Kenyon Class of 1976 Fall Class Letter

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 regarding the special celebrations we are planning for our milestone reunion this year.)

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 down for 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,

Ellen Mower

P.S. Scroll down to read our fall class notes.

Introducing the Lowry Center & Scholarship

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.

Make a Gift

Upcoming Virtual Events for Alumni

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

Visit kenyon.edu/alumnievents to register and view our full alumni event calendar.

Class of 1976 Fall Notes

Arthur Berkowitz “Heck of a year! Second daughter married in February, new left hip in February, and oldest daughter pregnant with twins!”

Deborah (Boone) Tepper “No big changes. Working as a Headache physician at Dartmouth in NH and living on Cape Cod. The commute is a bear, but the Cape makes it all worthwhile.”

Seth Frechie “Following 30 years in Higher Education, I retired in May as Professor and Chair of the Department of English at Cabrini University in Radnor, PA. It's been a great career (teaching, writing, presenting, editing), but I haven't looked back. As my former provost remarked when she retired, 'Work is overrated.' With only five months under my belt, I'm inclined to agree. I'm in touch with Jim Fenhagen, John Graham, and others. I hope everyone is weathering the pandemic as well as well can be. I wish you all good things.”

Stephen Grant “This year, I moved from our local middle school to the elementary school, still working in Special Education in the Resource Program. I am enjoying working with the younger students. I have been working mainly with students whose parents chose off-site learning, which is giving me a chance to learn more about technology. I hope all my classmates and Kenyonites everywhere are healthy and safe in this pandemic. Hoping to see you all next May.”

Dave Griffith “Jacqui ’77 and I are pleased to announce our first grandchild, Sage, who our son Ian adopted as he married Sky Wenhold last October. I continue to work at Episcopal Community Services and as Chairman of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. Retirement is on hold. Hope to join all at our 45th.”

Janet Heckman "On December 31 I retired from EBRD and moved from Cairo. Dermot and I arrived at our house on the West coast of Ireland in time for a very stormy January and February with 4 hurricane level storms. We flew to Ohio on March 8 intending to return in 4 weeks when the COVID lockdown hit. We are now planning to return to Ireland in mid-October. Work wise I am an independent director on the board of Air Astana (Kazakhstan) and expect to join a second board in October. Retirement has allowed me to become more active at Kenyon and I have joined the Alumni Council and our class’s Reunion planning committee. Hope to see all you in May.”

Jim Kuhn “I hope everyone in the class of '76 is healthy. My family is well and we just downsized from a house we've been in for 20 years to two small homes. The 12 weeks of downsizing was truly an emotional and physical endurance event. Will see Dick Parke on Thursday for our monthly get together. Still swimming daily, but the water in Atwood Lake is getting colder."

Elizabeth Myers “Although I have been mostly non-responsive mostly due to attending to my mother in her decline and the pressures of my legal practice, unfortunately, I now have some news to report. Our classmate Christopher Myers and my loving husband of 32 years passed away unexpectedly on August 17. It was a heart attack and he died peacefully. He was in great health (we recently completed a 2 hour kayak around an island in Pocasset, Massachusetts). My son, Connor ’17 and I are devastated. He went to work that day and never came home. He was 66.”

Rabbi Charles P. Rabinowitz “Doing telehealth visits with my home Hospice patients and families. Serving as NAJC ethics chair and member of CCAR rapid response team. Writing a morning prayer of support for my colleagues. My wife and daughter teaching virtually. My special needs son working part time in Tucson. At same time participating in peaceful protest and trying to do tikkun olam. We were able to take our usual time in the White Mountains and Ogunquit. We had a nice day with Steve Grant in Ogunquit. Hope all of your families and you are strong and safe.”

Doug Sutton-Ramspeck “Pleased to have a new book of poems, Distant Fires, and a novella, Under Black Leaves, appear in 2020. Also, my wife Beth Sutton-Ramspeck and I both retired from teaching after more than twenty years at The Ohio State University at Lima.

Kim Straus “What I did during Covid: built a composting outhouse at our cabin.” (See photo below.)

Kimbol Stroud “After 35 years in private and public sectors of real estate, I am retiring after 23 years as Primary Hearing Officer, Franklin County Board of Revision here in Ohio. I am hoping to finally reconnect with my friends at Kenyon now that my time is not consumed by work. Best wishes to you all and hope that everyone stayed well.”

Photo submitted
by Kim Straus

Read notes from the Class of 1975 and the Class of 1977.

New this year! Read notes from faculty.

Support Kenyon

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.

Class Listing

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.

