Dear classmates,

It’s officially Reunion month on the Hill! Even though this year isn’t a milestone reunion year for the class of 2005, all alumni are welcome back for Reunion Weekend this year (and in the future) and the fact that alumni are FINALLY able to reunite on campus again after two years of virtual gatherings is something worth celebrating. The sense of isolation that has accompanied the past two years has been challenging to navigate, but having the support of you all, my Kenyon family, has continued to brighten the darkest parts of this pandemic for me — thank you.

Last Fall, I hope you heard about the new Kenyon Access Initiative. I had a chance to attend an informational event in Chicago a few months ago to launch the program and was completely sold by the vision that was outlined. The Schuler Foundation is working with Kenyon to provide access to a Kenyon education to high-achieving underrepresented students. This program aims to raise $25 million from Kenyon donors, with a $25 million match from Schuler which can be used as money is collected rather than once the final goal has been met. I consider my Kenyon education one of the most life-changing gifts I’ve ever experienced, and through our support, up to 50 students annually who might not have the means to go to Kenyon can experience that same life-changing time on the Hill while also broadening the perspective of our college body. I hope you will consider joining me in donating to this initiative. We are eight months into our five-year partnership with the Schuler Education Foundation and so far our extended Kenyon community has enthusiastically responded by making more than 1,113 gifts to support this unique initiative, helping to create new scholarships that will be awarded to students we are enrolling now. In further great news, applications this year hit another record, up 14% over last year. 

You may have also heard from President Sean Decatur this winter that, in response to calls from students as we approach our Bicentennial, he agreed the time had come to look beyond Lords and Ladies. Thanks to all of you who have submitted suggestions or other feedback for the process to consider a new athletics moniker. This letter was finalized before the results were known, but you can visit kenyon.edu/moniker to learn the latest. I will admit to being somewhat of a traditionalist myself, especially when I think of my Kenyon experience with rosy glasses, and had assumed we had always been Lords (and then Ladies too starting with women joining Kenyon). I was surprised to hear we’d been everything from the Pioneers to the Mauve to the Lordettes. Perhaps one of our bigger Kenyon traditions is change, and this is just one more example of that change in action!

This Spring, the College continued its commitment to integrating environmental stewardship into its curriculum, campus operations and campus culture. One exciting way this is happening is that Kenyon is refraining from new commitments in specialized private investment funds that focus on fossil fuels — expecting that less than 1% of Kenyon’s endowment portfolio will be invested in fossil fuels by 2030. This news and more was shared in Kenyon’s new quarterly Green Newsletter. If you don’t already receive it, I encourage you to sign up for it at bit.ly/Green-Kenyon.

As summer approaches, Kenyon is preparing to welcome several groups of alumni back to campus. First, more than 100 members of the Class of 2020 and their families have registered to attend their belated Commencement taking place on the Hill May 22. On May 26, the Classes of 1970, 1971 and 1972 will be kicking off Reunion Weekend a day early with special 50th Reunion programming. And then, as you know, all alumni are welcome back to campus May 27-29 for what promises to be the biggest alumni gathering in the College’s history. If you aren’t able to make it back for Reunion this year, I hope you’ll plan to attend one soon.

All of the excitement and achievement at Kenyon today can be traced, in part, back to our support. Kenyon relies on our gifts to the Kenyon Fund to support every aspect of students’ experience today, from seminars to scholarships. I hope you’ll join me in making a gift today. We know first-hand how a Kenyon education can impact one’s future, not just professionally but personally. When we support Kenyon’s current and future students, we help make a Kenyon family like ours a possibility for many more.

Thank you, 
Caitlin Cody

P.S. Scroll down for the 2005 class notes.