E. Inman Fox, 1934-2008

E. Inman Fox, President Emeritus of Knox College, died July 27, 2008 at his home in Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 73. An award-winning scholar of Spanish literature, Fox served as president of Knox College from 1974 to 1982.

"Inman Fox took enormous pleasure in the intellectual life of the College and deserves to be remembered for the support and encouragement he gave to the faculty in their scholarly pursuits," said Knox College President Roger Taylor.

During Fox's tenure at Knox, the College completed what was at the time the largest capital fund drive in College history, initiated a multidisciplinary course, now known as First-Year Preceptorial, that is still taken by all first-year students, and introduced international perspectives in many courses in the social sciences.

A native of Nashville, Tennessee, Fox earned bachelor's and master's at Vanderbilt University, where he won Fulbright and Wilson fellowships and also was the top-ranked player on the men's tennis team. He earned a Ph.D. at Princeton University. Prior to becoming president of Knox, Fox taught at Vanderbilt, Princeton, University of Massachusetts, and Vassar College. Following his service at Knox, Fox was chair of Hispanic Studies at Northwestern University, retiring in 1998.

Fox wrote 15 books and dozens of scholarly articles. In honor of his contributions to the field of Spanish literary studies, Fox received two awards from Juan Carlos, King of Spain -- The Cross of Queen Isabella the Catholic in 1985, and Spain's highest honor, the Gold Medal of Fine Arts, in 1993. He was a member of the Naval Reserve, retiring with the rank of captain.

Fox was preceded in death by his parents and his brother. He is survived by his sister, Peggy Fox Kelly, and nieces and nephews.