To the Kenyon College class of 1999,

It’s officially Reunion month on the Hill! Although this year isn’t a milestone reunion year for us, 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, but friendships with my Kenyon family have been a huge comfort to me and, I’m sure, too many of you.

Last fall, I hope you heard about (and perhaps supported!) the new Kenyon Access Initiative. We are eight months into our five-year partnership with the Schuler Education Foundation to increase access to Kenyon for exceptional students with limited resources. 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 also have seen the news 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. My suggestions of “Philanderers,” “Smoked Hams,” and “Purple Prose” all seem like dark horse candidates, but this letter was finalized before the results were known, so you can visit kenyon.edu/moniker to learn the latest.

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 on 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 (here’s hoping they save some beer for the rest of us!). And then May 27-29 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 (as I, sadly, am not), I hope you’ll 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. 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!
John Sherck

P.S. Scroll down to view the 1999 class notes.