Best beloved Class of 1997:
 
The following quote by Niels Bohr stopped me in my tracks: “the opposite of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.”  

Reflecting on our Reunion and the feedback many of you generously shared afterward, it seems evident that the past few years have pressure-tested and strengthened us - and yet the struggle has softened, rather than hardened our hearts. What a kind, accomplished, hilarious group of people comprise this class.

About this time last fall, a motley parliament of your fellow Owls hopped on a Zoom after volunteering to help plan our 25th Reunion. Besides a glancing familiarity with one another’s names from class letters like these, we really didn’t know each other at all.  It was like The Real World, just with more spreadsheets and worse production quality. But over the next nine months, we became surprisingly close - a real team, who is already scheming up ideas for our next gathering. Profound truths, both: a group of strangers one year ago; a team of loving co-conspirators today.

Here’s the good news: this team doesn’t have cuts. Anyone - actually, every one of you - would be welcomed with open arms to join us in planning the next reunion or pursuing whatever pro-Kenyon project piques your interest. All you have to do is be in touch. As far as we’re concerned (and I think I can speak with confidence on the College’s behalf), the more class agents, the merrier.

Okay! Enough preamble. We know you look forward to this letter to learn about what’s going on in the lives of 1997s; we’re also excited to share some of the news from the Hill this year:
 
This semester, 12 members of the Class of 2026 were able to enroll as the direct result of donor support for the Kenyon Access Initiative (KAI), a vital scholarship effort to increase access for low-income students. We’re only just getting started and aim to enroll 50 students each year through KAI, in addition to other robust financial aid. This additional diversity in backgrounds and lived experiences will further enrich daily life on campus.
 
Chalmers Library in the West Quad has quickly become a hub for such connections day and night. Its neighbor Lowell House, home to admissions and financial aid and named for Pulitzer Prize winning poet Robert T.S. Lowell IV ’40, is also now open. Oden Hall, future home to social sciences and named for former president Robert Oden, will open for instruction next year. The 261-space underground parking garage for visitors and employees — with EV charging, naturally — is already helping to ease congestion in the Village without disrupting the beauty of Gambier we all remember so fondly.
 
This year students will also soon have access to a dining option in “downtown” Gambier, when Peirce Express opens in a space under the Gambier Deli. (Shout out to all who remember eating in Gund Dining Hall!) This space will also be home some evenings to a student-run bar known as Flats, helping to provide a non-residences nightlife option. Look for more about both of these in an upcoming issue of Kenyon News Digest.
 
To further support all students, the College increased the budget for the Student Success Fund — emergency grants for which any student can apply. They also welcomed Dr. Lynn Hampton to serve in the newly created Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion position, providing additional leadership to the daily efforts of ODEI and partnering with Dean Chris Kennerly so he can extend his reach across campus with DEI efforts.
 
In other news, the Music Department is celebrating its 75th year. Alumni Council is developing an updated version of the Kenyon songbook (Kenyon has a songbook!) which will be viewable online soon and distributed at Reunion Weekend during the all-class sing. If you haven’t saved the date yet for Reunion Weekend, remember that all alumni are welcome to attend May 26-28.
 
I hope you’re now feeling wistful about our own time at Kenyon. I invite you to turn that nostalgia into action with a gift to help make all this possible! Gifts to the Kenyon Fund can be directed toward enrolling the next high-achieving group of students through the Kenyon Access Initiative, broader scholarships and financial aid efforts, athletics, one of the College’s many green centers and more. Please consider making your alma mater and today’s Kenyon students a philanthropic priority this year by giving online at gift.kenyon.edu.
 
I hope you’ve enjoyed hearing the news from the College this fall. I have certainly enjoyed (as always) hearing from those of you who submitted class notes for this letter (see below). I encourage folks who haven’t updated us with one recently to consider submitting a quick life update for the next batch of notes in the spring.
 
With love,
Kerry Sheldon and the 1997 Reunion Planning Committee