Fitness center good for Knox College, Galesburg

Tuesday, May 3, 2005

A "state-of-the-art" fitness center planned for Knox College will be an outstanding addition to the Galesburg campus. It will enhance the college's ability to continue to attract top students and make it an even nicer place to work for the faculty and staff.

It will be good for Knox. What's good for Knox is good for Galesburg.

Last week the college announced it would break ground this spring on a 13,000-square-foot, two-level addition to the west side of Memorial Gymnasium. It is expected to be completed next spring.

Based on the architect's drawings, there's no doubt the fitness center will become a special place at Knox. The $2.25 million facility will include a "wall of windows" similar in design to the T. Fleming Fieldhouse nearby. The windows will allow people using the center to look across the campus.

The new center will replace the current weight room in the basement of Memorial Gymnasium. Moreover, it fulfills a long-standing goal for athletic director Dan Calandro. He said students and faculty have regularly asked for a nicer place to exercise.

The facility's upper (lobby) level will include cardiovascular training equipment like stair-climbing machines, stationary bicycles and treadmills. It will also have adjustable strength training equipment, a fitness studio and area for stretching. The lower level will include an area for lifting free weights as well as new men's and women's locker rooms.

Like just about everything built on a small college campus, the fitness center was made possible by private gifts. About $2 million has been donated or pledged to the project. What was described as a "lead gift" was given by the Andrew Family Foundation of Las Vegas, Nev. Laurel Andrew, a 1986 Knox graduate and member of the college's board of trustees, is a director and treasurer of the foundation.

Knox President Roger Taylor said fitness has become more important for students, faculty and staff. The new fitness center "along with our athletic facilities and newly remodeled dance studio, will provide Knox with a state-of-the-art facility, new equipment, and new opportunities for fitness activities, recreational sports, and intercollegiate athletics."

In the competitive world of higher education, sometimes it's the campus amenities that make the difference in attracting the best and brightest students. Knox's new fitness center will be a nice enhancement for the school, benefiting the young people who go there and the people who work there. It's good for the Knox and for Galesburg. - Don Cooper, publisher