Kenyon in the News 2007

December 2007

An Associated Press story on young voters, part of a wire-service package on the 2008 presidential election, focused on the civic zeal of Kenyon students who waited for hours to vote in the 2004 election in Gambier. The story quotes several students and was published in this country and in Europe. Central to the story was Matthew Segal '08, of Glencoe, Illinois, who was inspired by his experience in 2004 to found the Washington, D.C.-based Student Association for Voter Empowerment, a nonprofit and nonpartisan organization with 23 college chapters. Also quoted, among others: Sarah Cohen '08, of Pelham, New York, president of the Kenyon College Democrats; Evan McLaren '08, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, president of the College Libertarian Party chapter; and Colin Maguire '08, of East Lansing, Michigan, president of the Kenyon College Republicans. "We're all on the same side, and we should all have the same goal of making this country a better place," Maguire said. The story was written by reporter Andrew Welsh-Huggins '83. Among newspapers that published the story on December 29 and 30 were the Chronicle-Telegram of Elyria, Ohio; the Coshocton Tribune of Coshocton, Ohio; the Crescent-News of Defiance, Ohio; the Guardian of Manchester, England; the International Herald-Tribune of Paris, France; the Mansfield News-Journal of Mansfield, Ohio; the News-Leader of Springfield, Missouri; the Santa Barbara News-Press of Santa Barbara, California; and the Seattle Times of Seattle, Washington. Among television stations that reported the story were Bay News 9 of Tampa, Florida; KFSN-TV of Fresno, California; and WSVN-TV of Miami/Fort Lauderdale, Florida. The story was also posted online at calibre.mworld.com; rss.crossmap.com; www.examiner.com ; and www.yahoo.com .

A story examining the best way to learn Chinese was posted on December 25 at greatreporter.com and includes comments from Jianhua Bai, professor of Chinese. Scholars differ over which writing system to use, choosing between traditional or simplified characters. Bai uses hybrid textbooks, printed in both styles. Students can choose which half of the book to use after they master the basics, the story said.

A flashback column in the December 23 edition of the Observer-Dispatch of Utica, New York, reached back fifty years to report that Eugene Nassar '57 was honored as a Rhodes Scholar after graduation from Kenyon. Nassar is a professor emeritus of English at Utica College.

Time, on December 20, reported the serendipitous development of a skin-care products company founded by Robert Lyles III '99 of Towson, Maryland, and others. Tandem Technologies was founded by Lyles in 1999 and seeks to improve disinfection of ballast water in cargo ships arriving in American waters. A researcher noticed a skin-softening effect after exposure to seawater treated during the company's electrochemical process. C'watre, a skin-care products company, was formed in 2004 and produces a line of skin-care products.

The Mansfield News-Journal, on December 15, reported that Mo Hunsen, an assistant professor of chemistry, won a $60,000 Henry Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award, based on Hunsen's commitment to teaching, original research with undergraduates, and the promise of continued success.

An interview with author and journalist Anna Quindlen published December 12 in the Santa Barbara News-Press mentioned that her daughter Maria Krovatin '10, attends Kenyon.

The $10 million gift to Kenyon from Paul Newman '49 and the Newman's Own Foundation was featured as part of a 2007 celebrity retrospective on the cable channel VH1. The hour-long show, The Fabulous Life, included two video clips of the Kenyon campus and praise for Newman's philanthropy. The show ran multiple times from December 10 through December 28.

A story on volunteer student firefighters at Ohio colleges was published December 10 in the Columbus Dispatch of Columbus, Ohio, including a reference to Kenyon students who usually hold down about 10 spots in the 40 person College Township Fire Department. Robert Hooper, director of campus safety and township fire chief, told the newspaper that some student volunteers go on to careers in firefighting. The story was circulated by the Associated Press and was published in the Salem News of Salem, Ohio, and the Canton Repository of Canton, Ohio, and reported on WCHS-TV in Charleston, West Virginia; WHIO-Radio in Dayton, Ohio; and WTOL-TV in Toledo, Ohio.

