Dear Esteemed Classmates,

Greetings from the rustic, beaucholic fall colored hills of Hopkinton NH, whose beauty and majesty, like the natural beauty found on or near to all of your homes, is second only to what we knew in Gambier. With fondest recollections we do remember thee!!  So, classmates, come gather round what follows herein, it is a lot!  Of course, we all look forward to the Class of '82 fall letter to learn about what’s going on in our classmates’ lives; to be reminded to include Kenyon in our annual giving, and to read about some of the exciting news and campus updates from the Hill this year. So, let’s go!

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.  I am proud of the fact that, in no small part due to the KAI and other initiatives, Kenyon meets 100% of the financial needs of its students.

Chalmers Library in the West Quad has quickly become a hub for so many 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 (behind the library and Gund Art Gallery) is already helping to ease congestion in the Village without disrupting the beauty of the Gambier we know and love. These and much more amenitites (e.g. construction sitework underway for new dorm behind Old Kenyon) all are and look to be beautiful, tasteful and inspiring additions to the campus. On a personal note, as the proud parent of Cameron D. Bradfield ’26, I have recently had a couple opportunities to aquaint myself with these impressive and well-conceived amenities, and the timing of my son's Kenyon Experience will enable me to see this all blend in over these next four years. The benefits of being a late bloomer! Very exciting times for today's students.

This year students will also soon have access to more dining options 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, now a gathering and event space!) This spot 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.  And the new owners of the Gambier Market (housed on the corner where the People's Bank used to be) is hoping to operate a take-out pizza service, so the options could be even more extensive!

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 these exciting updates make you wistful about our own time at Kenyon, and I invite, welcome and encourage you to turn that nostalgia into action with a gift to help make all this possible.  Gifts to the Kenyon Fund can be directed as you choose: for 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 Kenyon and today’s Owls a philanthropic priority this year by giving online at gift.kenyon.edu. I know for me, the best time to make a gift is immediately after reading this while it’s fresh and on your mind!

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 thanks and in the Spirit of our Awesome Class of '82,
Bob Bradfield