Also In This Edition

Leticia Osei-Bonsu ’17 uses sculpture and photography to raise awareness about pollution. “The Water World” series offers a visual representation of how our daily activities affect the environment and, specifically, the aquatic systems.

Members of Kenyon's Class of 2021 make their Middle Path debut at Opening Convocation.

Drawing Abroad

For Henry Uhrik ’18, illustration helps transcend cultural and language barriers.

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Great Expectations

These teaching award winners keep students engaged in the classroom — and in the community.

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A different sort of farewell

Sharp-eared fans of Netflix’s “House of Cards” may have noticed a certain tune playing during the first episode of the political drama’s most recent season. Yes, strains of “Kokosing Farewell” can be heard drifting from a church organ as President Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey) arrives at a funeral. But Kenyon’s favorite song shares its tune with the hymn “The day thou gavest, Lord, is ended” — words more suitable for mourning the latest sacrificed pawn in Underwood’s bloody quest for power.

Snapshots of Kenyon Life

Details

According to Dean of Admissions Diane Anci, Kenyon’s Class of 2021 is “a terrific tribute to the things that Kenyon values most. It is academically distinguished, among the most diverse classes we’ve enrolled, and its talent knows no bounds.”

5,603  First-year applications received
460  First-year matriculants
19.8  Percentage of domestic students of color
Percentage of international students
19  Countries (including the U.S.) they call home
37  States they call home
9  Percentage of Pell-eligible students
69  Students with a relative who attended Kenyon
4.04  Mean high school GPA
40  Percentage of students who received need based scholarships
35 million  Total dollars spent on financial aid for all classes

It's Electric

Gambier is a new destination for electric-vehicle drivers wanting to charge their cars. Kenyon’s Office of Green Initiatives partnered with Tesla this fall to install two Tesla chargers and a universal EV charger outside the Kenyon Inn, and they plan to install more outside the Kenyon Bookstore — an ideal place for drivers to grab coffee and a good read while topping off their cars.

Image credit: Steve Jurvetson

Washrooms fit for the Whitney

A sign posted in Rosse Hall directing guests to
“accessible restrooms” was meant to refer, of course, to facilities complying with ADA standards. Someone, however, chose to interpret “accessible” in the art-world sense of “easy to understand,” and decided to provide another option: A second, smaller sign appeared, pointing the way toward “avant-garde restrooms” for those desiring a less pedestrian experience. No word on whether Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” was a featured exhibit.

Cold Coyote

Visitors to the Brown Family Environmental Center might be in for a surprise if they raid the BFEC’s fridge. Instead of ice cream and ice pops, the freezer contains a skinned coyote. “It was pretty tricky to get him in there,” said manager Noelle Jordan, “because we also have a red-tailed hawk, a flying squirrel and five song birds.” All of the chilled critters will become part of the BFEC’s teaching collection.

Class Notes

Recent Class Notes
’93

Amy C. Smith informs, “We couldn’t make it to Kenyon this summer, so Kim M. Sarnecki, Jennifer W. Shearin, Cheryl M. (Kluck) Nizam and I met in Nashville for our own reunion weekend. Kim lives in Issaquah, Washington, with her partner of 29 years. She’s CEO of Together Center, a human services hub and afford-able housing campus in Redmond. She’s also granny to two adorable 6-year-olds. Cheryl lives in Olympia, Washington, with her husband of 25 years. A luthier specializing in restorations and instrument-making, she’s mom of a freshman in high school and a college-age film major. Jen lives in northern Virginia and has taught high school social studies in Arlington for 25 years. She’s also mom of a freshman in high school and a seventh-grader. I’m in Atlanta, with my husband of 27 years, working as a nonprofit board governance consultant. I have a son in grad school in New York, and my daughter Audrey Smith ’27 is a freshman at Kenyon.”

’14

Gregory T. Culley began a master’s of architecture at the University of British Columbia School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture in Vancouver.

’11

Jillian M. Arenz earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Columbia University and now works at Weill Cornell Medicine in its program for anxiety and traumatic stress studies.

Past Editions