| Kenyon Class of 1991 Fall Class Letter
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| Dear classmates,
Recently some of our fellow Kenyon alums found their way back to the Hill and shared photos of their beautiful, smiling faces in front of Old Kenyon, with its gothic spires reaching up towards a brilliant blue sky. Kenyon must be putting on quite the show to welcome them back, I thought.
I loved those first moments of returning to campus in the fall. To this day, I can’t shake the feelings of renewal and excitement that come with autumn. If I shut my eyes, I can see Gambier in all its glory: cool breezes to balance out the afternoon sun, crunchy leaves blanketing everything in autumn colors, and the familiar Westminster chimes from the Church of the Holy Spirit on the quarter hour. Who knew the line we sang at Senior Sing was so prophetic?
"But when we are far from Kokosing,
we still shall hear a calling bell..."
The Kokosing Farewell
I hope you get to experience all the joys of Kenyon soon and I look forward to running into you on the Hill, especially since we haven’t had a chance to reconnect there in some time.
And what a campus we’ll have to return to! Chalmers Library is open and beautiful. (Have you seen the stunning new skylight feature?) All four classes are studying together again in Gambier. (With a bonus first-year cohort finishing a semester in Copenhagen!) And plans are taking shape for an unforgettable Reunion 2022 on the Hill. (Mark your calendar for the weekend of May 27. All alumni are invited to attend!)
In other exciting campus news, the College just shared its new strategic plan that will guide its planning and actions leading up to the bicentennial in 2024 and beyond. You will be pleased to see it includes core elements like developing a computer science program informed by the liberal arts; enrolling, retaining, and graduating a student body that is representative of the talent and diversity of our nation and the world; implementing a holistic approach to health and wellness, with an emphasis on mental health; and expanding its commitment to environmental responsibility.
You have also likely heard the announcement of the Kenyon Access Initiative, which will bring more high-achieving students to Kenyon, thanks to a matching grant from the Schuler Education Foundation. Any amount we give through this Kenyon Access Initiative will be matched 1:1 and will go to new scholarships for students from families with limited means and those ineligible for government aid — up to $25 million.
I could go on for pages about these two pieces of Kenyon news, but lucky for you, I don’t have to. Scroll on to learn more about Kenyon’s strategic plan and the Kenyon Access Initiative (and how they fit into our 2024 bicentennial celebration).
As you read about what’s in store for Kenyon’s future, I hope you’ll consider supporting today’s students with a gift to the Kenyon Fund and (if you have the ability) making an additional gift to the Kenyon Access Initiative that has the potential to bring 50 additional talented students to Kenyon each year.
Kenyon couldn’t be Kenyon without involved and supportive alumni like us. As the bicentennial draws closer, I challenge each of you to do a little more than you have in the past to help make Kenyon the special place it is. This could mean becoming an alumni volunteer, attending a College event, submitting a class note or setting up a recurring monthly gift.
Warmest Regards,
Melanie A. Carlos
P.S. Is Kenyon already in your will? Let the College know about your planned giving by emailing daleiden1@kenyon.edu.
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| There's a lot happening at Kenyon today.
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We want you to be a part of it.
The Our Path Forward to the Bicentennial campaign is about building a strong foundation for Kenyon’s third century by growing our endowment and strengthening alumni connections. Get involved by:
Staying connected to Kenyon
You may only be a Kenyon student for four years, but you’re a member of our alumni community for life. The Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement strives to make it easy — and fun — to stay connected. GET INVOLVED
Making a gift
Gifts of all sizes add up: every year, gifts of $100 or less to the Kenyon Fund total more than $250,000. Also, every dollar given to the Kenyon Access Initiative between now and June 2026 will be matched and used to create permanent new scholarship funds to enroll exceptional students with limited resources and those who are ineligible for government aid. MAKE A GIFT
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| Upcoming Events for Alumni
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Save the date for these upcoming events for alumni taking place online and on the Hill.
- Kenyon Women Giving Back
The quarterly event series continues on Tuesday, March 22 via Zoom.