1976

Annual Fund Total: $92,381

Class Participation: 66.67%

President's Society

Donors of $50,000 or more

Anonymous (2)

Cornelia Ireland Hallinan H'91*

Kokosing Society

Donors of $25,000 to $49,999

Bruce A. Broxterman*

Philander Chase Society

Donors of $10,000 to $24,999

Thomas A. Shively*

Bexley Society

Donors of $2,500 to $9,999

Arthur M. Berkowitz*

Barbara O. Blasch*

Mark E. Blasch*

James S. Gwin

Janet E. Heckman

Susan N. Norman*

Kenneth H. Sonnenfeld P'08

Kathryn L. Weise MD*

Kenyon Society

Donors of $1 to $2,499

Anonymous (2)

Jayme Abrams

Barb M. Aleksa-Parr*

Elizabeth E. Arthur*

Mary F. Ayers P'13*

James R. Bacha*

John A. Boffa Jr.

Janet Byrne Smith*

Timothy G. Byrne*

Anne B. Chamberlin P'08 '10

Cynthia L. Chang*

Jonathan S. Crames

Michael F. Cronin*

James J. Crowley III*

Douglas A. Dorer*

James A. Doucett III*

Gregory A. Fell*

James A. Frank*

Rosemary N. Furfey*

Amy B. Garfinkel

Donald J. Garfinkel

Diane E. Grabowski*

Stephen W. Grant*

David E. Griffith*

Robert D. Handel*

Leigh Harvey*

Barbara Haskell Kurz*

Amy B. Haskell

Richard K. Haskell Jr.

Karen Hay Chadwick*

Debbie Heidrich (widow of William A. Heidrich III '76)*

Terry Henry Parker*

Christine E. Henry MD*

Peter S. Herzberg*

Susan Heyman Reissner*

William J. Higgins P'12*

Louise C. Hoagland*

Leslie Hollenbaugh Ross P'02*

Susan L. Jarvis*

Roger Walton Jones PhD*

Jeffrey J. Jurca*

C. Jeffrey Kinder*

James W. Kraft*

James W. Kuhn*

Fran Abby Kurtis

Frank A. Labor III*

Jere W. Lamp*

Mark P. Leonard

Mary E. Loesch*

David H. Lynn P'14*

Michael J. Mattson*

Christine A. McClave

Lynn McGowan*

Elizabeth C. Meek*

Richard S. Milligan*

Tanna L. Moore P'00*

Bruce A. Morton*

Ellen Mower*

Timothy P. Niedermann

Paul G. Ohanesian P'05 '12*

Elizabeth Ono Rahel P'09*

Francis M. Osborne IV

Susan Palmquist*

Richard W. Parke*

Elsie W. Patrick*

Alexander Podmaniczky

Christopher M. Powers P'18*

Charles P. Rabinowitz

Liz Ralston P'03*

The Rev.Sylvia B. Robbins-Penniman*

Peter Ross P'02*

Jonathan E. Rothschild*

Amy M. Russell*

Dudley W. Sanders*

Susan L. Shackelford

Anne L. Sherwood PhD*

Susan Smith Makos*

Penelope Snare Angulo*

Diane C. Spiegler P'06 '10 '13*

Mary Ellen T. Starzinski DO

Alexander W. Stevens*

Jean Stevens*

Kim M. Straus

Eric E. Stroo

Kimbol B. Stroud*

William L. Stuckey III*

Amelia O. Sullivan*

John T. Sunderland*

Nancy C. Sydor-Zafris H'93

Karen M. Templeton-Somers P'12*

Eugene R. Thomas*

Samuel Pogue Todd III P'13*

Benjamin B. Tolles*

Joel E. Turner P'08 '10

Cynthia J. Watkins*

Marc W. Whitsett MD

Steven R. Williams*

Anthony C. Wood

Gregory A. Wurster*

George Wharton Mariott Society

These alumni have included Kenyon in their estate plans or have made other planned gifts.

David E. Griffith and Jacqueline McEwen-Griffith

Cornelia Ireland Hallinan

McCallum Robinson Hoyt

Roger Walton Jones

Susan Smith Makos

Tanna L. Moore P'00

Linda P. Pierce

Alexander Podmaniczky

Anne L. Sherwood

Kim M. Straus

Kimbol B. Stroud

John T. Sunderland and Margie A. Sunderland

Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022

Kenyon Class of 1976 Fall Class Letter

Introducing the Lowry Center & Scholarship

Upcoming Virtual Events for Alumni

Reunion Committee

Class of 1976 Fall Notes

Class Listing