Gentlemen,

Are you tired of virtual and Zoom?  It’s officially Reunion month on the Hill!  I hope to see many of you back in Gambier this May to celebrate our belated 50th Reunion year at what will certainly be a weekend to remember. 

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 (the Kenyon Access Initiative).  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.  And, the more we can do for scholarships, the better.  On February 10, the College announced an increase in tuition and fees to $80,100 for the next academic year.  Who knew that our educational costs were such a bargain when we attended?  In further news, applications this year hit another record, up 14% over last year.

You may have seen the news during the winter that, in response to calls from students, President Decatur agreed the time had come to look beyond Lords and Ladies.  According to Tom Stamp ’73 (Keeper of Kenyoniana), before we became the Lords, the College teams have been named the Pioneers, but first came the Mauve (clearly this did not have the same staying power as the Crimson), and then the Purple or Purple and White.  Thanks to all of you who have submitted suggestions or other feedback for the process to consider a new athletics moniker.  More than a few alums have suggested the Philanderers (myself included) 😉.  Because I prep this letter in March, this was finalized before the results were known. You can visit kenyon.edu/moniker to learn the latest.  The link also shows the process in case you are interested and not previously aware.  

This spring, the College continued its commitment to integrating environmental stewardship into its curriculum, campus operations and campus culture. They also announced the news that Lisa Schott ’80, who since 2010 has served as managing director of the College’s land trust, the Philander Chase Conservancy (PCC), will retire from that position at the end of June after a nearly 40-year career with Kenyon. This news and more were shared in Kenyon’s new quarterly Green Newsletter. The first issue was Winter 2022.  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, many of us and our classmates from the Classes of 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.

Quick before the request for donations:  News provided by our classmates will follow after the close of the letter.

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 stretch gift this year in honor of our belated 50th Reunion. 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.

As always, 
Mike Hill

P.S. Scroll down to view the 1970 class notes.