- Kenyon Together
The 36-hour online giving challenge kicks off Tuesday, April 12.
- Reunion Weekend
All alumni are invited to join us on the Hill May 27–29.
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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 Molly Gutridge at gutridge1@kenyon.edu.
• Alison Black
• Melanie Carlos
• Tracey Fatzinger
• Dabney Smith Moncher
• Ann Russell
• Angelique Tober
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Julie (Mills) Roth
The last few years have shepherded in completely new work for me, primarily due to my need to address the climate crisis with whatever resources I can muster. I'm now working as a Senior Energy Analyst for the City of Ann Arbor's Office of Sustainability and Innovations, sprinting at our goal of a just transition to carbon neutrality by 2030. The work is exhilarating. Our two teenage daughters have managed as much resilience as can be expected through the pandemic, one now a Sophomore at University of Michigan, and one a junior in HS. What little free time that all leaves is occupied by my garden, my friends, and my tennis habit.
Bill Gregg
I had three mini Kenyon reunions and a fourth is in late October. Great reuniting with Tiel Arnot, Gregg Hill and Steve Wrinn for fishing the Mighty St. Laurence. I met up with Mark Spalding, Steve Kennedy, and Finley Maxson for a weekend tour of Antietam Battlefield. Josh Rupright '92 and James Ratchford '90 breezed through my town on a cross country trip. Everyone is great.
Jennifer (Pryor) Taylor
We are officially empty nesters! Chad Taylor ’89 and I survived both a pandemic and a college application process with relatively little injury. Our daughter is attending University of Maryland School of Music. We couldn’t be happier for her. Back here at home, I am learning more about the MCU than I ever thought possible. Still here in Darien CT, working in NYC, happy to meet up!
Scott Krone
My youngest daughter and I had the pleasure of joining Chris Creighton's family watch EMU play Wisconsin on 9/11 with an incredible F16 fly over. The same daughter is being recruited by fellow Kenyon grad, history major, and soccer goalie Tyler Schatz ’12 who is now an Assistant Coach at Highpoint University in North Carolina. It was a pleasure meeting Tyler during the recruiting visit/parent's weekend/grand opening of their new $170M athletic facility and conference center.
Shelly Van Etten Lee
Just back from a wonderful weekend on the Hill, visiting Ann Russell and our alma mater. While she dutifully attended alumni council meetings, I biked 53 miles along the Kokosing Gap Trail and the Heart of Ohio trail - both lovely! At this time of life when many of us have college kids ourselves, it was particularly wonderful to revel in our college memories and lifelong connections, and think about how our own kids are (hopefully) forging similar experiences at whatever college they are attending. Otherwise I am still working as a clinical psychologist at the U of Michigan, seeing clients, supervising trainees and running our training programs, and very much enjoying work from home. Still with Morrie, my hubby of 24 years. Jonah's now 17 and Aidan's at Butler U. Anyone visiting Ann Arbor/U of M come say hi!
Alison (Graham) Galbraith
It's hard to believe it's been nearly 30 years since I left the Hill. My niece is a freshman this year and it's brought back many memories of my time in Gambier. I wonder if the Gambier Deli still makes the best breakfast in town! I've been living in Vienna, Virginia, for a while now. I have three children - Jack (21, Senior W&M), Darby (18, Freshman VT) and Ella (17, Senior at JMHS). I'm starting to think about life with an empty nest. Yikes!
Kristen Hoffman Senior
Alden Senior ‘92 and I are so happy that our two oldest kids are in college in person this year. Ben is a junior film major at Syracuse. This summer, he shot his second feature film over 11 days at his grandparents’ house in northern Wisconsin. He hired 5 professional actors and 15 crew members and even survived me cooking for all of them! He will also be making a film with the German director Werner Herzog in the Canary Islands this October—barring any further volcanic eruptions. Amelia started her first year at Denison this fall. We have not burst into flames that she chose red over purple. In fact, we really love it! She’s a bio/chem major and a piano performance minor, with lots of walks up and down the hill and trips to the anime club. Our 7th grader Topher is loving his coding class at school, but would rather sleep in and play Genshin Impact. Full pre-teen vibes have appeared in that one! Alden continues to run the family company and I’m still doing college counseling. Hope to see everyone back at Kenyon as soon as we can!
