Cliff Weber, Professor of Classics Emeritus,1969 to 2008
March 2 marked the second anniversary of my emigration to Japan. Some of my neighborhood can be seen on YouTube at "Japan Bus Ride--Musashi Kosugi to Takatsu." At 20:32, the building where I live is partially visible on the left. The video ends where I board the train for Tokyo, two stops away. My most consequential adventure so far has been living as an illiterate.

Peter Rutkoff, Professor Emeritus of American Studies, 1971 to 2021
Exciting to see Kenyon collaborate with Capital University in Columbus to create a program that will encourage and enable Kenyon students to obtain public school teaching certification by the time they graduate.

Royal Rhodes, The Donald L. Rogan Professor of Religious Studies Emeritus, 1979 to 2018
Claudia Esslinger and I had an art/poetry exhibition at the Schnormeier Gallery in Mt. Vernon, and gave a ZOOM presentation to alumni and friends. (It was good to see so many familiar faces.) This exhibition is also scheduled for a show in the fall at Fairfield University. This is my third year working on planning committees for reunions at Yale. A poem and translation I did received awards from an international poetry journal: Society of Classical Poets. And, an essay, Godly Citizens, Unholy Politics, was published by The Montreal Review. Alumni are taking me on retreat to Gethsemani, the monastery where Thomas Merton was a monk. We work while the light lasts...pray for the Ukraine.

Benjamin Locke, Professor of Music, 1984 to present
The Kenyon Chamber Singers restarted the annual Spring Tour, just completed. We made Gambier our home base and traveled to Mansfield, Columbus, Findlay and Cincinnati, with three of the four stops coordinated by Kenyon alumni. Also, after a year's hiatus, the Community Choir is in full swing and scheduled to perform Mozart's REQUIEM on May 1 with the Knox County Symphony.  I'm proud of how the students, faculty, staff and administration have made their way through this pandemic. 

Joseph Adler, Professor Emeritus of Asian Studies and Religious Studies, 1987 to 2014
Since retiring I have published two books on the Yijing (aka I Ching, or Book of Changes): a translation of Zhu Xi's 11th century commentary, The Original Meaning of the Yijing (Columbia University Press, 2020), and an introduction to the Yijing for general readers, students, and scholars, The Yijing: A Guide (Oxford University Press, 2022).

Lewis Hyde, Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing Emeritus, 1989 to 2018
Until the end of May, Lewis Hyde will be a fellow at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. At the Center, Hyde will be working on The Collapsible Net, a meditation on searching for butterflies and, more broadly, on questions of why we go to nature and what we look for there. Here is a link: Cullman Center, nypl.org/help/about-nypl/fellowships-institutes/center-for-scholars-and-writers

Since the fall of 2020, Lewis Hyde has worked as one of the curators preparing for the 2022 opening of the Bob Dylan Center of Tulsa, Oklahoma. The Center will house and exhibit more than 100,000 exclusive cultural treasures created and owned by Dylan over seven decades, including original manuscripts, unreleased recordings, unseen film performances, photos and more. In addition to the main Bob Dylan exhibition, the Center’s May 10, 2022 opening will feature the Parker Brothers Gallery curated by Lewis Hyde and designed to explore the creative process through the work of other innovative artists. Check out our link: Bob Dylan Center, bobdylancenter.com/

Clara Román-Odio, Professor Emerita of Spanish, 1992 to 2021
Bicycling and writing occupied most of my time this fall. Last September, my husband and I took a trip (flatland highly preferred) to the Upper Peninsula in Michigan. We had no idea the UP had so much beauty to offer! Cottonwood Trail, Pictured Rocks and Miner’s Beach are simply breathtaking, as is the sense of power that emanates from Lake Superior; truly awe-inspiring! On the writing side, I wrote and published, in Puerto Rico, my sabbatical research in book form. Mujeres espiritistas en Puerto Rico (1880-1920), now available in the English edition, came out at the end of October. This led to the interesting experience of a book tour (a first for me) of close to twenty in-person and/or live-online presentations, at a diverse collection of venues that registered, whether in-person or online, over 7,000 attendees. A great joy in this for me is that the work of our Puerto Rican pioneer, feminist spiritist women is being more widely disseminated. Now, as I sense a whiff of spring in the air, bicycle miles and other good things loom ahead. 

