Quintessential Kenyon: Student Life, Uncut

Report from the Board of Trustees

Office of Communications
April 29, 2020

The Kenyon College Board of Trustees met by video conference on April 24, 2020. This is the first of two meetings that will take place this spring in lieu of the Board’s traditional in-person meeting, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis. 

The central topic of the meeting was a discussion of the planning that is underway for resuming classes and operations next academic year in light of the crisis. The Board will reconvene on May 11, 2020, to further discuss this planning and other issues.

In addition, the Board attended to several pieces of routine business:

  • Approved three faculty promotions, the Class of 2020 candidates for graduation and the 2021 slate of honorary degree nominations.

  • Appointed Pam Hoehn-Saric ’80 P’10 ’14, Aileen Hefferren ’88, Liz Myers P’17 and Susan Tomasky P’17 to serve six-year terms as Trustees-at-Large; Annie Engel P’23 to serve a four-year term as Parent Trustee; Todd Giardinelli ’94 and Aasem Khalil ’96 to serve four-year terms as Alumni Trustees; and Alex Wright ’05 to serve an additional four-year term as Knox County Trustee. Fittingly, in this year celebrating 50 years of women at Kenyon, the at-large slate of trustees is the first all-women class of such trustees in the College’s history.

  • Elected the following slate of officers: Sean M. Decatur, President; Jeffrey Bowman, Provost, Colleen Garland, Vice President for Advancement; Todd Burson, Vice President for Finance; Shirley O'Brien, Controller; Ian Smith, Vice President for Facilities, Planning and Sustainability; Judith Hoff Gilbert ’91, Secretary; Kathryn Brechler Lake, Assistant Secretary.

The Academic Affairs, Admissions and Financial Aid, Buildings and Grounds, Development and External Affairs, Diversity, Student Affairs, and Title IX and Nondiscrimination Committees each met in separate video conferences prior to the full Board meeting and heard detailed reports on COVID-19 response efforts. In addition:

  • The Academic Affairs Committee considered recommendations concerning pre-tenure, tenure, promotion to full professor, and faculty performance reviews.

  • The Admissions and Financial Aid Committee received updates on the recruitment and enrollment of the Class of 2024.

  • The Building and Grounds Committee heard updates on the West Quad project as well as two studies currently underway, one on student housing, the other on Middle Path surfacing.

  • The External Affairs Committee considered options for rescheduling the 2020 Reunion Weekend; originally scheduled for May 2020, it will be postponed until May 2021.

Other committees, including the Budget, Finance and Audit Committee as well as the Investment Committee, will meet via video conference in early May.