Angelique Tober
I am happy to announce that I have begun a new job as a marketing operations manager for a firm based in Colorado and Florida (nice retirement venues perhaps?). I’m still in Wisconsin, working remotely and keeping my sights set on relocation after my boys finish high school in 4 years. I took up pickleball this year, which is fun but makes me feel old sometimes, especially when playing against my 14 year old son. I have also been active in community theater, which I love. I’m hoping to reprise the role of Clairee in Steel Magnolias this spring after a fifteen year gap. This time I won’t have to color my hair grey!
Nellie Kurtzman
I have joined the board of Badass Animal Rescue in New York, an organization in its 10th year of saving dogs from high kill shelters across the south. Over the past decade we've saved 3,000 dogs - including my own three pups. I highly recommend supporting rescue organizations in your area which are almost always run by unpaid volunteers. If you're looking for a dog please consider rescuing - #adoptdontshop. My day job is VP Marketing & Publicity of Children's Publishing for HarperCollins and I love that, too.
David Kahn
My wife Jen and I are officially empty nesters though it has only been a few weeks and we have not really had the time to go out to brunch every weekend like we planned. Our son Justin is a Junior at Seattle U, still pursuing a biology degree, while our daughter Emily is a Freshman at the University of South Dakota. She was recruited to swim there and committed without visiting. Luckily she has enjoyed the small town experience so far, though regrets that the nearest Chipotle is 40 miles away and we didn't let her have a car. My wife and I have already attended one swim meet and plan on others later this fall/winter in Lawrence, KS, Sioux Falls, Minneapolis, and Fargo in February. Both kids are very happy to be back in actual classrooms after the past 18 months which contributes to the feeling that I really need to quit my job at the online education company I've been at for 23 years now and do something else. I am getting closer to becoming a ski bum again but hope that my body can keep itself together long enough to truly enjoy it. If anyone is passing through Denver I would be more than happy to meet up at any of the hundreds of breweries in the area and buy a round or two.
Rob Edsall
I've got new digs (as of August 2021) in SoCal, moving from pastoral Pocatello to the as-yet-unburnt forest in the mountains above San Bernardino. I'm teleworking as a geographic analyst and program director for Idaho National Lab; we moved here because my wife Yolonda is now a professor at Cal State San Bernardino. We're slowly learning the twists and turns of the roads, the rhythm of the traffic, and the best places for hikes, tacos, and stargazing, but if you have recommendations, or are in the area and want to drop by, let me know!
Louise (Warwick) Reed
Just gave two talks as the CEO of Afloat, Inc. at an international blockchain conference in Wyoming.
Mary (LaFlamme) Sarkisian
We became empty nesters after we dropped off our son, John at Kenyon, class of 2025. He hasn’t decided on a major yet, but is interested in English, Film and Music. It was great to see Kelli Moore Sorkin ’92 as she and her family dropped off daughter, Haley, another 2025. We also ran into Jonathan Tazewell ‘84 along middle path. Taz is Department Chair and co-head of the film program in the Department of Dance, Drama and Film - and is one of John’s professors this semester. Convocation was truly special, and the new library is gorgeous. We look forward to returning for parents weekend and hopefully, reunion weekend in the spring.
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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 2020-21 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.
