The expansive office of the vice president for student life, located on the third floor of the Troy Building, was still under construction when I arrived for this interview. Because a number of high-level administrators have recently made office changes, Vice President Eddie Ade Knowles has only been in his new office for a short time. Although the wide range of responsibilities that come with being vice president for student life keep him busy, he still finds the time to meet with students such as myself.
Knowles grew up in West Harlem in New York City. “I grew up in a community that was infested with drugs and gangs. Life was tough,” he said. With aspirations of pursuing baseball, engineering, and music, he was the first in his family to continue with his studies past junior high. He discovered his passion for the liberal arts and humanities at Charles Evans Hughes High School as one of the few African-Americans admitted that year. Knowles went on to attend Bronx Community College and transferred into Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. At Lincoln, he majored in history with minors in mathematics, sociology, and literature.
“I am a consumer of knowledge, and a tremendous believer in the value of education,” said Knowles. “I spent six years pursuing an undergraduate education. They literally had to push me out, because I was shopping around the supermarket of knowledge… I felt the focus for me was on learning as much as I could.”
After graduating from Lincoln, he considered either attending graduate school or accepting an opportunity to work in Africa. (Knowles is fluent in Swahili.) However, an opening at Bronx Community College with the college discovery program—a program that Knowles had been involved with while a student there—convinced him to stay in the U.S. At that time he was also a performing Afro-Cuban musician and had already produced several recordings. The position allowed him to work in student affairs and maintain his career as a musician. “I tried to do both, which I did. I found the more I was involved working with students, I got ‘the bug,’ as we say in student affairs. I loved working with students,” said Knowles.
He went on to pursue a master’s degree at Columbia University and enrolled as a full-time student while also working full-time. At the age of 27, Knowles was appointed director of the college discovery program, which at the time was the largest program of it’s kind in New York City. He went on to teach in the African studies program at Hostos Community College for a short period of time. Although teaching at Hostos occupied a large part of his time, he found the time to maintain his music career, tour with Earth, Wind, and Fire, and make an appearance on “The Midnight Special” on national television.
Because of a need to have more flexibility to continue his music career, he left Hostos in 1975. Group politics led to the fall of his band later that year. “I was the classic struggling musician in [New York City] … I even drove a yellow cab. I have sometimes recommended that as a fascinating opportunity,” said Knowles.
It was at this time that his grandfather urged him to continue his student affairs work. Knowles applied for the position of assistant dean of students at Rensselaer and was hired in 1977 after having been aggressively recruited. He rose through the ranks of Institute student affairs positions and became the first director of minority student affairs at Rensselaer. In 1982 he was named dean of students and served in that capacity until 2000, when he was appointed interim vice president for student life. During his tenure as dean, he also studied for his doctoral degree at the Rockefeller College for Public Policy at the University at Albany, earning his degree in 1998. After serving under seven RPI presidents, he was named vice president for student life in 2001.
Knowles has maintained his music career by working as a performing artist and as an adjunct professor for the arts department—he teaches Afro-Cuban Percussion.
“I have a lot of loyalty to Rensselaer and a real investment in seeing [our] students succeed,” said Knowles, who has stayed in contact with alumni whom he remembers from when they were undergraduates. “The one thing I would like to advise students is that Rensselaer is committed to their success. That sounds corny, but we really have [an administration] that has an investment in their success. Things aren’t always perfect, but at Rensselaer when we become aware of a problem we roll up our sleeves and get the job done,” she said.Knowles can be reached at knowle@rpi.edu.
