Kenyon Class of 1975 Fall Class Letter

Dear Kenyon ’75 Classmate,

Hope all of you are well in this challenging time. Our vaccination shot can’t come soon enough!

As I look back over the decades since graduating from Kenyon, I have to marvel at how the world and my life has taken many unexpected turns. I basically had three careers and am now using social media to advance nonprofit ventures.

As I met each new challenge, I frequently appreciated my liberal arts education. I don’t feel stuck in a dead end. I really appreciate the ability to think and adjust. I credit Kenyon for much of that skill. As I put together the class notes I was struck by the wide variety of careers that we all pursued. It is a testament to our invaluable training as thinkers.

Over the summer I was curious about how Kenyon would deal with in-person learning. The type of education that the college offers depends on debate and participation. I think my favorite course (not in my major) was studying the founding fathers in a political science class. There were eight people in the class and our discussions were fascinating.

I think Kenyon found the right solution. Bring the new students onto the campus along with sophomores and international students so they can have the interactions. (Many schools did the opposite-banned the new students and sophomores and let the older students onto the campus.) 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.

In addition to adaptations for on-campus instruction, juniors, seniors and members of the faculty discovered new ways to learn and teach remotely. Like many of us they are learning valuable skills in Zoom and remote working.

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.)

As I mentioned at the beginning of this letter, I have really come to appreciate the ability to think. It has helped me tremendously navigate the many changes…including COVID. I hope you feel the same appreciation.

Your gift bolsters the student emergency assistance fund, which helped dozens of students get home when the spring semester unexpectedly went virtual. It makes 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,

Jay Andress

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 1975 Fall Notes

Thanks everyone for sending me six pages of class notes! You just made my job of condensing them so much harder (loved every minute of it). Because there are so many class notes, I created a Facebook page called Kenyon75 (no hyphen). I will be posting all the class notes on that site. I need your help adding some photographs from 1971 to 1975 to the FB page. So please send me some of your favorites.

The general theme throughout the class notes is that we are pretty lucky to be somewhat isolated from Covid. Many of us are retired, visiting grandchildren (John Henderson loves seeing grandchildren on Westport Island in Maine; Peter Carroll, Natalie Good (Schroeder), John Mitchell, Debbie Araj Davis, Renee Brandt Peck and husband Stewart '74, Paul Silver has 14!) are saving animals; Shami McCormick (Jones) is rescuing injured ducks near Orlando; Shelley Ensinger (Hicks) dog is in seventh heaven and Steve Durning spends an “unconscionable amount of time with his dog”).

There are some who are still working...and you can understand why, because their jobs are so interesting. Richard Gordon has a radio show, Whiskey Before Breakfast that is picked up by five stations (I hope he doesn't really drink whiskey before breakfast!). In early November, Michael Davis has a reading from his second book of poetry (titles: Prodigal and Upon Working). Paul Silver is still working as an internist in DC. Pamela Martin-Diaz is working on an early literacy project with Knox County Head Start. Michael Halleran has returned full-time to teaching and research at William and Mary. Phil Soltanoff was awarded the Herb Alpert Award in Theatre which is impressive! Sally Cody (Washburn) is putting up a good fight against Covid to remotely teach Latin at Thornton Academy. The best job has to belong to John Mitchell who retired from the USAF. He is now working as a tutor for his grandchildren teaching them about hypersonic propulsion, geophysics and architecture. They are going to be so smart!

I think Robert Shawver gets the award for most traveled (zigzagged across America north and south and east and west and will zig to Gambier this coming May.). He is followed closely by Alice Cornwell Straus who is doing something very interesting. She takes long distance virtual walks around the world (Scotland, England, Appalachian Trail) from the comfort of Gambier, but hopes to actually do the French path of the Camino de Santiago de Compostela soon.

We all have some new best friends (hint...please invite me to visit). If you like skiing Howard Leaman is an awesome ski buddy and instructor in Alta (I chased him down the slopes in February). Lisa Kelly (deWindt) and her husband live aboard a 42' catamaran traveling up and down the east coast. That size boat could easily handle a few more passengers! Natalie Good (Schroeder) hopes to head to the Dolomites for some hiking and lives in Vermont. I love to hike in the mountains!

A few of our classmates are living in Gambier. Murray Smith and his wife Janet '76 and Alice Cornwell Straus. Carswell Berlin visits his daughter who is a Sophomore at Kenyon. Sounds awful nice during this pandemic. Can't wait to visit in May.

One of my favorite classmates and a fellow Economics major is Donna Poseidon (Bertolet). I am not alone. Several people mentioned her. She is living and working in Atlanta. Her commute to work is 10 steps to her study!

Others mentioned in class notes were: Gail Jacobs Gordon, Linda Dickman Findlay, Jane Silverman Turner, Raye Koch (Howells) and Janice Paran. Please see our FB page for details.

