Also In This Edition

Professor of Music Ben “Doc” Locke presides over one of Kenyon’s most beloved fall traditions, First-Year Sing.

The new Chalmers Library opened its doors to the public this fall and quickly became a go-to destination for studying and connecting.

Chalmers Library has been certified LEED Gold, making it Kenyon’s first large-scale building to receive this honor.

Active Starter

Nandi Rose Plunkett ’11 shares the inspiration behind her song “Sourdough.”

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Kenyon in Quotes

“I always tell my students to find the art that saves your life. I think writing is the thing that saved my life, especially writing this book during this period of my life.”
— Richard L. Thomas Professor of Creative Writing Ira Sukrungruang, speaking with the Dayton Daily News about his latest book, “This Jade World.”

Hot Takes

Middle Path Has Two Sides Again

In the fall of 2018, a plywood construction wall went up alongside the west side of Middle Path as construction began on the new Chalmers Library. Now that the library is open and the fence is down, we’re relearning how to walk in a straight line, like the first time you go bowling without using the bumpers.

Recognition Returns

As masks come off outdoors on campus (at least sometimes ... thanks, Delta variant), we’re back to Piaget’s sensorimotor stage as we begin to recognize entire human faces. Start working on new excuses for why you can’t remember the names of the people you wave to every day on your way to class.

Show Up and Show Out

Trendy Peloton exercise bikes were a lifeline for many during the pandemic and will run you a few thousand bucks, but the return of Pelotonia to Gambier racked up a few million. After missing a year, riders in Ohio State’s annual cycling event to raise money for cancer research rolled past Kenyon’s Lowry Center in August once again, raising a total of $19,313,532.

Class Notes

Recent Class Notes
’15

Stephanie A. Cordonnier and Hanning Wong ’16 were married at A Very Kenyon Wedding in Mount Vernon, Ohio, by Stephanie’s faculty advisor, the Rev. Dr. Harry Itagaki in his Kenyon necktie. Beloved Kenyon family present included “wedding welcomer Johanna I. Frye, meditation selfie leader Yohanna Ewing-Kally ’16, vocalist Emilia Pazniokas, harpist Lily A. McBride ’17, equality challengers Emilia M. Louy and Elizabeth C. “Lila” Greco, brideswoman hype queen Grace E. Janzow, ramen lover Johnson Qiao ’16, and best woman/notorious llama advocate Kathleen M. Low ’16,” they report.

’15

Matthew T. Eley lives in San Francisco with his wife and two cat-sized children, he submits. “Or were they children-sized cats? Thoroughly on the record as to being nostalgic over parts of Kenyon that have been knocked down and replaced by white clapboard or glass-and-steel shlock. It suffices to say: ‘It is history which teaches us to hope.’ It was once said of me that ‘[he] has mistaken Kenyon for Arcadia.’”

’59

David N. Sharlin, Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania, retired on June 30 from his position as medical director of the Mercer County, New Jersey, program for children with handicaps, which he helped found. “I reconnected with Robert F. Neff, Alan S. Loxterman, Robert W. Chapin Jr. and Richard A. Dickey at our 50th reunion, but somehow have lost touch with them and would love to reconnect. Hopefully they will read this and respond (dnsharlin@verizon.net).”

Past Editions