New staff members help to change the face of development at Kenyon

Vice President for College Relations Sarah Kahrl has announced the appointment of four new staff members who will help lead development programs at Kenyon. "As we prepare for the upcoming campaign, the College will be well served by these very accomplished professionals," she says. "Each of these people brings extensive development expertise to the division."

Following a national search, Thomas W. Anderson Jr. has been named director of development at Kenyon. He plans to take up the position, which has been vacant since Kahrl's promotion to vice president in June 2004, before the end of the year.

Anderson comes to the College from the Department of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University, where he has been senior associate director of development for the past four years, during a $1-billion campaign. Before joining Johns Hopkins in 2000, he served as director of annual giving and special capital projects in the Office of Development at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, beginning in 1997. Anderson also spent two years in the Office of Development at Knox College, where he coordinated the annual fund.

A native of Ohio, Anderson earned his bachelor's degree in English and psychology, cum laude, from Case Western Reserve in 1991. He went on to earn a master's degree in administration, with a concentration in nonprofit management, at the Mandel School of Applied Social Sciences there in 1993. Anderson and his wife, Karina Anderson, are the parents of an infant son, Thomas Winlow Anderson III, whom they call Tommy.

"I'm thrilled to be a part of the Kenyon community and to have the opportunity to connect with the College's alumni, parents, and friends," says Tom Anderson. "It's a privilege for me to play a role in helping Kenyon reach its goals. The opportunity to work with President Nugent and Sarah Kahrl, along with the entire development staff, is an important part of what drew me to the College. I've been acquainted with Kenyon for many years, and I'm excited about joining such an outstanding institution."

Mary Kay Karzas returned to Kenyon this summer after a twenty-three-year hiatus to become the College's director of annual giving. Following an early career at Kenyon, where she held positions in both the alumni and development offices, she spent three years in advancement at Virginia's Chatham Hall, her high-school alma mater, and twenty at Indiana's Culver Academies, where she was director of development and assistant secretary to the board and a leader of a $200-million campaign. A 1975 alumna of Kenyon, from which she graduated with a degree in classics, Karzas is a native of Illinois. She is married to Warren Reiss, who serves as the Culver Academies physician and maintains a private practice as well.

"I'm grateful for this wonderful opportunity to be back at the College," says Karzas. "I'm particularly pleased to be able to have a hand in continuing the growth of the Kenyon Fund, through the establishment of multi-year reunion-giving programs and other initiatives. I also want to be involved in engaging the College's next generation of major donors, especially those in classes from the seventies forward.

"I wanted to come back to Kenyon because it's such a dynamic place, with exciting leadership and an upbeat, positive, atmosphere arising from the sense that we're moving steadily forward," she adds. "We have a supportive environment here, although it's one with high expectations and a number of challenges. With a new campaign taking shape, the timing seemed perfect for making this move."

Sindy L. Craig, director of planned giving, has assumed many of the responsibilities of the recently retired Russell P. Geiger. She previously served as director of planned giving at the University of Vermont, where she directed planned-giving efforts for the university's $250-million campaign, and as associate director of planned giving at Middlebury College. An Ohio native, Craig is a graduate of Bowling Green State University with a law degree from the University of Oklahoma and a master's degree in law, with a specialty in taxation, from the University of Washington.

"I see my role as being a person who helps other people comprehend the multiplicity of ways in which they can support the College," says Craig. "That can range from simple estate planning to the more complicated charitable- giving vehicles. I really enjoy sitting down with Kenyon donors to discuss the best strategies for accomplishing their philanthropic objectives. I want to help them develop a comprehensive way of looking at giving throughout a lifetime."

Pamela G. Hollie has joined the staff as director of capital projects. In a long and varied career, she has held the positions of Kiplinger Professor of Journalism at Ohio State University, deputy director of the Asia-Pacific Region for the Nature Conservancy, representative to the Philippines and the Pacific Island nations for the Asia Foundation, director of the Kraft General Foods corporate foundation, and financial columnist for the New York Times, among others. A native of Kansas and graduate of Washburn University there, Hollie earned a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University. She is married to P.F. Kluge '64, writer-in-residence at Kenyon.

"I see myself as connecting with alumni and others who are interested in liberal-arts education because I believe it's the best foundation for any kind of career," says Hollie of her new job. "This is an exciting time to be here at the College, with Kenyon paying attention to its core needs and basic strengths.

"The College nurtures people, and makes them into a family," she adds. "We need to make sure that this sense of engagement continues after they leave Gambier, which is something we can do by visiting people and talking about the Kenyon of today. This is way more fun than being a journalist."