Kenyon in the News
An essay by President S. Georgia Nugent appeared in Slate on November 15. The online magazine asked a number of prominent academics to tackle the controversial question of what students should be studying in college. Nugent pointed out that at one time many undergraduates had to take a capstone course in metaphysics and mused that a contemporary capstone might take many forms. A goal would be "maturity as an adult--attaining a degree of self-understanding, appreciation for the limits of the human condition, empathy for others, and a sense of responsibility for civil society."
A front-page story in the travel section of the Sunday, November 6, Plain Dealer featured Kenyon and Gambier, calling the village the "perfect fit of town and gown." Reporter Michael Sangiacomo wrote that travelers will be rewarded by a town that has more bookstores than bars and a school with a reputation as a first-class college for a classical education.
Kenyon's Food for Thought program was featured in the November 1 Columbus Dispatch. The article discussed the interest in local farming and locally grown foods at Kenyon, noting research conducted in Professor of Sociology Howard Sacks's fieldwork course and student involvement with renovations to Mount Vernon's Buckeye Candy Building.
Director of Public Affairs Shawn Presley was quoted in the Sunday, October 16, New York Times in a story about the popularity of drinking games among college students. Kenyon was mentioned along with Bucknell University as an institution that banned drinking games on campus but later dropped the restriction. "It became apparent that the ban wasn't going to work," Presley was quoted as saying. "And we didn't want to drive the games underground." Kenyon outlawed drinking games briefly in the fall of 2003.
Kenyon's football team was featured in the sports section of the October 12 Columbus Dispatch. The Lords garnered attention by upsetting the defending conference champion College of Wooster on October 8. The story noted that the revitalized team was making strides in the North Coast Athletic Conference after a 2003 hiatus from competing for the conference championship.
The October 10 Columbus Dispatch quoted Professor of Drama Thomas Turgeon in a story about Josh Radnor '96, the star of the new CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother. Written by Dispatch television critic Molly Willow '00, the story mentioned Kenyon's track record of producing graduates who excel in the field of acting, citing such stars as Paul Newman '49. Turgeon, who recalled directing Radnor in the role of Romeo, was quoted as saying, "I never get the sense that someone's going to make it or not, but I often get the sense of people I hope will make it because I admire what they can do, and he certainly fell in that crowd."
The Kenyon Review was mentioned in the September 26 New York Sun. The Sun reported that the Review held a kickoff party for its November 10 gala that honored sportswriter and fiction editor Roger Angell and novelist/ philosopher Umberto Eco with the Kenyon Review Award for Literary Achievement.
Kenyon was mentioned in the September 26 edition of Time magazine. According to Time, the U.S. News & World Report "best colleges" guide, the granddaddy of college ratings, now has a slew of competitors. In a chart of alternative rankings, Kenyon was listed alongside Berea College as one of the "Top 10 Schools You've Never Heard Of." The list was compiled by the Students' Guide to Colleges.
The October issue of CosmoGirl! magazine mentioned Kenyon in its second annual list of the country's top fifty colleges. The magazine mentioned the Kenyon Review as the College's "claim to fame" but mistakenly stated that the literary journal is completely run by students and is one of the nation's oldest student magazines. While Kenyon students do work at the Review, the journal is edited by Professor of English David Lynn and employs a professional staff. CosmoGirl! compiled its list based on small class size, prominent female faculty, strong women's sports teams, career centers that excel at internships and job placement, and leadership opportunities in clubs and activities.
Media outlets around the country, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, mentioned Kenyon in the obituaries for William H. Rehnquist, the sixteenth chief justice of the United States. He died on Saturday, September 3. Rehnquist began his college education at Kenyon in 1942 but was drafted in March 1943. After the war, he earned a bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a juris doctor from Stanford Law School.
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