GAMBIER – Kenyon College announced today that it has received the largest gift in its nearly 200-year history, $75 million from an anonymous donor. This transformational gift will support the development of a new library and academic quad on Kenyon’s historic campus. The interdisciplinary hub in the core of campus will bring together 21st century teaching and learning with 21st century library, information and student services.
“This is an incredible show of confidence in Kenyon’s vision for the liberal arts and sciences, and its track record for educating students at the highest levels,” President Sean Decatur said. “This gift advances several priorities of the Kenyon 2020 strategic plan, including our focus on an integrated, comprehensive experience that equips students to thrive at Kenyon and in their lives after.”
The $75 million gift is the largest-ever single gift to any private liberal arts college in Ohio. Previously, Kenyon’s largest single gift was $25 million, received in 2002, also from an anonymous donor. Other significant recent gifts include a $12 million bequest, designated in 2016 by the estate of 1953 graduate Robert P. Hubbard to support scholarships.
The new quad, called the West Quad for its location on the west side of campus, will consist of three new buildings: the library and academic commons to replace Olin and Chalmers libraries; a new interdisciplinary academic building for the social sciences; and a new home for admissions and other key student services. Underground parking in the new quad will improve accessibility as well as reclaim green space. Ascension Hall, one of the College’s most beloved and historic buildings, will be renovated to ensure that all students and faculty are able to access it. The gift also enables the College to proceed with an expansion of facilities for the English department.
“Investing in our historic campus and our community is one of the ways we remain competitive, enabling us to attract and retain a talented and diverse student body — a Kenyon 2020 priority,” said Kenyon College Board of Trustees Chairman Brackett B. Denniston III, a 1969 graduate of Kenyon. “This gift also better enables us to address another Kenyon 2020 priority: financial aid, the endowment and affordability.”
Equipped with state-of-the-art technology, the new library will be a hub for undergraduate research and a laboratory for pedagogical innovation. Intentionally interdisciplinary, the new academic building will offer flexible spaces to support high-impact experiences in the humanities and social sciences — student-designed research, capstone projects and other collaborative work.
Rendering of new library at Kenyon – submitted graphic
“Teaching and learning are evolving, and Kenyon needs facilities that are a match for the kinds of flexible, high- and low-tech approaches that faculty and students expect to use seamlessly,” Decatur said. “Classrooms that allow students and faculty to work in various configurations, to use multiple pieces of technology simultaneously, to collaborate with people around a table or via videoconference — these are the kinds of high-impact practices that serve students in the classroom, and in their careers.”
In addition, the West Quad will provide a new home for the career development office, furthering the College’s efforts to build a continuum between work in the classroom and in the world.
“Now more than ever, it is critical that we make visible the ways in which Kenyon equips students of all backgrounds for post-graduate success. Centering the admissions and career development offices in the academic core of campus puts the values, and the value, of a Kenyon education front and center,” Decatur said.
Rendering of West Kenyon quad – submitted graphic
This gift will enable the College to make major strides toward a more accessible Kenyon campus, and replacing Olin and Chalmers libraries represents one of the largest available opportunities to reduce Kenyon’s carbon footprint. The new library is designed with the LEED Gold certification in mind and will be significantly greener and more energy efficient than the current buildings.
“This is an extraordinary gift,” said Vice President for College Relations Heidi Hansen McCrory. “Philanthropy is an expression of a donor’s passion for the mission of an institution and an optimism about the future. This gift is a powerful statement of belief in Kenyon’s mission and bright future.”
The first phase of work, expanding the English facilities, will begin in the fall of 2017. Construction of the library will begin in June 2018 and is expected to be complete in summer 2020. The West Quad project is expected to be complete in summer 2021.
