| Kenyon Class of 1982 Fall Class Letter
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Dear classmates,
Lately, I know it can seem like good news is in short supply. So as I sat down to write this class letter, and started to make a list of the many positive updates I had to share with you, I felt a welcome sense of gratitude for our alma mater. Even during the most challenging of years, Kenyon has remained a bright spot and a point of connection and positivity for its community.
In-person instruction just wrapped up for the approximately 950 first-years, sophomores and international students who studied on campus this fall, numbers intentionally kept low so no one would share a room. (Yes, it took a pandemic for a freshman to score a North Campus Apartment for one.) The College developed clear COVID-related policies and protocols that included regular testing for those on campus and the implementation of the “Kenyon College Commitment,” a personal pledge developed in cooperation with the student council that emphasized the well-being of the entire community. Life on campus looked a bit different as Kenyon adapted its many facilities to ensure safe access to dining, athletics, research and more.
In addition to adaptations for on-campus instruction, juniors and seniors and members of the faculty discovered new ways to learn and teach remotely. (Yes, it took a pandemic to make sweatpants acceptable classroom attire for even the professors.) Check out our new faculty notes section to hear how your favorite faculty members dealt with the shift to Zoom classes, virtual office hours and online assignments.
Our alumni community has shifted to meet the challenges of 2020 with an equal degree of innovation — organizing and attending virtual events, connecting with current students and new graduates as volunteer mentors, and giving back during June’s record-breaking online giving challenge, Kenyon Together. And, though it was heartbreaking to see Reunion Weekend 2020 postponed, we’ve shifted our focus to Reunion Weekend 2021. Planning is underway and, if conditions allow, it could be the biggest alumni gathering in Kenyon history! (We’ll be sharing more details in the months to come, as all alumni will be invited back for the festivities.)
Yes, good things are happening at Kenyon and that is why I support it year after year with a gift to the Kenyon Fund — to keep the good news coming. I give to bolster the student emergency assistance fund, which helped dozens of students get home when the spring semester unexpectedly went virtual.
I give to make it possible for the College to award more in financial aid this year, when many families’ budgets are strained. And I give to help fund new scholarships like the Kenyon Women’s Annual Scholarship and the Lowry Annual Scholarship for underrepresented students, which was announced just last month along with the renaming of the Kenyon Athletic Center to honor Emeritus Trustee William E. Lowry Jr. ’56 H’99. Scroll on to read full details on this exciting piece of Kenyon news!
During challenging times like these, alumni support is more critical than ever. Join me in making your gift to the Kenyon Fund at gift.kenyon.edu to ensure good things continue to happen on the Hill this year, and in the years to come.
Thank you and stay well!
Sincerely,
Emily Yukich
P.S. Scroll down to read our fall class notes.
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| Introducing the Lowry Center & Scholarship
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William E. Lowry Jr. ’56 H’99 was the first Black student in the nation initiated into Beta Theta Pi, was student body president and captained the football, basketball and baseball teams. He went on to serve in many volunteer roles at Kenyon, including as trustee. In honor of Bill’s accomplishments and impact at Kenyon, the Board of Trustees decided to rename the Kenyon Athletic Center in his honor.
Recognizing his legacy, Board Vice Chair Joseph E. Lipscomb ’87 has created an endowed scholarship in Bill’s name to help bring more underrepresented students to Kenyon. Anyone can make a gift to the annual fund portion of this scholarship, or one of many other scholarships at Kenyon, and provide an immediate benefit to a current student.
Support currents students now with a gift to scholarships
Despite a challenging year, the College remains committed to continuing to meet 100% of students’ increased demonstrated need, with donor support. Every dollar you give goes directly to support students this academic year.
Consider giving today in support of:
- Hannah More Scholarship for first generation students
- Kenyon Women’s Annual Scholarship for female students
- Lowry Annual Scholarship for underrepresented students
- Pope Memorial Annual Scholarship for students from urban Ohio public school
And, of course, you can make a gift to the Kenyon Fund’s scholarships and financial aid designation, which supports the education of every single Kenyon student.
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| Upcoming Virtual Events for Alumni
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You're invited to join us this winter at these free events for alumni.
