Southwestern Magazine | Fall 2019

IN JANUARY 2020, Dale Knobel, president emeritus and professor of history emeritus of Denison University, will take the reins as interim president of Southwestern University. But Knobel is no stranger to SU. From 1996 to 1998, he served Southwestern as provost and dean of the faculty as well as professor of history. Since retiring to Georgetown with his wife, Tina, in 2013, he has variously served on and chaired Southwestern's Board of Visitors and, more recently, was elected a member of the Board of Trustees. “I’ve had a long-term interest in Southwestern, because I believe in its mission,” he says. “I believe that residential liberal arts colleges offer the best opportunities for learning and personal growth in American higher education. I believe that Southwestern is singu- larly student focused in a way that places it among a select group of colleges nationwide. I believe that our nation and our world require the kind of deliberative critical thinkers that a Southwestern liberal arts education encourages.” Knobel earned his B.A. in history from Yale University and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. His graduate research focused on the shifting relationships between racial and ethnic groups before and after the U.S. Civil War. In his dissertation, which he later published as his first book, Paddy and the Republic: Ethnicity and Nationality in Antebellum America (Wesleyan University Press, 1988), Knobel examined how stereotypes of Irish immigrants changed over the course of the 19th century. In his second book, “America for the Americans”: The Nativist Movement in the United States (Twayne Publishers, 1996), he analyzed hostility toward ethnic, racial, and religious groups from the 18th to the 20th century. A member of the history faculty at Texas A&M University for 19 years, Knobel was appointed director and then executive director of A&M’s honors program (1984–1994). He served as associate provost for undergraduate programs (1995–1996) before joining Southwestern’s administration. He went on to serve 15 years as the president of Denison University, a private liberal arts institu- tion in Granville, Ohio. In 2012, the Council for Advancement and Support of Higher Education recognized Knobel as a leader in higher education by presenting him with the Chief Executive Leadership Award. Today, he is a senior fellow in higher education and former interim president of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the chair of the board of directors at the Sherman Fairchild Foundation, a trustee of the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates, and a director of the Texas Methodist Foundation. He is also a member of several professional organizations for historians. “Dr. Knobel’s experience in and knowledge of higher education generally and Southwestern University in particular [are] unpar- alleled,” says Stephen Tipps, chair of the University’s Board of Trustees. “We are fortunate to have him as part of our community and thankful for his willingness to serve in this important leader- ship role during this time of transition.” President Edward Burger adds, “I have enormous regard and respect for Dr. Knobel. To have him return to a leadership role at Southwestern is a great gift to the University and a great gift to me personally.” Knobel says his goals for his interim presidency are simple: “to sustain the momentum of the Southwestern community, which has been generated not only by Dr. Burger and his staff but by faculty, [University] staff, and students. Making sure that we continue to implement the goals of the strategic plan is essential to landing the best possible successor to Dr. Burger, to reassuring alumni and other supporters that the University remains on course, and to encouraging prospective students across the country to consider Southwestern as their college home.” He observes that Southwestern has evolved while still holding true to its core values in the decades since he served as provost and dean. “The student body is more diverse in backgrounds and experiences, enrollment has grown by about 20%, outstanding new facilities dot the campus, and the University is more fully—and appropriately—residential,” he remarks. “But the close connection between students and faculty endures; committed teacher– scholars stimulate student learning by remaining atop their crafts; [and] robust opportunities for students to learn and grow outside the classroom through community service, student life, and athletics abound. These are historical hallmarks of Southwestern, and they live on today.” A History of Leadership 25 SOUTHWESTERN Dale Knobel will assume the role of interim president of Southwestern University in January 2020.