Washington Monthly: Knox among best for service

Knox College has been ranked by Washington Monthly magazine among the top 50 liberal arts colleges in the nation.

Knox is ranked 36th among 201 liberal arts colleges -- the third year in a row that Knox has been ranked in the top 50 nationally by Washington Monthly. The rankings are based on a school's support for community service, research, and a commitment to access and affordability.

"The Washington Monthly ranking is a welcome recognition of Knox's long-standing commitments to access, research and service," said Karrie Heartlein, director of public relations. "Just this summer, Knox and the Peace Corps signed an agreement to help prepare and recruit Knox students for service in the Peace Corps after they graduate. And Knox's Center for Community Service does a strong business helping students find service opportunities."

Since 1961, more than 160 Knox alumni have participated in the Peace Corps, which places American volunteers in community service jobs in developing countries worldwide. The new Peace Corps Preparatory Program at Knox is planned as a model that the Peace Corps can use at other colleges and universities, to expand its pool of qualified applicants.

Washington Monthly bills its rankings as an alternative to "the tyranny of prestige" of other college rankings. "We aren't trying... to rate how selective or academically prestigious a given school is, but rather how much it contributes to the common good," wrote Paul Glastris, editor in chief of Washington Monthly, in his introduction to the rankings.

While the Washington Monthly "research" ranking covered federally-funded research projects, of which Knox had none during the survey period, Knox still scores well in the other research-related dimension -- preparing students for research-focused graduate schools, Heartlein said.

"We have our own undergraduate research programs, backed by more than $200,000 in College funds," Heartlein said. "More than 85 percent of Knox students complete an independent research or creative project prior to graduation, and that's one of the reasons Knox students are successful at research in graduate school."

The access ranking -- the magazine's judgement of a college's contribution toward "social mobility" -- is based on graduation rate and the percentage of students receiving need-based Pell Grants.

"Knox's dedication to access for students regardless of financial means actually pre-dates the opening of the College," said Heartlein. "The commitment is spelled out in the original 'Circular and Plan' drawn up by George Washington Gale and the other founders of the College three years before Knox was chartered in 1837."

Washington Monthly rankings of liberal arts colleges and national universities are published in the September 2007 issue and on the magazine's website.

• Knox College data that figured into Washington Monthly rankings:
• 24% of students receive Pell Grants
• 75% graduation rate
• 35% of work-study funds support community service

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 45 states and 44 nations. Knox's 'Old Main' is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.