- Alumni Town Halls with President Decatur
Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. ET and Thursday, Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. ET
- Five-week mini class with Professor Emerita Pam Jensen
"Democracy & Education: An Introduction to Rousseau's Emile"
Tuesdays, Jan. 5 – Feb. 2 at 7 p.m. ET
- A Celebration of Kenyon Green Initiatives (two-part series)
Wednesday, Jan. 20 and Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. ET
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Class AgentsClass agents are your connection to campus. If you would like to learn more about becoming a class agent, contact Tracey Wilson at wilson1@kenyon.edu.
• Peter Resnik
• Emily Yukich
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Tameron (Thornton) Kugler My husband, Anthony, and I welcomed our second grandchild, Emma, to the world in March 2020. After two sons and a grandson, we are excited to have a granddaughter in the family. On another note, as Tourism Director for Currituck Outer Banks, we thought the bottom was going to fall out with the COVID-19 shutdown. Fortunately, we were wrong and have seen unprecedented visitation to Corolla, NC. If any of my classmates are headed to the Outer Banks in the future, please give me a shout. I would love to see you!
Abigail Esman My new book, RAGE: Narcissism, Patriarchy, and the Culture of Terrorism was published by Potomac Press in October. And while it's not Bob Woodward's RAGE, the two are in many ways similar. My RAGE explores the links between domestic abuse and terrorism - links that run through pathological narcissism, patriarchal values, and so much of what we are facing now. It's also very personal - it includes vignettes of my own background with domestic violence, along with interviews with former terrorists and supremacists who speak openly about their lives. I'm extremely proud of this book (as you can tell) - and grateful to all those, including Kenyon itself, who were part of how and why.
Corky Hebert Goetzke (Hood) Still living in the Baltimore area. Enjoying my 6th year of owning and running my own flower design company, Petal Pushers. I am a proud grandmother and enjoy going to visit my kids, who live all over the country!
Chris Cole Even with Covid, our family has stayed healthy, and we enjoyed welcoming our 5th grandchild, Lucas Dean Richardson, to the world in July. Our oldest granddaughter, Leslie, will be graduating high school in 2021, then off to college to study towards being a pediatrician. We are spending lots of time watching all our grandchildren playing sports.
Hunter Barrat (Estes) I live in the beautiful Harpers Ferry, WV, area, where my backyard slopes down to the Shenandoah River and I sit on my screened-in porch trying not to be distracted by this incredible view while working as a technical writer/editor for a small cybersecurity company. I enjoy hiking the numerous local trails; watching bald eagles fly overhead as I paddle my kayak down river; and joining in weekly adventures with the Wild and Wonderful Wednesday hash house harriers (ON ON!). It’s been great to catch up via regular zoom sessions with fellow 1982 grads Chris Schrashun Gretchko and Elizabeth Tudor Scharnhorst as well as Karin Moorma, Kay Hawn, and Tammy Martin.
Evan Jones We sold our house after almost 18 years in Virginia in 2019 and made a move to the northwest (specifically to the high-desert eastern side of Washington state) to pursue new horizons (chiefly a great new job opportunity for my wife Maggie [UVA ‘83] who is a true dynamo in public affairs). So I got unpacked, settled in, and promptly took advantage of the Covid filing adjustments made by our Secretary of State here to run in the most recent top-two primary for U.S. Congress just a few months after becoming a resident here! (I was the only Independent running in the primary). And alas, I got the predictable results after the exciting month-long whirlwind of a campaign, fourth place out of five running once all the votes were counted. But hey, I got 5,000 votes in what has long been a hyper-partisan (red) district, so there’s that. (You can still peruse www.evanjones.us if you want to critique my quixotic campaign). Perhaps noteworthy for others sheltering in place in their 2020 lives, this has also been the first year since 1979 that I haven’t spent a day in my beloved state of Maine either working at a boys or girls summer camp or otherwise trekking in the woods. I did manage a visit and Flagstaff Lake camping trip last summer (in 2019) with Mark ’84 and Sharon (Cassidy) Dorsett ’85 who are now permanently back from the UK and living outside Portland. Otherwise I’m happy as a clam out here in the high desert hard-by the Columbia and Yakima Rivers, writing away feverishly and consulting on enterprise learning programs while still working part-time hours in the airline business (formerly with JetBlue back East, I’m now with Alaska Airlines out here) so I get good exercise and virtually free worldwide flying for my occasional 15 bucks an hour thank you very much! What’s more, because I fly free I can realistically keep up with our daughters who now (painfully for us) live in Australia (Cassie) and Brooklyn (Emmaleah...soon to be on a year-long Fulbright in Chile to boot)! Kenyon-wise I stay in regular-ish digital touch with Normo (Norman Kenyon) and his amazing family but I have generally been a wretched correspondent otherwise with my many other well-loved and fondly remembered Kenyon comrades. I hope to become better at all that which I know we all do. Just let me know if you need airline buddy passes (on Alaska) and if I have any available I can hook you up (especially if it involves us reconnecting somehow—how’s that for incentive!)
