't tolerate discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct. Mutual respect, trust, a recognition of the rights and dignity of every individual. These values are at the core of who we are.
- Education works especially well if everyone is, at heart, nice. We try to be nice in the broadest, deepest sense of the word: we smile at people when we pass them; we see the good in others; we make good food and share it. This is what it means to be from a small city in the heart of the country.
Our Mission
The commitment to put learning to use to accomplish both personal and social goals dates back to the founding of the College in 1837. We take particular pride in the College's early commitment to increase access to all qualified students of varied backgrounds, races, and conditions, regardless of financial means.