Finally it is uplifting to learn that Pamela Cole Schneider has remarried after being a widower. She and her new husband, Tim, live on a horse farm north of Orlando. She ends her message with “Here's to better days ahead for all of us.” Wow is that so true! Stay safe and healthy!

Read notes from the Class of 1974 and the Class of 1976.

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.

1975

Annual Fund Total: $117,619

Class Participation: 52.59%

President's Society

Donors of $50,000 or more

Anonymous (2)

Kokosing Society

Donors of $25,000 to $49,999

Donna Bertolet Poseidon*

Philander Chase Society

Donors of $10,000 to $24,999

Emily Crom Lyons*

Linda D. Findlay*

David H. Newell*

Leslie A. Rodnan MD

Bexley Society

Donors of $2,500 to $9,999

Stewart Alcorn*

Alan D. Berkowitz*

David L. Craine*

George M. Ewing Jr.

Constance A. Howes*

Mary Kay Karzas*

William D. Lindenmuth*

Betty McBride Alcorn*

Kevin D. McDonald*

Renee Peck*

Robert Stokes Jr. P'11*

Kenyon Society

Donors of $1 to $2,499

Jean M. Amabile

F. Jay Andress III

Deborah Araj Davis*

W. Borden Ayers P'13*

Douglas C. Bean*

Carswell R. Berlin P'23*

Morris D. Berman*

Marian S. Block*

Stephen E. Block P'05 '16*

Alan S. Brody MD*

Elaine C. Brown*

Thomas M. Bruggman*

Peter B. Bumpus

Elise L. Cagan

Anne G. Campos

Peter F. Carroll P'98 '04*

Constance Chapman Dillon*

Barbara Christie Johnston*

Larry M. Cirjak*

David A. Cislo

Susan Miller Clark*

Melanie A. Clements*

Patrick J. Clements*

Sara Anne Cody*

Pamela Cole Schneider*

Alice Cornwell Straus*

Pamela Culviner*

Thomas P. Culviner*

Adele S. Davidson*

Michael C. Davis*

Steven C. Durning*

Edward Dwyer MD*

Robert S. Eichler P'11

Michael E. Elliott

Katherine Estill-Woodrell*

J. Bradley Faus*

David M. Fedor P'03 '09*

Leonard C. Felder*

Peter H. Frank P'11*

Kathryn A. French*

Elizabeth B. Friedberg*

Janet B. Galib P'06*

Robert B. Gibson*

Gail E. Gibson*

Richard E. Gordon*

Michael R. Halleran*

Margery E. Hoffman*

Nancy M. Hoffmann

J. Brooks Jackson MD

Harlow J. Keith*

Elizabeth D. Kelly P'12*

Benjamin T. Kenny*

Raye H. Koch*

Michael C. Kulwicki

Elizabeth Lerch Oxley

Jeffrey Longcope*

David E. Lopatto P'06 '17*

Thomas A. Lucas*

Pamela A. Martin-Diaz*

Kevin J. Martin*

Arthur M. Marx

Charlotte J. McCormick P'10 H'94*

Richard S. McGowan

Gretchen McLain Larman*

Meg Merckens*

Robert A. Metzger Jr.*

David A. Meyer*

Jeffrey A. Meyer MD

Richard H. Miller

Sue H. Miller*

Arthur S. Milnor*

Maria M. Muto-Porter

Michael C. O'Connor*

Philip B. Olmstead

Janice E. Paran*

Roswell Park †

George F. Parker*

Angus H. Paul

Gillian F. Peck*

Philip R. Purdy*

Kate H. Regan*

Susanne Riepenhoff*

Judith Rubenstein*

Susan Schrier Davis*

Ann H. Seed*

Judith S. Shapiro-Auerbach*

Helene M. Shapiro

Robert W. Shawver Jr.*

Paul A. Silver MD*

Thomas D. Silverstein*

Elizabeth C. J. Smith*

Murray J. Smith

Allerton G. Smith

Catherine E. Smythe

Philip S. Soltanoff

Diane E. Souder*

Ann E. Steel MD*

Joseph R. Szmania*

Leslie Tobias Olsen

John F. Voldrich*

Stuart S. Wegener*

W. John Wendler III P'04*

Thomas W. Wilson

Cornelia A. Wolf*

K. Blake Zoephel*

George Wharton Mariott Society

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

Deborah Baldwin Fall

Thomas M. Bruggman

Susan Schrier Davis

Linda D. Findlay

Mary Kay Karzas

Michael C. Kulwicki

William D. Lindenmuth

Emily Crom Lyons

Deborah Jansen MacKinnon

George F. Parker

Alice Cornwell Straus

Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022

Kenyon Class of 1975 Fall Class Letter

Introducing the Lowry Center & Scholarship

Upcoming Virtual Events for Alumni

Class Agents

Class of 1975 Fall Notes

Class Listing