Our Path Forward: The Campaign for Kenyon

Kenyon Class of 1986 Fall Class Letter

Dear classmates,
 
Kenyon couldn’t be more Kenyon than it is in the fall. Am I right? I’m talking cool breezes to balance out the afternoon sun, crunchy leaves blanketing everything in autumn colors and an endless supply of friendly faces to greet you along Middle Path. Whatever the season, I look forward to running into you on the Hill again soon, 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 disco ball-esque 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. I can’t wait to celebrate with you all!)
 
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; 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 $25 million 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 a new scholarship 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. 
 
Thank you! 
Frank Crane

P.S. Is Kenyon already in your will? Let the College know about your planned giving by emailing daleiden1@kenyon.edu.

There's a lot happening at Kenyon today.

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

Learn more about Kenyon today

Upcoming Events for Alumni

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

Class Agents

Class 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.

• Margy Gain Callesen
• Frank Crane
• Nadine Neil Fabish
• Ellen Leerburger
• Eileen Shaver Lehmann
• Kelley Lewis
• Joe Masterson
• Ruth Staveley
• Mary Beth Atkinson Stephens
• Doug Thompson
• Tom Tobin
• Sally Quillin Wagner

Class of 1986 Fall Notes

Here are your 1986 Class Notes – Enjoy!

David and Wendy (Crabbe) Lingafelter are celebrating David’s semi-retirement by splitting time between the Adirondacks and Florida.  With both of their sons now living together in Scottsdale, AZ., Wendy reports that both daughters were married this summer in the Adirondacks and they were blessed with “great weather, friends, family and no masks”.  Wendy stays in touch with her B1 apartment, Anne Lafave Mauck, Robyn Williams Shimrak, Cindy Richardson Ryan, as well as Wally Danforth, Adam Davidson and Phil Moyles.  She reports that Wally now plays in a band, that Adam is busy directing some great new shows and that she and Phil catch up over lunch whenever life allows.  Wendy is also in with Byron Horn’s wife, Kris, and their three children (all doing well).  David has been doing “great things”, volunteering in the Beta Temple, and she wishes one and all a great year ahead.

Christine Budd Melone and husband Deke ’84 have had a dramatic life change, leaving Illinois in 6 weeks, after purchasing her family’s beautiful family lake house near Duluth, MN. Deke now works remotely and Christine works part time managing the books for their church, and together, they are “enjoying lake life with its amazing outdoor activities, wildlife encounters, and endless projects.”

With his debut novel, The Berserkers, due in the spring in the UK (Hawkwood Books), Vic Peterson shares that the novel starts with a beautiful woman, dressed as a Norse Valkyrie is found frozen in Lake Munch, and Grammaticus Kolbitter, police record keeper and keyboardist in a Viking heavy metal band, is left to solve the crime.  As readers, Vic asks us to keep Twin Peaks and Fargo in mind, and he suggests that we go to www.vicpeterson.com for more.

While some people used the pandemic to renovate, Megan Swanson Coleman and her sixteen-year-old daughter Brigid have moved twice!  Now in beautiful Hull, MA., Megan loves their new home and is looking forward to watching nor-easters and hosting dinner parties again.  She reports that Kristy and Patrick are enjoying life in the mountains and the city, and encourages people to come visit!

Christine Parini has also relocated to the Pacific Northwest, now calling Bellingham, Washington home.  She thanks Jennifer Roberts Keller ’88 and her husband Mark for helping her unload the truck, and she is looking forward to seeing Martha Johnson ’84 and Lauren Jawer ’84 often.

Frank Crane
reports that he and Caroline ’87 are in the midst of another college search with their son Charlie.  Daughter Claire graduated from Middlebury in 2019, and now lives in the Boston area and teaches Mandarin.  Anticipating “empty nest syndrome”, Frank and Caroline got a “pandemic puppy”, a golden doodle who now rules their lives.  Frank sees Bob and Georgia Zaiser regularly, and stays in touch with Tim Johnson, Geoff Schmidt and Morgan Whittier.  He laments the fact that the Class of 1986 could not gather on campus last spring, but he loved working and reconnecting with the reunion committee.
Read notes from the Class of 1987 and the Class of 1985.
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 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.

