Dear classmates,

Below you will read all the news the college sent me to include as well as the appeal for funds to keep our alma mater flourishing.

But before diving into that, a moment to reflect on the (no hyperbole) once-in-a-lifetime experience that was our tri-class reunion this past May. Once one got over the shock of the changes in or absence of the hair that used to be a very different shade and a very different length (the same jolt one experience all too often in the mirror) and past those lines that have found their way to our faces, there we all were. Conversations continued just where they had been suspended 50 years ago. We had only become more ourselves. Grown into ourselves.

We missed those of you not with us. Don’t fret, we drank your share. And we toasted those who have departed. We retold (“with advantages”) tales of those times and were astonished what of those late 60’s we DID remember, albeit with personal variations. Those days and nights of our tenure on the Hill rolled out in enambered beads to be wondered at all over again. Indeed, those were best and worst of times -when we never could conceive we would ever be this old. But we are and hooray for us!

And now on to the college’s report.

We know you look forward to this letter to learn about what’s going on in our classmates’ lives; 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 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.

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. (Especially those of us who have already celebrated our 50th Reunion!)

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.

Thank you!
Belinda Bremner