Kenyon Alumni Volunteer Bulletin

Updates, announcements and event details for Kenyon volunteers

Happening on Instagram //
Hear from the Women’s Conference Committee

We asked a few members of the Kenyon Women’s Conference Committee what they’re looking forward to at the Oct. 23-25 event! 💜

See the full conference schedule.

Read more on Instagram

Updates //

Annual Giving Update

Thanks to YOU, fiscal year 2026 was a record year. Kenyon raised more than $6.36 million in annual giving, over $1 million above goal and the Kenyon Fund set a record for the second year running at $4.9 million (17% over goal). We met our 25% alumni participation goal, with 5,100 donors, brought in 1,527 new and returning donors, and 67% of the Class of 2026 made their first gift. The Kenyon Fund Executive Committee met in September to welcome new members, review this good news and set goals for fiscal year 2027. This year we're aiming for $5.8 million+, 27% participation (about 5,500 donors) and 75% donor retention. The biggest thing that will get us there is your outreach to your own classmates and friends. You can also help Kenyon students directly: if you can offer an internship, influence hiring or are willing to introduce Director of Employer Relations Josh Lisko to your company's HR team, please make that connection by emailing him at lisko1@kenyon.edu.

Volunteer Group Updates from Homecoming Weekend

Homecoming Weekend (Sept. 25-26) was a great success! We welcomed alumni back to campus for reunions, including Baseball and Men’s Lacrosse, while also hosting Alumni Council, Kenyon Fund Executive Committee and members of the Class of 2002, who were on campus to begin planning their 25th Reunion.

Alumni Council: Homecoming is one of three times each year that Alumni Council meets and we were pleased to welcome six new Alumni Council members to campus for their first meeting. The Council, in partnership with the Kenyon Fund Executive Committee, kicked off the weekend by hosting a dinner with members of Student Council and Student Advancement Officers, creating a wonderful opportunity for students and alumni to connect and share their Kenyon experiences.

25th Reunion Planners: Eight members of the Class of 2002 met on the Hill over Homecoming Weekend to kick off planning for Reunion Weekend May 28-20. They also visited a 23-acre site on Big Run Road along the Kokosing River that they helped purchase through the Philander Chase Conservancy with their Senior Class Gift 25 years ago. That gift was made in honor of two classmates and now they are giving thought to how they can continue to build on their class legacy. The 25th, along with all classes planning to celebrate their 5-45th reunion, have been busy reaching out to classmates to save the date for reunion and submit class notes for the upcoming fall class letter.

25th Reunion planners visiting the Philander Chase Conservancy site that their class gift helped purchase

25th Reunion planners visiting the Philander Chase Conservancy site their Senior Class Gift helped purchase 25 years ago.

Homecoming Weekend continues to be a wonderful opportunity to bring alumni back to campus, strengthen connections to the College and foster meaningful engagement between alumni and current students.

Additional Volunteer Group Updates

Class Agents: Class letters are in process and should hit mailboxes/inboxes mid-November! Thank you to all of our volunteer writers. The first Lunch Chat of the year will be Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 12:30 p.m. ET, covering the many ways (beyond fundraising) you can help Kenyon as volunteers. Hope to see you there!

50th Reunion Planners: The Class of 1977 hosted a webinar in September about “Building Your Kenyon Legacy." There was conversation about the many ways to make an impact, including through planned giving. Thank you to Mark Teitelbaum, Larry Bousquet and Denese Giordano for sharing their expertise and experiences with the group. The chairs of the Class of 1978 50th Reunion Committee are making great progress building their 50th Reunion Committee with almost 20 members. We appreciate the leadership of Charlotte Bahin, Lisa Coney, David Feldman and Woody Newman.

Hill Theater Update

On June 6, a severe storm brought a large oak tree crashing down directly onto Hill Theater. This was a massive, sudden disruption and as a result the theater will remain completely offline for the entirety of the fall term. Faculty and staff have been successfully relocated to Acland House. Temporary reconstruction is planned for this fall to ensure the building is safely back in use for the spring term.

The long-term future of the theater, which was built in 1941, is being evaluated within the broader context of our performing arts facilities. We are currently evaluating two different approaches and costs to renovation — a 5-year lifecycle and a 50-year lifecycle — and expect to make directional decisions about the permanent future of the Hill Theater by the end of the academic year. A performing arts program committee will be involved in the evaluation process, which will ultimately result in a recommendation to the board of trustees.

Happening on Just Ask //
Featured Alumni Engagement

Just Ask allows alumni and students to reach out to alumni with career questions as simply as sending an email. We encourage you to respond if a student reaches out to you or use it yourself to connect with fellow alumni for advice. Here's how others have been using the platform lately:

Question: "I am a student at Kenyon. My academic background is in Psychology. I am interested in learning more about the social work graduate school experience and hearing from people currently in the field. I would love to learn about the different settings available to work in and what they look like. Thank you for any advice you can share."

Response: "Thank you for reaching out! Social work is a broad field, and one of the things I appreciate most about it is the variety of settings and populations you can work with. There are opportunities to work in hospitals and healthcare, schools, community mental health, child welfare, nonprofits, private practice, and many other settings. The day-to-day experience can look very different depending on where you work, but strong communication skills, empathy, advocacy, and relationship-building are important across the field.

One piece of advice I would offer as you explore the field is to think about finding a population or community that you feel especially passionate about supporting. Your interests can help guide you toward settings and experiences that feel meaningful to you. The social work graduate school experience typically provides a few different internship placements that allow you to explore different settings, which of course is helpful in identifying the direction you may want to go in.

At Kenyon, I was a psychology major with a concentration in Law and Society, so naturally that led me to my current role as a forensic psychiatric social worker! I'd be happy to share some of my experiences with you or just discuss the field further."

LEARN MORE ABOUT JUST ASK

Mark Your Calendar //

Kenyon Women's Conference, Gambier, Oct. 23-25
LEARN MORE

Submit an Alumni Award Nomination by Feb. 1
Nominate a classmate or friend for an alumni award.

SUBMIT A NOMINATION

Kenyon Alumni Volunteer Bulletin

Happening on Instagram // Hear from the Women’s Conference Committee