Both the Spanish and English edition (Spiritist Women in Puerto Rico 1880-1920) of the book are available on Amazon.

Bruce Hardy, Professor of Anthropology, 1996 to present
I'm on sabbatical this semester and am working on writing a book. Can you guess what it's about? Neanderthals! (How'd you know?). It's tentatively titled What I learned from Neanderthals and is about everything Neanderthals have taught me over the years — about science, about knowledge and about our place in the world. If anybody has encountered Neanderthals in odd places, I'd love to hear about it. My recent odd encounters include in a Scooby Doo movie with Native Americans who are really aliens (seen in a pediatrician’s office) and in a comic book (for you comic geeks, it was Amazing Spider-man #194, featuring the first appearance of Black Cat (aka Felicia Hardy (weird, right?) and a henchman named Dr. Boris Korpse-Hardy, Neanderthal, Korpse? really?  How many coincidences do you need?). And remember to embrace your inner Neanderthal! You all have some.

Marcella Hackbardt, Professor of Art, 2000 to present
During the Fall 2020 Semester, I taught the Kenyon Rome Program, taking eight wonderful students to Rome. In addition to attending exciting contemporary art exhibitions and opening receptions (sporting our best N95 masks, happily adhering to Italian safety protocols), we toured many of the beautiful museums and architectural sites in Rome. Study trips to Sicily and Venice were included, with many adventures along the way. In March my work will be on exhibit at Perspective Gallery in Evanston, IL, in the Lens2022 exhibition. Works from my series, True Confessionals, will be included in Typology of Intimacy, a new publication by M Books (Weimar, Germany: 2022).

Austin Johnson, Assistant Professor of Sociology, 2017 to present
Professor Austin Johnson in Sociology (started in 2017) and Professor Katie Mauck in Chemistry (started in 2019) are getting married May 28, 2022 in Mount Vernon, Ohio. In other news of interest, Katie's dad, Professor Bob Mauck, retired from teaching in Kenyon's Biology department in 2021.

Rima Sadek, Assistant Professor of Arabic, 2018 to present
I have spent most of the summer at Gambier after a short visit to my home country, Lebanon. I mainly worked on writing an article on the Iraqi short story writer (Hasan Blassim) The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes. I also worked on launching first-year Arabic KLM or the intensive model. It's been a busy, but productive, year and summer. I very much enjoyed working with our Arabic student majors on their senior capstone papers. They have written amazing projects!

Travis Lau, Assistant Professor of English, 2020 to present
It is surreal to have joined the faculty a mere month before lockdowns began to happen. As a result, this happens to be my first full academic year on campus after teaching my first year entirely online. I feel like I am only just now working through all the unforeseen challenges of moving to Columbus and trying to orient myself from afar. I've been extremely grateful to be welcomed with such kindness and generosity by the Kenyon community, particularly by students and colleagues who have helped me find a sense of belonging at my new academic home. For that, I am immensely grateful.

Obituary, Alex McKeown, Associate Professor of Political Science Emeritus (1956-2022), 1986 to 2012
Alex R. McKeown "changed addresses" to his heavenly home on January 29, 2022 after a long battle with frontotemporal degeneration. He was born in Monroe, WI on January 21, 1956, the first child of the late George and Donna McKeown. He attended St. Victor's Elementary School, Monroe Junior High School, and graduated from Monroe High School in 1974. He was an all conference high school fullback and heavyweight wrestler, and part of the track and field team, throwing the shot put and discus. The University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse (UW-LAX) recruited him to play Division III football and he played on the freshman and JV teams for one season. He graduated with honors from UW-LAX in May 1978, majoring in history and minoring in political science. Before starting graduate school at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison), he worked at Huber Brewery in Monroe, where he also worked summers during college. He went on to obtain master's and Ph.D. degrees from the  W-Madison.

