Report from the Board of Trustees
The Kenyon College Board of Trustees has unanimously approved the Village Center project to add student residences in the heart of Gambier, build a new home for the Village Market at 111 Chase Ave. this summer, and proceed with the demolition of part of Farr Hall as a second phase to add retail space and more student housing.
The board, at its meeting in Gambier on April 29, 2016, also endorsed the intention of President Sean Decatur to launch an independent audit of Kenyon’s Title IX and Violence Against Women Act policy, procedures and process and agreed to create a special committee to support Title IX education and prevention programs and effective execution of the Title IX policy. And the board approved new board members, faculty promotions and Higley Hall improvements.
The new Village Market will rise this summer on the lot that now holds the Black Box Theater in what is known as "the old bank building," which will be razed. Residences for 12 students above the market are part of the project.
The Black Box Theater will find a home in a new building near the Art Barn and the North Campus Apartments. The 1,500-square-foot theater building is expected to open in September 2016 with universal access.
Two townhouse-style student residences, each housing eight students, are planned for the lot at 100 E. Brooklyn St. — the former location of the Gambier Grill.
President Decatur told the board that enhanced student housing in the village is intended to reinforce community values by centralizing theme housing, including by moving the Snowden Multicultural Center, the Unity House and Hillel students closer to the center of campus life. "We think of the village as the heart and soul of the campus, the crossroads of the campus," Decatur told the board. The Village Center project is part of the Campus Master Plan.
The board also saluted Chief Investment Officer Joseph Nelson with a standing ovation. Nelson has worked at Kenyon for more than 37 years and served as vice president of finance from 1987 to 2015. He retires on June 30, 2016, after which he will work as a consultant for special projects for the College. "I cannot imagine Kenyon College without you," board chair Brackett B. Denniston '69 said. "You have been profoundly influential and have left a bigger mark here than many presidents."
In other action, the board:
• Acknowledged the contributions of outgoing board members Rose Brintlinger Fealy '84, after a four-year term as an alumni trustee; Ashley Rowatt Karpinos '03, after a four-year term as an alumni trustee; Barry F. Schwartz '70 H'15, after 16 years as an at-large trustee, including four as board chair; Margaret Tcheng Ware P'15, after a four-year term as a parent trustee; and Bruce White, after a four-year term as a Knox County trustee. Schwartz, too, was greeted with a standing ovation by board members, and Denniston praised Schwartz’s "outstanding record of achievement," adding, "Your well-reasoned opinions, and your clear and cogent voice, will be missed." Schwartz was then approved by the board as an emeritus trustee.
• Approved new board members Donna Bertolet Poseidon '75 and Doug Wang '78 as alumni trustees serving four-year terms; Susan Tomasky P'17 as a parent trustee serving a four-year term; Alex Wright '05 as a Knox County trustee serving a four-year term; and Barrett Toan '69 H'09 as a trustee-at-large serving a six-year term.
• Approved campus improvements including renovations to two laboratories and the creation of two teaching spaces in Higley Hall as the first phase of improvements at the biology building. A higher capacity backup electric generator also will be installed in Higley. The air-conditioning system will be replaced at Bolton Theater, and new hot-water boilers will be installed in Hanna Hall and the Kenyon Athletic Center.