Jim Ginley Generally all is well in the time of COVID. I work mostly from home anyway, so the only real bummer is the lack of travel to teach workshops and participate in some of my professional conferences. I continue to teach "virtually" and I'm looking forward to teaching around the country and visiting my out of state utility clients once things are safer. My family, however, is the real story and continuing inspiration for me: my wife, Joanne, is a nurse (37 years now) and works at a nearby hospital, managing all things surgery-related, which is always a bit stressful -- now on a new plane given the times; our son, Nick, manages the food production side of Chicago's busiest Chick Fil A and has only suffered through one of the rounds of looting (he's two blocks from Michigan Ave.)....but continues to help feed (and employ) Chicagoans every day (except Sunday, of course); and our daughter is a high school English teacher in Coeur d'Alene, ID -- trying to make a hybrid model of teaching work in a community that's not sure how to approach things. Thank God for her AP Language students, awesome husband, and really cute and athletic dog, Charley!
One bright spot in the past several months is the chance to stay in touch with a good number of classmates. The eclectic group of fellow Facebookers includes: Andy Sappey, Elise Bowers, Gregg Parini, Evan Jones, Amy Holzer Irvin, Maria Amorocho Weisbrod, Brian Wilbert, Rebecca Murphy Flynn, Tracy O'Donnell Stone, John Dix, Peter Seoane, John Savage, Ron DeVore, Allison Mackie, and Michael Dansky ’83.....and I'm sure I missed a few. Based on this exchange, I'm predicting it could be a great 40th in a couple years! Here's to health and prosperity to all!
Arthur Gehring I’m enjoying life in Lexington Massachusetts with my wife Karin and three children - Avery, Katherine and Jack. I work in software marketing at ETQ as VP Marketing.
Jim Nichols-Fleming My son, Nathaniel, married his high school sweetheart in August, on a beautiful, sunny afternoon at an Alpaca farm in Vermont. The guests who were able to attend enjoyed the unusual setting, the local food and flowers, and overall fun, even while wearing masks and following social distancing guidelines. The couple live in Hartford, CT, after graduating from Vassar. Mariah is in her second year at UConn Law, where Nathaniel earned his JD in 2019. He clerked in the Connecticut Appellate Court last year and will join a firm in Hartford in January. My daughter, Fiona, who was a bridesmaid, is at Brown, working on her PhD in Planetary Science.
Michael Zorek In what has been a dark year for all, I am happy to see some brightness and share it with you. My son, Jeremy, graduated High School (virtually) and started his Freshman year at Rutgers University (in his bedroom) where he is studying Urban Planning. My daughter, Diana, graduated Middle School (virtually) and started this Fall at the Professional Performing Arts High School here in NYC where she is going in class every third day. Both kids raised money at the height of the pandemic to buy and deliver pizza to hospitals in the New York area, and were able to ensure that frontline workers in several hospitals enjoyed over 200 pizza pies! Diana sold "Broadway Quarantine" buttons, raising over $450.00 for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids and she has also been selling Biden Buttons, raising over $1,200 for democratic campaigns and causes. One can only hope by the time you read this we will be past the darkest hours and heading into better days!
Darwin Toll Our empty-nester plans have been delayed by COVID. Our recent college graduate is home, putting out a podcast about this time called Doing It Wrong and freelancing for Colorado NPR. Our youngest is a Freshman at Occidental, but all of Los Angeles seems to be without in-person classes, so she’s zooming from home. Congratulations to Kenyon for so carefully opening the on-campus community. My oldest daughter is employed at Georgia Aquarium and trying to get confirmation that she is registered to vote there. Our stay-home adventure: fostering dogs before adoption. We’re on number six.