While attending graduate school, he met his future wife Sue (a UW-Madison employee). They were married on May 31, 1986 at Bethel Lutheran Church in Madison by Rev. Jacobson.

Alex and Sue moved to central Ohio in August 1986 so Alex could begin his career at Kenyon College as an assistant professor. He obtained tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor. They lived in Mount Vernon, Westerville, Worthington, and eventually purchased a home in Plain Township and lived there for 21 years, before downsizing to a condo in Gahanna. Alex enjoyed playing poker; working out at the gym; playing racquetball, squash, and pickup basketball; movies, both old and new (he would have seen a movie or movies every day if time permitted); playing turn-based war games on his computer, and cheering on the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. When Sue wasn't watching, he'd also sometimes root for the Ohio State Buckeyes (if their wins didn't hurt the Badgers!).

Unfortunately, frontotemporal degeneration forced Alex's early retirement from academic life. He retired from teaching in June 2012.

Alex is survived by his wife, Sue; three sisters, Meighan McKeown of Burlington, WI, Peg Knaapen of Muskego, WI, and Mary (John) Washbush of Milwaukee, WI; three nieces, Emily, Kate, and Ellie; sister-in-law Cheryl (Keith) of Ashland, WI, sister-in-law Linda (Steve) of Brodhead, WI, and  brother-in-law Mark (Kim) of Stoughton, WI, and numerous nieces and nephews on Sue's side of the family.

Sue wishes to thank the staff of Forest Hills Center, Dr. Douglas Scharre and Renee Kovescki, CNP, of the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, for the excellent care they provided to Alex for many years, as well as Capital City Hospice for their care during Alex's last months of life.

Peace to Alex's memory. May his soul and the souls of all faithful departed rest in peace.

Howard Sacks, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, 1975 - 2016
Judy Sacks and I have been involved in a US-China collaboration to protect indigenous cultural heritage. We’ve made three trips to China in recent years as teachers, scholars and musicians. On our most recent journey we visited a tribal village in Inner Mongolia, where we joined fellow folklorists to offer an informal concert of American traditional music (youtube.com/watch?v=jn9g3Ce2qxw). These days we’re staying closer to home playing music, catching up on farm projects and visiting friends and family.

Kathryn Edwards, Professor Emerita of Biology, 1978 – 2017
As a single person, retirement has allowed me to pay attention to home life. First there was the year-long haul out of clothes, books and furniture no longer needed. I passed them on to agencies that pass them on to those of us who can improve their lives and give a new life to these items. Next was adding a modern addition to my 1898 farmhouse — a large study with screened porch and attached circular deck. I live in this space with its sliding doors that allow me to view the nature all around.

My political activism continues with a focus on the decline of our democracy, which has the two party flaw at its core and women's reproductive rights. I, along with Erin Salva, Kenyon's longtime director of student accessibility and support services (SASS), serve as a volunteer distributing local fresh organic produce excess from Yellowbird to local agencies that serve those of us in need of healthy foods.

The COVID pandemic has given me the opportunity to breed my boxers. I’ve had two or more litters in the last two years with stunning results exemplifying my over 40 years of breeding boxers. While dog shows were cancelled in 2020 many have come back in 2021, allowing me to show my dogs again. I have two champions this year finishing in a matter of months and three in the show ring now doing outstandingly well. One of my recent puppies went to the parents of an alum who did honors research in my lab, Caroline Leonard.

I hear from alums via email and Zoom meets, including Susan Chong in Melbourne, AUS; Sue Hudson in Ohio; Karen Scott, CA; Stephanie Levi, IL; Jessica Chew, AL; Marilyn Fitzgerald, PA;    and others. I got a wonderful email from an alum that had been a student in my section of Intro to Experimental Biology class commenting on how our one-on-one office meetings helped his writing, representation of data and interpretation of results. Now he sees how it has paid off and he was thankful for the insight it has brought him. This feedback makes one so grateful to have been a biology teacher.