The debut of the Kindle, an electronic book reader, generated a story on December 10 in the News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware, which quoted David Lynn '76, professor of English and editor of the Kenyon Review. Lynn said a small market for high-end books will be sustained, much as some music listeners still prefer vinyl records. "For some people, the 'thingyness' of the book will always be the important thing," Lynn said. "The Kindle is one step closer to a reader's version of the iPod. If Apple makes one that has a cooler design, they'll sell a gazillion of them." Lynn predicted that bookstores will change or die out.

International sports executive William Wilson '89 takes on the role of executive vice president of international business & special events for Major League Soccer and Soccer United Marketing in January, according to December 10 reports posted at paddocktalk.com and www.oursportscentral.com . A native of London, England, Wilson graduated with a degree in English literature and went on to become the managing director of NFL Mexico and general manager of the NFL Europe League Scottish Claymores.

The rising popularity of squash, and the elite sport's possible influence on college admissions in the Ivy League, was the subject of a December 9 story in the New York Times. "And even as squash spreads, it is often embraced by other academically selective universities, including North Carolina, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Notre Dame and even small Kenyon College in Ohio," the story reported. Kenyon has a squash club.

A December 7 column offering advice to high school seniors who have been placed on college-admission "wait lists" quoted Jennifer Delahunty, dean of admissions and Financial Aid, in the Contra Costa Times of Walnut Creek, California. "It's the only means we have of controlling the influx of students," Delahunty said. "Because housing is tight, we cannot afford to over-enroll. Wait lists are a kind of spigot for turning on and off the flow."

An electronic-devices recycling program started by Nick Morgan 11, of Washington, D.C., was the subject of a story in the Washington Post on December 6. Morgan used his house as a drop-off point for ink cartridges, cell phones, laptops, and monitors. The program expanded into partnership with a private recycling company. The first-year student has scaled back his program while at Kenyon, the newspaper reported.

Kenyon was one of three liberal arts colleges, with Bowdoin and Davidson, to achieve exemplary status in five categories measuring the satisfaction of junior faculty members in a survey conducted by the Harvard University-based Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education. Results were published online December 5 at www.insidehighered.com and by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The College was found to be exemplary in tenure practices overall, clarity of tenure process, overall effectiveness of policies, compensation, and climate and collegiality.

The Kenyon background of architect Graham Gund '63 was mentioned in a December 5 story published in the Nantucket Independent in Nantucket, Massachusetts. Gund was selected to draw plans for the revival of an historic Nantucket movie theater. Gund is president of the Gund Partnership based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and he owns a Nantucket home, the story reported. Gund designed the Kenyon Athletic Center, the College's new science buildings, Storer Hall, and the Eaton Center.

"The Synergy Project" exhibition by Claudia Esslinger, professor of studio art, at the Olin Art Gallery was mentioned in the Columbus Dispatch on December 6. The viewer-interactive exhibition was described as intriguing.

A story in the Jewish Exponent of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on November 29 explored the home-schooling trend and included Eric and Lora Newman of West Chester, Pennsylvania. Mr. Newman '96 and Mrs. Newman '97 graduated with degrees in mathematics, and Mrs. Newman, a former high school teacher, handles most of the instruction of their 6-year-old daughter, Hannah. The Newmans felt Hannah was gifted and should be intellectually nurtured at home. "She's probably about three standard deviations above average," Mrs. Newman said of her daughter. The couple also plans to teach their son, Ben, 4, and daughter Sela, 2, at home, Mrs. Newman said.

The Chicago Tribune of Chicago, Illinois, on November 27, included Pierce ScrantonJr. '68 of Sammamish, Washington, and his novel, Death on the Learning Curve, in a story about physicians who become authors. Scranton's novel "reads like a fast-paced television drama," the story reported. The author said he finished the book only after being pushed by P.F. Kluge '64, Kenyon writer in residence. Kluge told Scranton, "Keep going. It does not suck."

Scott Kenemore '00 of Chicago, the author of The Zen of Zombie, posted a blog on November 27 at www.huffingtonpost.com . The blog included this zombie tip: "A brain in the hand is worth two behind the hastily improvised barricades. Count your blessings, man. When something good comes your way, go ahead and enjoy it."

