Dear classmates,

At last, there’s reason to believe that the threat of Covid may be fading.  It’s been isolating and wearing for all of us and I hope all have emerged without serious encounters.  All along I’ve pondered how fortunate we were that our student days in Gambier were without the disruption that today’s students have confronted, forgoing campus life for extended periods and enduring remote classes.  I know it would have been a struggle for me.  But now restrictions have lifted, and it’s officially Reunion month on the Hill! Even though 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. 

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.

Hopefully you saw 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. I appreciate that this is an issue that is apt to strike generations of alumni differently.  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.

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 step down from that position at the end of June after a nearly 40-year career with Kenyon.  (Of course, Howard Edelstein and Bill Yost have also generously shared their time and resources as Conservancy board members.)  This news and more was reported 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 I indicated, all alumni are welcome back to campus May 27-29 for what promises to be the biggest alumni gathering in the College’s history! Whether or not you make it back this year, plan to return for our 55th (can you believe it?) in 2023.

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.

Thanks to those who sent notes.  It never ceases to amaze me what are classmates are doing. 

All the best, 
Spinner Findlay

P.S. Scroll down to view the 1968 class notes.