Royal Rhodes, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, 1979 - 2018
I am busy in retirement. I am grateful I have been allowed to keep my little office in Treleaven House (having known the late Lew Treleaven well). I have been busy as one of the planners for a series of Zoom events for a Yale Divinity Reunion. One focused on May Day 1970 in New Haven and the tense situation during the Black Panthers' trial. I delivered a commemorative poem for that broadcast. I have also had poems selected for publication by over 25 literary journals, in print or online. A recent batch were published by The Montreal Review for Sept/Oct, 2021 (see: themontrealreview.com)

I am also happy that three "legacies" (students whose parents I taught) are now here in the huge Class of 2025. They are finding their own company of friends with whom to learn.

Timothy Baker-Shutt, Professor Emeritus of Humanities, 1986 - 2021
Dear students,
Over my years at Kenyon, I taught about 7,000 of you, for better or for worse, more, I think, than anyone else ever at Kenyon — some of us taught a bit longer, some to more acclaim, some, no doubt with excellent reason, much more highly valued by the College, but even so. I really do think, with good reason, no one more. And that was your choice, you chose me, I didn't (though I happily would have) chose you. And much as I love reading, learning, and teaching, to which I have devoted my life, what I most loved — and love, of course, still — is you, my students. You made it all worthwhile (not that I wouldn't have read and thought anyway, whatever I did for a living). And to the extent that I could, I did my best for you, out of interest in the topics, out of love learning and truth, but most of all, out of love for you. Thanks so much.

Lewis Hyde, Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing Emeritus, 1989 - 2017
I'm currently a fellow at the Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers at the New York Public Library. I'll be living in New York City this year — until May 2022. Working on a book about Henry Thoreau, Vladimir Nabokov and looking for butterflies. 

Wendy MacLeod, James Michael Playwright-in-Residence/Professor of Drama, 1990 - Present
Wendy was commissioned by the Italian National Theater of Genoa and the play BASTA! opened (in Italian) October 2021.

Clara Román-Odio, Professor Emerita of Spanish, 1992 - 2021
My 2020-2021 sabbatical year afforded me the opportunity to bring to closure a project on Spiritism by Puerto Rican women to which I devoted my scholarly efforts during the final two years of my academic tenure at Kenyon. I am most appreciative to the institution, to my students and colleagues for their support to bring the project to fruition. The primary outcome of the project is a digital bilingual exhibit entitled Spiritism by Puerto Rican Women: From Remarkable Pioneers to Contemporary Heirs. I hope you explore it in the following pages:

Another exciting piece of news is the publication of the book Mujeres espiritistas en Puerto Rico (1880-1920) also emerging from this work (Talleres Gráficos Model Offset Printing, Humacao, P.R., 2021). Based on extensive research, Spiritist Women in Puerto Rico (1880-1920) rescues and examines the literature of pioneer spiritists who, as practitioners of Spiritism, helped transform Puerto Rican society during its disruptive colonial transition from Spain to the United States. It analyzes the Spiritism-Woman relationship, addressing fundamental questions including: 

Spiritism proposed, among other things, that the interaction between the human world and the spiritual world was constant; that communication between men, women, and Spirits was a provable fact; and that the human Spirit was part of an infinite evolutionary process. The net result for women was a radical encounter with their own conscience and an entry into the public sphere, where they challenged the norms and laws that perpetuated social injustice in Puerto Rico. Spiritist Women in Puerto Rico (1880-1920) shows that the intervention of pioneer spiritists in the living conditions of Puerto Rico at the end of the century changed the course of the history of women and their culture. In doing so, it makes clear that the power of social and cultural transformation is not only a right and a duty for us all, but a responsibility in which women, although ignored in official history, have played an indisputably extraordinary and fundamental role. The book will come out in Spanish in Puerto Rico at the end of October. The English version is in the plans. I hope you enjoy it!

Joel Richeimer, Professor of Philosophy, 1992 - Present
Scattered through Darwin's writings are philosophical claims about methodology, mathematics, color, ethics, etc. I am working on a book that is trying to assemble those claims in a coherent whole. It is uphill all the way. But I am moving (but not as fast as I would like).

Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky, Professor of English, 1993 – Present
With three other colleagues, I am directing Kenyon's first-year program in Copenhagen this fall. Our students have acted out scenes from Hamlet at Elsinore Castle, wandered through museums, learned about Danish cultural and educational practices and confronted Vikings at every turn. It's a new way to start one's first-year at Kenyon, but one that we hope will enrich their next four years and give them broader horizons as they arrive in Gambier in the spring.

Sarah Blick, Professor of Art History, 1994 - Present
This summer Henry Allan '24, 3D Lab Manager, VRC; Sarah Blick, Professor Art History; Cheran De Silva '23, Metamedia Lab Assistant; Jenna Nolt, Digital Initiatives Librarian; and Yan Zhou, Professor Art History, VRC Director participated in the CODEX (Collaborative for Digital Engagement and Experience) Summer Institute (July 12-16, 2021) working on “A Walk Through an Old Church: Projecting 3D Architecture (Kenyon College).” We explored the use of 3D modeling to project architectural models. Originally, set in the immersive classroom in Chalmers Library, we pivoted to using a virtual reality headset because we could not get access until August 2021. Team members collaborated on investigating and testing the technology as well as discussing lesson plans that aim to engage students. Using a photogrammetric scan of the chapter house at Westminster Abbey as our test subject, it showed us what we could do in terms of “normalizing” the use of 3-D, VR models in teaching art and architecture.

More at: sketchfab.com/3d-models/westminster-abbey-chapter-house-3be3c1d02ef544cc910cef6d52805279.

Wade Powell, Professor of Biology, 2000 - Present
To launch my 2021-22 sabbatical, I am spending much of the fall semester working with collaborators at the National Xenopus Resource, a part of the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, MA. We are using genome editing tools (CRISPR, etc.) to generate mutant frog lines that help us address important questions about how pollutants disrupt hormone control of vertebrate development.

Marcella Hackbardt, Professor of Art, 2000 - Present
My work was included in the exhibition, Keeper of the Hearth, at the Houston Center for Photography and in the publication Keeper of the Hearth: Picturing Roland Barthes' Unseen Photograph, ed. Odette England, Amsterdam: Shilt Publishing. This publication includes work by 199 contemporary photographers, each invited to produce a work that referred in some way to the Winter Garden photograph — the famously un-shown photograph written about by Roland Barthes in his important book on photography Camera Lucida. 

My new body of work, My Rooms, is ongoing, and returns to storytelling narratives of knowing and lived experience. My photographs from True Confessionals were featured in a book publication Typology of Intimacy; An Emotional Catalogue, ed. Francisco Veiga, in conjunction with the exhibition entrée & homage, in Basel, Switzerland.

My essay on photographer Jeff Brouws will be published in a monograph on the artist, Jeff Brouws; Silent Monoliths: The Coaling Tower Project by Steidl Press. My essay, Unexpected Architectures, technically and conceptually analyzes his photographs of abandoned steam locomotive coaling towers and his process, how this work connects to his previous work and to contemporary and modern photography movements (such as typologies and landscape genres) and artists, and to a history of U.S. westward expansion and commerce. 

I curated a two-person exhibition at Ohio University Chillicothe, featuring alumnae Emily Zeller ’08 and Laura Skinner ’05, titled Experimental Nature. Both artists examine science and experiments as concept and form, such as Ms. Zeller's images and animations pushing the human/machine interaction of the Generative Adversarial Network, and Ms. Skinner's imaginative documentations of the beauty and visual intrigue of children's science experiments.

A second curatorial project opened at the Weston Art Gallery in Cincinnati, Material Message: Photographs of Fabric, featuring seven photographers whose work responds to fabric’s aesthetic, formal and conceptual potentials including notions of culture, identity and reality. I have lectured on this topic at the National Society for Photographic Educator's conference, and at the Wits Art Museum and the University of Johannesburg, both in South Africa. This lecture comprises original research and writing that explores the topic as a subgenre of the history of photography, beginning with some of the earliest photographs ever made in the mid-1800's, up to today with a collection of contemporary artists from a global perspective.

