Also In This Edition

Ice-covered trees on Middle Path glisten in the sunlight after a seasonal freeze. Photography by Jodi Miller.

A cold snap gave students the opportunity to show off their favorite winter looks. Photography by Jodi Miller.

A Custom Fit

Dearborn Denim & Apparel founder Rob McMillan ’07 has big ideas for the apparel industry.

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Why Latinx?

Professor Ivonne M. García explores the significance of the term "Latinx" for forging communities.

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Kenyon in Quotes

“The conundrum of a writer’s life, particularly that of a poet, is learning to embody a paradox. One has to be fierce and tender at the same time, loud and quiet, brash and introspective.”
— Pulitzer Prize-winning poet Rita Dove, in her keynote address at the 2018 Kenyon Review Literary Festival.

Game Day Groundwork

Sociology reading, team dinner and a nap are all part of the pre-game plan for Matt Shifrin ’19.

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Life Lessons

Will Calhoun '07 shares tips on how to maximize learning opportunities while traveling.

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Visions

Rosa Rumora '19 tells the story behind her most recent wall relief, "Cast."

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Elm Embrace

In October, Rhys Pinder ’20 broke the Guinness World Record for “World’s Longest Tree Hug” by wrapping his arms around a Middle Path tree for eight hours and 15 minutes straight. He wasn’t just doing it for the fame and glory — Pinder’s fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, used the event to raise $6,858.48 for SeriousFun Children’s Network, a charity founded by Paul Newman ’49.

Despite some seriously tired limbs, Pinder was kept relatively comfortable during his ordeal, as a support team made sure he was fed, hydrated and kept warm.

Chicken Chic

Residents of the Kenyon Farm certainly know how to entice visitors to their weekly volunteering hours. Recent all-campus email subject lines from the Farm have included “sheriff’s back in chicken town,” “goat salon,” “ducks free to a good home” and “fresh outta ducks,” often accompanied by curious illustrations of chickens in costumes or glamour shots of the Farm’s newest goat.

Changing the Guidelines

In a September meeting, faculty members voted to revise Kenyon’s evaluation guidelines for tenure and promotion, adding criteria that measure faculty members’ commitment to promoting “an inclusive classroom environment that values diversity.” The change goes into effect July 1.

In an interview with Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, President Decatur noted that, “too often, this is the kind of work that falls in the category of something that is extra or unrecognized. And that had the impact of putting an added burden on those faculty who find it really important and rewarding work. If it’s an institutional priority, we need to find ways to recognize that type of work.” 

Class Notes

Recent Class Notes
’18

Natalie S. Kane moved from New Jersey into New York City and is thrilled to be back working on in-person theater. She choreographed and assistant-directed a new musical, “Show Me Eternity,” for its premiere at the New York Theater Festival.

’00

Molly (Willow) Vogel, Westerville, Ohio writes: “Last winter we helped my folks find a place down the road from us to split time between here and my hometown of Portland, Oregon. My kids (9 and 7) enjoy having Grammy and Pop Pop nearby and cheering at soccer games (so many soccer games). I’m in my fourth year as advancement communications director at Kenyon and recently had the immense pleasure of working with Murray Horwitz ’70 and Chris Toft ’89 as emergency emcees at Reunion Weekend. Sorry I missed nearly all the rest of you! Next year? I’m also mostly excited to have been asked to serve as one of the chairs of Kenyon’s Bicentennial in 2024. I’d love to hear your ideas for how we should celebrate this milestone!”

’89

Jennifer L. Nix has spent 28 years on California’s Monterey Peninsula, 27 of them “in the beautiful little beach town of Pacific Grove,” she shares. “Still teaching kindergarten and staying ‘young’ via my truly young student teachers. My daughter (14) and I are very involved in our local theater scene, and we emerged from the lockdown last summer to perform in ‘Shrek: The Musical’ at the historic Outdoor Forest Theater in Carmel. We had so much fun, and it got us out of the house so my husband, Kelly, could play guitar in peace. He feels so blessed to live with two drama queens!”

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