Stemming from his work at Lawrence College was his subsequent term as president of Duke University, where he served until he resigned in 1969 following student protests and the takeover of the university's main administrative building by students calling for a black cultural center and African-American studies program, among other things.

[3] After completing his doctoral studies, Knight remained at Yale undertaking research and would eventually make tenure.

[1] For the next nine years, Knight would leave his Midas touch all over Lawrence College's 48-acre campus, eventually attracting the attention of Duke University's nationwide search for a new president.

[1] Knight impacted Lawrence College in a hugely positive way during his stay there, but would go on to experience more controversial success at Duke University.

[8] The Duke Vigil was a weeklong silent demonstration that began on April 5, 1968, following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. 450 students marched 3 miles to Dr. Knight's home to deliver the following list of demands for a restructuring of the university into something less threatening to African-American students: "(1) That he [Knight] sign an advertisement to be published in the Durham Morning Herald calling for a day of mourning; (2) That he press for the $1.60 wage for University employees; (3) That he resign from the then-segregated Hope Valley Country Club; (4) That he appoint a committee of students, faculty and workers to make recommendations concerning collective bargaining and union recognition at Duke.

In a statement of purpose by the editorial board of the Harambee, the paper's message as well as the message behind Chuck Hopkins's abstract letter was summarized: "Blacks believe that the blatant racism, subtle bigotry, dehumanizing effects of shallow liberalism, and the belief that a white "superior" culture is liberating the minds of Black people, generated our present mentality.

Moving from this point, Blacks believe that if the university community recognizes their acts of indignation and the students' frustrations, we can solve the problem.

In their list of demands, included below in Figure 1, the "Malcolm X Liberation School," as the group referred to themselves, cited additional reasons for the takeover.

[15] These 2000 students battled the platoon of 75 police officers up and down the quad that night, enduring tear gas and baton beatings.

Less than a year after his resignation, Knight took a position as vice president of educational development for RCA Corp., an American electronics company.

In 1976, Knight continued his new career in business as president of Questar Corporation, a company that manufactured high-precision lenses for astronomical, industrial, and medical applications.