Knox College has promoted three faculty members to full professor, Thomas Clayton in chemistry, and Judith Thorn and Jenifer Templeton in biology.

Thomas Clayton, professor of chemistry
Thomas Clayton earned his Ph.D. in chemistry from The Ohio State University and his B.A. in English and chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan College. He teaches general chemistry and inorganic chemistry. His research is in the field of coordination chemistry -- a type of "molecular engineering" that creates new compounds combining carbon-based organic molecules with inorganic metals, such as copper, cobalt, manganese and iron. Many of his student research assistants have gone on to graduate work in science and medicine. He has chaired the Chemistry Department, directed the First-Year Preceptorial Program and served on numerous faculty committees including Academic Standing, Executive Committee, and Grievance Panel. He serves as the Campus Representative for the Mid-States Science Consortium and has worked annually as an Advanced Placement Exam Reader for the College Board's Advanced Placement examination in chemistry. He came to Knox in 1991.

Jennifer Templeton, professor of biology
Jennifer Templeton earned her Ph.D. in biology from Concordia University- Montreal, and her M.Sc. in biology, B.A. in psychology, and B.Sc. in biology from Queen's University at Kingston, Ontario. Her teaching areas include evolution, ecology and biodiversity, research methods, animal behavior, and behavioral ecology. Her behavioral research currently focuses on social information use and on visual lateralization (the specialization of the two brain hemispheres for different cognitive tasks); she works with dogs, fish and birds. Her research has been supported by a National Science Foundation grant, and she has published 25 papers on her research to date, several with student co-authors. A recent publication in the Royal Society's Biology Letters on mate choice lateralization in the Gouldian Finch received extensive coverage by the science media, including National Geographic and Science News. Templeton has directed Knox's First Year Preceptorial, chaired the Greek Task Force and Grievance Panel, and is frequently a member of the Off-Campus Study Committee. She also co-directed the Associated Colleges of the Midwest program in Tanzania. Templeton has taught at Knox since 2001.

Judith Thorn, professor of biology
Judith Thorn received her Ph.D. in biology from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and her B.A. in biology from Grinnell College. She teaches courses in neuroscience, developmental biology and genetics, and along with colleagues in graduate school is credited as co-inventor of a patented process for binding peptides and methods of isolating and using same. Her current research focuses on dog behavior, and includes publications on dog owners' perceptions of their dogs' behavior, the factors that influence the adoption of shelter dogs, and the relationship between domestic dog behavior and human attachment and on the role of the Wnt signaling pathway in early Xenopus embryogenesis. Thorn has worked with countless students as the pre-health advisor and also a faculty advisor for the Ford and McNair Programs. She has recently served on the Honor Code Review Committee, Grievance Panel, and Honor Board, while also linking Knox with the wider community through her work with the local schools, the YMCA and Pet Partners.