Work groups focus on campaign planning

As Kenyon moves forward with planning for the College's next comprehensive fundraising effort, work groups of community members are focusing on five of the areas of need that are likely to be addressed in the campaign. The charges for the five groups were approved by Kenyon's board at the February 2005 meeting.

Each of the five work groups has at least two co-conveners, representing the senior administration and the faculty. The groups, their conveners, and brief descriptions of their charges are as follows:

Admission and Financial Aid: Jennifer Britz, dean of admissions and financial aid, and Sergei Lobanov-Rostovsky, associate professor of English. Make recommendations about aid from both endowed funds and annual operating resources; need-based and merit scholarships and their relative priorities; and alternative aid programs such as loans, research funds, and work-study opportunities.
Art Facilities Task Force (the only one of the five groups that existed previously): Claudia Esslinger, professor of art, Melissa Dabakis, professor of art history, and Gregory Spaid, provost and professor of art. Make recommendations about the mission and scope of a new visual-arts facility; construction costs for the potential building or buildings; and the budget for the facility's continuing operations.
Curricular and Faculty Development: Sarah Murnen, associate provost and professor of psychology, and Peter Rutkoff, Robert A. Oden Jr. Professor of American Studies. Make recommendations about endowed support through professorships, research funds, and faculty-development programs; new academic initiatives; and enhancements to the existing curriculum.
Residential and Student Life: Christopher Gillen, associate professor of biology, and Donald Omahan, dean of students. Make recommendations about student residential and dining facilities; resources for career-development programs and student activities linking academic and residential life; improvement of student access to technology; and student support services including academic advising, health and counseling, and learning centers.
Student Citizenship and International Programming: Ric Sheffield, associate provost and associate professor of sociology and legal studies, and Wendy Singer, National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Teaching Professor of History. Make recommendations about international studies and off-campus studies; priorities for recruitment and support of international faculty members and students; and initiatives such as Food for Thought and revitalization of the Public Affairs Conference Center.

Coordinating the tasks of the five work groups is Howard Sacks, senior advisor to the president and professor of sociology, who will attend all scheduled meetings. Also attending will be Tom Stamp, associate vice president for communications, who will record the meetings and draft reports. Vice President for College Relations Sarah Kahrl will be involved with all five groups, and Vice President for Finance Joseph Nelson, Associate Vice President for Finance Teri Blanchard, and Vice President for Library and Information Resources Daniel Temple will be available to the groups for consulting purposes.

The membership of the work groups comprises administrators, faculty members from a broad range of departments and, in some cases, student representatives. Where appropriate, efforts were made to recruit into the groups faculty members representing each of the four academic divisions as well as interdisciplinary studies. In total, twenty-five faculty members are serving in the groups, along with twenty-one administrators, five students, two trustees, and an alumnus serving as a consultant.

Initial reports on the priorities being considered by the work groups will be presented to the trustees at their April 2005 meeting. The groups will present final recommendations for their areas by the end of June 2005, after which they will be reviewed by the board's Campaign Executive Committee. The Kenyon Review and the Philander Chase Corporation have also been invited to submit recommendations for campaign goals within their areas.

The Board of Trustees is expected to give its final approval to the list of priorities and set a dollar goal for the campaign at its October 2005 meeting. That overall goal will also include targets for unrestricted funds raised through the Kenyon Fund and the Kenyon Parents Fund during the course of the campaign. Public announcement of the campaign is currently slated for May 2007, following a "quiet phase" during which some of the most crucial gifts will be solicited.