1986
Annual Fund Total: $81,961

Class Participation: 36.6%986

 
Kokosing Society

Donors of $25,000 to $49,999
Mary Beth Stephens P'15*
 
Philander Chase Society

Donors of $10,000 to $24,999
Matthew W. Lampe 
 
Bexley Society
Donors of $2,500 to $9,999
Mary E. Abbajay
Peter O. Aherne*
Richard K. Black*
Margaret S. Callesen*
Jennifer A. Cohan
Albert E. Fowerbaugh Jr.*
Sarah R. Gant*
Nikki Granner Johnson*
Lisa A. Jensen*
Jeffrey Kelley*
Laura A. King PhD*
David B. Lingafelter
Wendy C. Lingafelter
Theodore K. Manley P'25*
Philip V. Moyles Jr.*
Ruth Jane Staveley PhD*
Carrie M. Wolf *
 
Kenyon Society 
Donors of $1,000 to $2,499
Lauren D. Cottle*
Sean A. Cottle*
Stephen E. Feinbloom 
Ned Fischer 
Daniel P. Hitchcock P'23 
Eileen Lehmann P'22*
Joseph J. Masterson Jr.*
Michael B. Parran*
Paul H. Saint-Antoine P'18*
Christopher P. Thorman*
James D. Weiss P'24*
 
Donors of $1 to $999
Patricia A. Becker-Buhite 
Charles D. Bissell*
Catherine Bourne Fenn P'16 '18 
Robert S. Bridges Jr. 
S. David Broscious*
Lisa Brown Gillinov*
Paul E. Brown 
Mary C. Carson*
Megan Coleman 
Frank S. Crane IV*
Adam R. Davidson*
Michael B. Davies 
Tracy L. Davis*
Christopher Derby, S.J.*
Lionel A. Desbordes II 
Danielle Devine Greene*
Mauree Donahue Revier 
Elizabeth E. Emmert P'80 '86 
  '93 '97 
Nadine Fabish 
Louise Fagan 
Annabel V. Felton 
Geoffrey R. Fenn P'16 '18 
Gillian J. Freney*
Thomas Freund Jr.*
Sally H. Gray 
Elizabeth Gretler Paradi 
Cristina L. Guzzetti 
Barbara C. Hartman P'20*
William R. Hartman Jr. P'20*
Bradley D. Hazelrigg*
Arthur J. Henahan III 
Holly B. Herberman Mash*
Robert J. Holmes, MD*
Robert M. Hurley*
Beatrice Huste*
Matthew H. Irish*
Alison L. Jandak*
Jill A. Kalish*
John B. Keady
Robert S. Kohn*
Ellen Leerburger*
Elizabeth S. Leik*
Kelley E. Lewis 
Andrew B. Lockwood 
Sonja J. Mack*
Maria Marchetti Summers 
Dawn M. Mays 
Christopher F. McCracken*
Michael R. N. McDonnell Jr. 
Christine B. Melone*
Mary Stewart Miller 
Maura S. Minsky 
Cory C. Myers*
John P. Narcross*
Charles R. Needle 
John T. Pirie 
John F. Pollard*
Elyssa Ramsey Doub*
Michael R. Raney*
Dan M. Riedinger 
Joseph D. Rubin 
David M. Sipes*
Andrew K. Smith*
Karel P. Starek 
Warren A. Teitz 
Douglas H. Thompson 
Thomas L. Tobin*
Lee Tucker Therriault †
Douglas R. Vahey 
Margaret M. van Baaren*
Sarah Q. Wagner P'18*
Anne Wallace-Broscious*
David C. Warner*
Morgan B. Whittier*
Peter B. Williams*
Andrew L. Youngquist*
Robert J. Zaiser P'24 '20*
 
George Wharton Mariott 
Society

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

Bradley D. Hazelrigg 
Thomas L. Tobin 
Carrie M. Wolf 

Kenyon College
105 Chase Avenue, Gambier, OH 43022