Forgotten Moments in Kenyon History

President Robert A. Oden Jr. reflects on Kenyon history in honor of the College's 175th anniversary.

Read the Story

A British View

Sir Lloyd Tyrell-Kenyon, Lord Kenyon and Sixth Baron of Gredington, delivers the 1999 Founder's Day address.

Read the Story

The Long-Lost 'Kenyon House'

Peter Dickson '69 explores the history of Mount Vernon's first brick hotel.

Read the Story

Also In This Edition

Image of Old Kenyon from the College archives.

Kenyon in Quotes

"There is little in our history that is beyond dispute, there is much about which good and wise people have disagreed. Put rather differently, our past has witnessed historical revisions, and this process will and should continue." —Former President Robert A. Oden Jr.

Kenyon in Quotes

"Will Kenyon still exist as a collection of buildings and people on an Ohio hilltop twenty-five, fifty, or one hundred years from now? The future, of course, has a way of surprising us, but I believe it will. The campus ideal, introduced here by Philander Chase almost one hundred seventy-five years ago, will prevail." —Tom Stamp '73

Class Notes

Recent Class Notes
’89

Sarah Wilsman updates, “I’ve been at OverDrive, a tech company based here in Cleveland for five years helping schools build their digital collections. I work for Sora, the sister app of Libby — stop paying for Audible! Your public library gives you free access to audiobooks.” Sarah recommends listening to the Newman memoir “The Extraordinary Life of an Ordinary Man,” which talks about Paul’s time at Kenyon, including his arrest in Mount Vernon. “I spend my free time volunteering, hiking and watching my granddog.”

’89

Christopher P. Toft and Nicole Dunn Toft ’92 took daughter Lucy to L.A. in August, where she is now an Occidental College first-year. “Janie, our oldest, is blazing her own trail by holding down three part-time jobs, making progress toward her undergrad degree and brilliantly acting in or handling tech responsibilities for theater productions.” Janie also recorded some songs with five-time Grammy nominee Liam Davis ’90, Chris notes. Also in August, Chris directed a production of Harold Pinter’s “Betrayal” for Edge of the Wood, a Chicago theater company. “I had a great lunch with Lawrence C. Grimm a few months back, and I continue to enjoy seeing him on some of the big Chicago stages. I’ve also frequently seen Liam, Eric M. Ziegenhagen ’93 and Mark Revermann ’99. Anne B. Cadigan ’92 and I correspond religiously about our N.Y. Times Spelling Bee scores.” Chris is VP of Advancement for Adler University. Nicole leads the education and mission committee for Edgebrook Community Church, “rules” the local women’s tennis scene and cements friend groups from high school to Ladies’ basketball to Teach for America alums.

’76

Janet Byrne Smith and Murray J. Smith ’75 moved to Gambier in 2017 after 32 years in northern New Jersey and commuting into Manhattan, she notes. “We were in desperate need of a break from the crowds, noise and pressure, and we’ve found it here. I was able to continue working part-time from Gambier until early 2020, but then the pandemic hit; and I have not looked back. For the last few years, I have been more and more involved with the Knox County Democratic Party.” Janet canvassed area households to urge Yes votes on Ohio’s reproductive freedom ballot issue, which passed in November. “I swim almost daily in Kenyon’s amazing pool, the likes of which is completely unavailable in the New York City metropolitan area, and this summer I participated in the inaugural Total Performance Masters Swimming camp held at Kenyon. I was by far the oldest and slowest, swimming alongside several former Ladies swimmers, but we all had lots of fun, and our coach, Danielle M. Korman ’06, was phenomenal. Murray and I travel as much as we can, with trips to Mexico City, Alaska and Nova Scotia planned for 2024.”

Past Editions