Fr. Brian K. Wilbert I have accepted a call to serve Grace Episcopal Church in Sandusky, Ohio as Interim Rector. Once upon a time, Kenyon’s 4th President (1845 - 1850), Rev. Sherlock Anson Bronson, D.D., LL.D. served as Rector of this parish from 1850 - 1867. Bronson was also a graduate of the Kenyon Class of 1833 where he served as valedictorian and Bexley Hall (1836). I will commute from my Oberlin home and will shepherd the congregation until a new pastor is chosen.
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If you missed the chance to share your news for this letter, you can submit a class note at any time via class.letters@kenyon.edu.
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Kenyon is grateful to the following donors for their generous support of the College, including the Kenyon Fund, during the 2019-20 fiscal year. An asterisk (*) indicates a donor is a member of the Henry J. Abraham Society for loyal and consecutive giving. An obelisk (†) indicates an individual who is deceased. Please note that as of July 1, 2019 Kenyon’s annual giving societies have changed. Visit kenyon.edu/societies for more information.
1982
Annual Fund Total: $94,983
Class Participation: 31.94%
President's Society
Donors of $50,000 or more
Douglas B. Jacoby*
Kokosing Society
Donors of $25,000 to $49,999
Grace Keefe Huebscher*
Philander Chase Society
Donors of $10,000 to $24,999
Paul Gambal P'14*
John T. Mackessy P'16*
Victoria Smith McKenzie P'14*
Bexley Society
Donors of $2,500 to $9,999
James G. Allen
Katharine W. Allen MD
Everard B. Corcoran P'18
Rebecca M. Flynn
Joseph A. Grimes III*
Kirsten K. Mahlman
Anne Vance Bright*
Daniel J. Wilson
Kenyon Society
Donors of $1 to $2,499
F. Scott Allsbrook*
Howard J. Alter
Michael G. Berick*
Bruce A. Berlin*
Julie E. Berman
Valerie J. Blaxall P'23*
Mark A. Boettler MD
J. Elise Bowers*
Laurie Brown Miles
G. Stuart Campbell*
Timothy W. Carlson*
Sharon Castle Currier*
Melissa V. Clinger*
John M. Collins*
Meg Cranston
David R. Dininny MD*
Edward Dunn*
L. William Erb*
Mary Ann Flynn
Anne Y. Gerlach*
James F. Ginley
Christine S. Gretchko
Susan L. Griffith*
Anna Grimes Noser*
Stephen F. Hale*
Jon S. Harris-Shapiro
Karin Hartmann Ludlow*
John A. Hays
Joel M. Hegarty
Anne D. Himmelright*
Kirsten C. Holm
Phyllis M. Huffman
Nagwa M. Hultquist*
Amy Irvin*
Kristin H. Ives*
Elizabeth E. Johnson
Amy S. Kass*
Catherine Kemmerer Karp
Robert I. Koretz † P'23
Keith E. Krusz*
Cecilia Lad Smith*
Laurie T. Leadbetter*
Robert L. Levine
DeDe Lewis Rowe
Tammy L. Martin MD*
Richard H. Mattoon*
Elizabeth McCutcheon*
David J. McNamara
Suzanne D. Morrill*
Anne M. Mundell*
Kim N. Peterson*
Laura Read Wood
Thomas M. Reiter*
Peter S. Resnik
Lynne B. Roblin*
Saraellen T. Sargent*
John P. Schenk*
Peter J. Seoane
Andrew B. Simmons
Geoffrey T. Smith*
Hilary Quay Sparks-Roberts*
Kurt G. Stedje MD
Maritherese Tokles
G. Darwin Toll*
Corrin S. Trowbridge
Bradford J. Van Cott
Claudia A. Wagner MD*
Karla Reese Ware-Erb*
Jamie K. Weeks
Susan D. Weil-Kazzaz P'18*
The Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilbert*
Julia Williams Schlegel
Carolyn S. Wilson MD
Edward W. Witkin
Anthony W. Wood
Emily J. Yukich*
James L. Zellner MD*
Michael K. Zorek*
George Wharton Mariott Society
These alumni have included Kenyon in their estate plans or have made other planned gifts.
Rory P. Mach and Margaret C. Chapin '81, P'14
Katherine L. Anderson and Maxim A. Pensky
Abigail R. Esman
Paul Gambal
John A. Hays
Anne D. Himmelright
Amy Irvin and Dudley R. Irvin
James A. Kaser
Anne M. Mundell
Peter S. Resnik
Michael K. Zorek
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Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022
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