Kimberlee Klesner Resigns as Vice President for Development

Kimberlee A. Klesner, the College's vice president for development, has resigned her position, effective June 30, 2004.

"All of us in the Kenyon family are grateful to Kimberlee Klesner for her efforts on behalf of the College," said President S. Georgia Nugent. "Her dedication to Kenyon, and to her work in a variety of capacities, was a hallmark of her time here at the College," Nugent added.

"After a thorough assessment of our needs, we will launch a national search for a successor in the fall. For the interim period, I have asked Director of Development Sarah Kahrl to serve as acting vice president for college relations, and she has agreed to do so."

Klesner, who joined the College's development staff in 1985, was hired as Kenyon's first assistant director of annual funds. She was promoted to director of annual funds in November of that year, and in 1988 she was named director of development. In July 2000, former president Robert A. Oden Jr. announced Klesner's appointment as vice president for development, succeeding Douglas L. Givens, who became managing director of the Philander Chase Corporation.

"It has been my great privilege, and a great joy, to work with such a generous, dedicated, and committed group of Kenyon alumni, parents, trustees, and colleagues for the last nineteen years," said Klesner. "I am grateful to have been part of the administration during this time, and I believe that Kenyon's greatest strength is the passion and level of shared commitment for the College of all those associated with Kenyon: trustees, alumni, parents, administrators and staff, faculty members, and students."

In Klesner's four years as vice president, the College raised just under $80 million in gifts, and alumni participation in giving programs increased from 37 percent to more than 45 percent. In 2002, Kenyon was honored by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education with a "Circle of Excellence" award for overall fundraising performance. During Klesner's tenure, the Office of Alumni and Parent Programs initiated the regional "Learning in the Company of Friends" program and the Young Alumni Association, and from 2001 to 2003, she worked closely with the admissions and public affairs offices, and the library and information services division, on implementing a new marketing plan for the College, including the new Web site, launched in July 2003.

A graduate of Iowa's Central College, Klesner holds a master's degree in business administration from the University of Dallas. Prior to working at Kenyon, she was a development officer at the Harvard Business School.

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