For fall 2021, I am currently the director of the Kenyon Rome Program, teaching narrative photography in Italy and contemporary artistic practice: working in Rome. Student projects range from developing social documentary records of places, people and landscape, to cross-cultural understanding, artistic expression and self-discovery. For this semester, I designed and organized class visits to historic and contemporary museums and galleries, internationally significant exhibition opening receptions, a trip to Pastificio Cerere Foundation — a former pasta factory turned into artist studios where students will talk to internationally-renowned Italian artists. We will also fly to Sicily for a study trip which will include a hike on Mount Etna, and two UNESCO World Heritage sites: the 6th Century BC Greek Temples at Agrigento and the magnificent 4th century floor mosaics at the Villa Romana del Casale. 

Over the summer, I worked with two Summer Scholar students, Kefa Memeh and Griffin Liu, focused on research projects on global contemporary photographers.

Noah Aydin, Professor of Mathematics, 2002 - Present
It has been a very busy and productive past few semesters for me. My next sabbatical is coming up next year. I submitted two major grant proposals for that. My translation project is almost over now. The third volume was submitted to the publisher 10 months ago but we are still waiting to receive the page proofs. The editor is short-staffed which is causing major delays. Well, Miftah has been waiting for over 70 years to be translated to English. It will not mind waiting for a few more months. Another thing that is delayed significantly is the arrival of fall. Normally, we would have had the first frost of the season by now and the fall foliage would be almost at peak. Well, leaves barely started changing color and summer temperatures continue. This has been noticeable in recent years. Summers are growing longer while every other season is shrinking. We are witnessing climate change. Our mission statement reminds us of our vital role in stewarding the environment. Take care of yourself, your loved ones and the environment.

Kimmarie Murphy, Associate Professor of Anthropology, 2004 - Present
I am happy to say that I was able to get back to Iceland during the summer of 2021. I spent an entire month collecting data from the Early Christian Cemeteries of Northern Iceland. These collections will be sent to the National Museum in Reykjavik this fall. This is my last year as chair of Anthropology and I look forward to more time to write up my research results. Quinn is now a freshman in High School and is playing varsity keeper for the women's soccer team. Duncan started his second year at College of Wooster and he finally gets to have a college cross country season.

Yutan Getzler, Associate Professor of Chemistry, 2004 – Present
I have a wonderfully inquisitive and engaged group of students engaged in research right now and I am feeling enormously grateful to the many lab graduates who laid the foundations for what is happening now. I have been reflecting on how much the successes we are now having rest on the patient work of students who were not able to see the fruits of their labors.

Earlier this year I was invited to write an article for Nature Chemistry (https://rdcu.be/cpVC0), explaining the importance of a research paper in that issue. It was enormous fun to write, especially the opening paragraph. If only I'd managed to catch those typos in Fig. 1...

Travis Landry, Professor of Spanish, 2008 – Present
Entering my last year as department chair and looking forward to 2022-2023 sabbatical, with fingers crossed for a Fulbright Scholar Award in Spain.

Jacqueline McAllister, Associate Professor of Political Science, 2014 – Present
My husband, Albert Chao, and I had twin girls on 20 April 2021: Isabelle Amy Chao-McAllister (3 lbs 2 oz, 15.5”) and Juliana Claire Chao-McAllister (3 lbs 10 oz, 16”). Both are growing a lot and loving all of the TLC they are receiving from their family and friends, including past and present Kenyon students!

I also received tenure in spring 2020.

Alex Novikoff, Visiting Assistant Professor of History, 2017 – Present
In August 2021 I was a featured commentator in episode 3 of CNN's 6-part documentary "Jerusalem: City of Faith and Fury." The documentary (which is viewable on Spectrum on Demand) focuses on the six epic battles that have shaped the holy city from ancient to modern times, and episode three focuses on the Third Crusade, and more specifically on the clash between King Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart) and the Muslim general Saladin.