Kenyon in the News

The death of actor and philanthropist Paul Newman '49 and his long history with the College sparked about 1,300 media mentions around the world in the days after his death on September 26, 2008. David Horvitz '74, emeritus trustee, appeared on NBC Nightly News in a segment on Newman's philanthropy. Horvitz, also a distinguished philanthropist, discussed Newman's leadership in establishing the Hole in the Wall Gang Camps for seriously ill children. "He thought he was the luckiest man in the world," Horvitz said. Among the news outlets reporting the Newman death with some Kenyon context: Chicago Tribune; CNN; Denver Post; Detroit News; Honolulu Advertiser; La Republica of Montevideo, Uruguay; Los Angeles Times; Mail & Guardian of Johannesburg, South Africa; New York Times; Peyamner News Agency of Iraq; Seattle Times; Straits Times of Singapore; Times of London; Turkish Daily News of Istanbul, Turkey; USA Today.

The tradition of frowning on cell-phone use on Middle Path in favor of face-to-face contact was explored by the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch on September 8, 2008, and in an October video posted at a site calling itself the "College Network." The video report included Daniel Caplan '09 of Scarsdale, New York, who described how he corrects underclassmen he spots with a phone in use. "It's a respect thing," he said.

A hug from then-presidential candidate Barack Obama brought attention to Shelley Fort '11 of Kearney, Nebraska. The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch reported the campaign-stop meeting on August 31, 2008. Fort told the candidate, "You're an inspiration to me." Fort's mother, Wendy, who is deceased, was Caucasian and her father, poet Charles Fort, is an African American. The Omaha (Nebraska) World-Herald, on September 2, said Fort told Obama about "trying to fit in as a person of mixed race, growing up in a single-parent household." Obama offered "kind words."

John Elliott, professor of political science and an alternate delegate to the Republican National Convention, was quoted by the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch on the selection of Alaska Governor Sarah Palin as the candidate for vice president. In a blog posted on August 29, 2008, and in a story published the following day, Elliott predicted the surge of questions about Palin and the excitement sparked by the selection. "The question is, 'How is she going to come across to the American public?' Can she be sold ... as someone with executive experience?"

President S. Georgia Nugent appeared on the Public Broadcasting Service program NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on August 19, 2008, to discuss the Amethyst Initiative, a move by more than a hundred college presidents to open a new dialogue about the drinking age. During the telecast, Nugent jousted with Joseph Califano, president of the National Center on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse. Nugent signed the Amethyst letter because of her concerns for "the health and safety of our students, the health of our society, and for educational values." Nugent was quoted in a story on the subject in the New York Times on August 22, 2008. Commenting on the drinking age, Nugent told the Times, "I think there's a direct connection between this law and this pattern of secret, fast consumption of high-octane alcohol." Nugent was also quoted in the August 19, 2008, edition of the Plain Dealer of Cleveland, Ohio. She told the Plain Dealer that the prohibition encourages "disrespect for the law."

Jennifer Delahunty, dean of admissions and financial aid, was a guest on the Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC, the New York City public radio station, on July 15, 2008. The segment was called "Getting In." Delahunty and guest Lloyd Thacker, director of the Education Conservancy, fielded questions about college admissions. Asked what matters most to admissions officials, Delahunty said, "Let (prospective students) be themselves. We're looking for really interesting community members, good and interesting high school students. The best applications come from students whose parents encourage them to be their whole selves."

Tim Shutt, professor of humanities, and his recorded lectures on the history of baseball were the subjects of a feature story in the July issue of Ohio Magazine. He wrote and recorded Take Me Out to the Ballgame: A History of Baseball in America on seven compact discs. The magazine called the recordings a "nine-hour literary opus." Shutt said, "My mission was to capture the flavor of each decade and how each fit into the larger American scene."

P.F. Kluge, writer-in-residence, and his love of the manual typewriter were featured in a column in the Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch on June 29, 2008. The column noted that Kluge writes his prose longhand and then pounds out manuscripts on his collection of vintage typewriters. "It becomes, finally, a sensual thing," Kluge said. "You live a while, you see a lot of things die: like bookstores, record stores, double-headers," Kluge said. "I hope typewriters don't die on my watch."

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