1991
Annual Fund Total: $119,513
Class Participation: 36.1%
President's Society
Donors of $50,000 or more
Anonymous
Judy Hoff Gilbert
Philander Chase Society
Donors of $10,000 to $24,999
Ronald M. Harrington*
Yiji Shen Starr*
Bexley Society
Donors of $2,500 to $9,999
Hugh M. Daley*
Robert M. Edsall*
Tracey A. Fatzinger PhD P'24*
Liza H. Hamm
Jennifer Hirsh*
Judith Hruska Shook*
Andrew D. Keyt*
Peter M. Kotchen
Mark A. Lloyd*
Marisa Scarafoni Daley*
Kenyon Society
Donors of $1,000 to $2,499
Meryl H. Brott*
Matthew A. Fischer*
Jody L. Horak Tyrpak*
David A. Kahn*
Geoffrey Kloske
Margot Morrison Brinley*
Mary L. Sarkisian P'25*
Dieter W. Sumerauer MD
Donors of $1 to $999
Gregory J. Abate P'24*
Matthew J. Alcorn*
Tiel Arnot*
Mariam M. Bahrami*
Michele L. Barnard
Michael C. Bassett
Jason Bertsch*
Raphael Biran
Alison J. Black*
Elizabeth J. Bornstein
Kimberly A. Bouchard
Chad M. Braun MD
Bridget A. Brink
Matthew R. Brokaw
Kenneth M. Burgomaster*
Melanie Carlos*
Mark J. Carpenter*
David N. 'Chip' Carter Jr.
David Gordon Center
Eric W. Chambers*
Shelby D. Collier*
Jason F. Congdon*
Margaret C. Cooney P'25*
Nancy Cooper Coles
Rebecca E. Countway*
Patricia Crabtree*
Philip L. Cyr II
Lycurgus T. Davey
Terrie DeBonis*
James D. DeRosa*
Thomas S. Dilsheimer*
John G. Douglass
Elizabeth Drotleff*
Lori Jo DuBois McDevitt*
Sarah C. Feider*
Kimberly D. Fields*
James H. H. Fleming*
Margaret A. Forstl
Kathleen G. Gerhardinger
P'24 '22 '19*
Christie Getto Young*
Kristin L. Giantris
Anne Grevstad-Nordbrock*
Brenda Elizabeth Grim
Michael S. Grinker*
Tracey Guest Kinahan
Chelsea M. Guillen P'22*
Gregg C. Gumbert*
Holly Hatch-Surisook*
Daryl J. Hultquist
Amy Hunt Alcorn*
Meredith A. Johnston*
Christopher Kaufman Ilstrup*
Christa M. Kelly*
Judith N. Kende
Bernard J. Kenyon II*
Camille A. LaCroix
Elizabeth A. Lamberti*
Paul C. Lentz P'23*
Caroline Lesesne Enloe*
William B. Lockwood
Leslie B. Magee Congdon*
Anne M. Martin
Peter T. Meddick*
Christopher M. Missett*
Dabney S. Moncher
Alberta R. Neilson
Alexander A. Novak
Bryan Owen*
Sarah E. Phemister
Sarah E. Porter Springer*
Rebecca R. Post*
Darrin A. Pratt*
Cynthia H. Proctor*
Abbie L. Rankin*
Leslie M. Reese
Ann L. Reifenberger
Hugh C. Resnick*
David S. Reynolds*
Lynn E. Ricciardella
William A. Richardson*
Julie K. Roth*
Ann P. Russell*
Bill Salmon*
Stacey A. Sapper
Julia R. Schelter
David A. Schiopota*
Kristen Senior*
Michael R. Sering*
Julie A. Shellhorn*
Jeffrey E. Skiby*
James P. Snyder
Patricia L. Steffy*
Leslie A. Stephens*
Melissa A. W. Stickney*
Thomas M. Stickney*
Byong Hee Tanaka
Renee J. Tassari
Jennifer L. Taylor
Donald W. Thomas*
Gregory D. Thompson
Ann McKay Thoroman
Holly Thyen*
Angelique Tober*
Lila E. Valinoti*
Michelle Van Etten Lee*
Nicholas R. VanBuskirk*
Stephen G. Vogt
Susan M. Wilschke
Phillip E. Wilson Jr.
Scott W. Witscher*
Stephen M. Wrinn*
George Wharton Mariott Society
These alumni have included Kenyon in their estate plans or have made other planned gifts.
Andrew Keyt
Elizabeth Lamberti
Hugh Resnick
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Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022
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