Report from the Board of Trustees

The Kenyon College Board of Trustees, meeting in Gambier on Feb. 4-5, approved the operating budget for the next fiscal year, preliminary design work for capital improvements in the West Quad and in the village center, and the launch of a comprehensive campaign.

“Kenyon stands with the finest institutions in the country, and President Sean Decatur and our leadership team, guided by the 2020 strategic plan and informed by the campus master plan, are well-positioned to keep the College at the leading edge of higher education,” said Brackett Denniston ’69, president of the board, after the meeting.

“This is a very exciting time on campus,” Decatur said in his message to trustees.

Decatur emphasized that Kenyon is best served by a strategic plan that can be evaluated as it is executed, and he shared a range of metrics that will, in turn, be shared online and in print with the Kenyon community. And he pointed to planned capital projects, including the redevelopment of the downtown area of Gambier, with an emphasis on student housing and fresh retail space, and the revitalization of the West Quad, with an Academic Commons and reconfigured space for Department of English classrooms and offices. Regarding plans for a comprehensive campaign, Decatur shared his sense of the quickening pulse of enthusiasm among alumni and donors, and he found “particularly strong interest in making endowment support a central focus.”

Decatur also welcomed Randy Bass, vice provost for education and professor of English at Georgetown University, who shared his thoughts with trustees, faculty and staff on the use of technology to better integrate the high-impact experiences that are enhancing the contemporary liberal arts curriculum and are a cornerstone of the Kenyon strategic plan. Bass, a prominent thought leader on liberal education, discussed methods to connect best classroom and out-of-classroom practices with educational theory and the means for faculty to help students “navigate digital and networked learning” and find “a sense of purpose.” Bass called for flexibility and imagination, adding that “creatively re-imaging the curriculum is the way to go.”

Action taken by the board included:

• Approval of an operating budget for fiscal year 2016-17 of $137,426,000. The budget reflects a 3.65 percent increase in tuition and fees, which will rise to $63,330 for the next academic year. The budget provides $31.3 million in financial aid. Trustees added another $15,000 a year to fund unpaid summer internships, bringing to $105,000 the annual fund dedicated to that purpose.

An increase in the pool of money for salary and wage increases for the exempt and non-exempt administrative staff was set at 2 percent. An additional amount of money was set aside to target salaries lagging the marketplace. Pay increases for non-exempt staff will vary depending on job classification and length of service. The pool for faculty raises also was increased by 2 percent, with more set aside for salaries lagging the marketplace. Pay increases for union members are dictated by contract.

• Approved preliminary design work for capital improvements after hearing a projects update presented by Chief Business Officer Mark Kohlman. Kohlman led a discussion on West Quad and village improvements spelled out in the Master Plan, which was created in 2004 and updated in 2014. The Academic Commons — a reimagining of the library for the 21st century and seen as a campus crossroads with student meeting space and services — was presented as a two-year construction project that would open for the 2019-20 academic year. Decatur described the building as “a facility to connect students and faculty via technology with opportunities off campus, around the country and around the world” in line with strategic plan initiatives. Construction of the Academic Commons and a parking facility built underground to provide surface green space will require moving, rebuilding or replacing Sunset Cottage near Lentz House.

Improvements in the downtown part of Gambier are intended to provide contemporary student housing, restore the beauty and charm of the village and improve retail opportunities. The Gambier Grill will be replaced with three buildings for student housing. The former Peoples Bank building, of 1904 vintage at 111 Chase Ave. and now home of the Black Box Theater, may be replaced with a new home for the Village Market with student housing upstairs. Farr Hall may be replaced with improved student housing and retail establishments, including a restaurant/tavern. Student housing downtown is expected to eventually expand to 54 beds from 34 beds. Some downtown housing will be best used to relocate themed and program housing, including the Snowden Multicultural Center and Unity House, from the fringes of campus to the heart of the community, Decatur said. New housing downtown also will allow for the gradual replacement of the outdated, so-called “New Apartments.” Kohlman envisions a two-year project, beginning in the summer with housing and new market building construction and continuing in the second year with the Farr Hall project.

• Approved the launch of a comprehensive campaign. A feasibility study was shared with the board by Matthew Winkler ’77 H’00 P’13, chair of the board’s External Affairs Committee, Vice President for College Relations Heidi Hansen McCrory and Eric Snoek of the philanthropic consulting firm Grenzebach Glier & Associates. The campaign, expected to conclude in 2021, enters a leadership gift phase. The resources to execute the 2020 strategic plan will be delivered through this campaign, Decatur said. Goals include increasing financial aid resources through endowment growth, the expansion of experiential learning outside the classroom, boosting the core academic program through faculty support and encouragement, and the capital improvements designed to strengthen the academic experience for students. “I’m very confident this will be successful,” Decatur said.

“This is a great start to a journey that I know will be another Kenyon success,” Denniston said, “one fitting to our ambitions.”