RUTH AUSTIN KNOX knows from experience the value of a woman’s college education. She is a 1975 graduate of Wesleyan, magna cum laude, Phi Kappa Phi. From the beginning, her life has been closely tied to the College. The daughter of an alumna, Ruth Hall Knox, Class of 1940, and a trustee, Robert Edward Knox, she has been influenced deeply by aunts, her sister, teachers, and friends — Wesleyannes who served as examples to her of what a Wesleyan Woman can accomplish.
Upon the completion of her degree at Wesleyan with a major in English, she entered the University of Georgia School of Law. In 1978 she received the Juris Doctor Degree, magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, and Order of the Coif. Admitted to the State Bar of Georgia that same year, Ms. Knox joined a national law firm specializing in a wide range of complex commercial real estate and public finance transactions. Twelve years later, she opened her own practice, again specializing in real estate and estate planning.
During her twenty-four years in Atlanta, she was active in a variety of civic and volunteer activities; including association with the Junior League, service on the board of directors of Jerusalem House and the Athens YWCO Camp for Girls, and service as a trustee of the Atlanta Preservation Center. Upon moving to Macon, she became active in this community, serving on the boards of Capital City Bank Group, the Cherry Blossom Festival, the United Way of Central Georgia, the Macon Symphony Orchestra, MidSummer Macon, and Georgia Women of Achievement. She is also a member of the Rotary Club of Macon. Ulyanovsk State University in Ulanovsk, Russia awarded her the Doctor of Laws in 2003. In 2005, she was recognized as a Woman of Achievement by Career Women’s Network and also named to Georgia Trend’s “100 Most Influential Georgians” list. In 2007, Knox received The University of Georgia School of Law alumni association’s highest honor, the Distinguished Service Scroll Award. For 2008, Knox was again recognized by Georgia Trend and named a “Notable Georgian of the Year.”
Only a few years after her graduation in 1975, Ruth Knox began life long service to her alma mater. She served nine years on the Board of Managers of the Alumnae Association. From 1985 to 1988, she was president of the Association. From 1990 to 1993, she chaired the Alumnae Campaign to fund teaching chairs to advance the academic program of the College. She was named a member of the Board of Trustees in 1993 and became its Chairman in 1994, serving in that position until she was appointed acting president in 2002. In January 2003, Ruth Austin Knox became the 24th president of the College, the first alumna in the history of the College to hold that position.
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Ruth Austin Knox is the first alumna to serve as president. She is one of 15 women in her family to attend Wesleyan.
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