Writer William Gass '47 of St. Louis, Missouri, was featured in a story November 26 in the West End Word of St. Louis. The Washington University professor emeritus in humanities won the $30,000 Truman Capote Award for Literary Criticism in 2007. The critic, novelist, and short-story writer told the newspaper that he is more popular in Europe, where "they take their literature seriously and intellectuals matter," but that he prefers his relative anonymity in the United States. The strong writing tradition at Kenyon attracted Gass to the College, he said.

The success of swimmer Lauren Goettsch '08, of Austin, Minnesota, was featured in a November 26 column in the Post-Bulletin of Rochester, Minnesota. Kenyon was described as "a perennial Division III swimming powerhouse."

Matthew Segal and his Student Association for Voter Empowerment were the subjects of a story November 26 in the Columbus Dispatch. "We're doing what a lot of other groups aren't doing, which is to promote a culture of an educated voter," Segal said. "We won't endorse candidates. We're asking people to endorse the process of voting itself."

A preview of the Gambier Craft Sale, in a story published November 26 in Columbus Alive of Columbus, Ohio, drew a picture of the village and the campus. "If Fox were to bring us a new teen drama about young adults embarking on their college years, it would be easy to imagine Gambier playing the role of the deceptively peaceful, slightly too picturesque college town," according to the story. "Here, deep in the hills of Knox County, lies the sleepy campus of Kenyon College, home to Victorian halls and gravel paths surrounded by enormous trees."

A season-preview story about the Schreiner University basketball Mountaineers in the November 23 edition of the Daily Times of Kerrville, Texas, was focused on new head coach Drew Miller '95, "who played D-III basketball at Kenyon College." Miller said, "This program is about boys becoming men."

The 1900 Thanksgiving Day football battle between Kenyon and Ohio State University was celebrated in a November 22 sports column in the Columbus Dispatch about holiday football. The annual holiday game between the schools dated to 1892 and was "the sports highlight of the year in Columbus." Horse-drawn carriages and well-dressed spectators attended the game, which attracted about 2,000 fans to Ohio Field on the north side of Columbus. Ohio State prevailed, 23-5.

A story about ghosts at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, posted November 20 on www.associatedcontent.com , gives an ethereal nod to Kenyon. The story notes that Miami "may not have enough ghosts to compare with other Ohio schools such as Kenyon College."

A column in the November 19 edition of the Times-Picayune of New Orleans, Louisiana, praised the post-Katrina volunteer work of people "who came and never left," including George Willams '06, described as a "Kenyon College graduate and Teach for America recruit who has been coping with displaced hurricane victims in Jackson, LA., and learning more, perhaps, than he teaches-- to first graders."

Jennifer Delahunty was quoted on November 17 in the Washington Post of Washington, D.C. in a story about how student fashion shapes the image of a college. "Fashion's a clue to political leaning and culture," she said. "It clues kids into what they can't figure out from all the publications and websites: These kids are like me, or not."

A November 15 story on biz.yahoo.com covered the publication of a psychology textbook written by Laura King '86. The book, The Science of Psychology: An Appreciative View, emphasizes what sustains a healthy psyche, rather than dwelling on the abnormal. Health and wellness are unifying themes. A personality psychologist, King is a professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri in Columbia.

A lengthy interview and profile of novelist E.L. Doctorow '52 was published in the October 28 edition of the Chicago Tribune, pegged to Doctorow receiving the 2007 Chicago Tribune Literary Prize for lifetime achievement. His decision to attend Kenyon, inspired by his love of the poetry of John Crowe Ransom, was described as one that changed the course of his life. His gratitude to the College, the story said, is profound. "Getting on a train at Penn Station and going to Ohio at the age of 16 -- it was a great thing in my life," Doctorow said. The story described Kenyon as the place where the New Criticism influenced the writer's "studied reluctance to discuss his personal life in any great detail, believing it ultimately detracts from a consideration of his work. That attitude lived in the air at Kenyon." A bond with the late poet James Wright '51 is also discussed in the story. Doctorow said he and Wright shared a love of words, music, and "horsing around." He added, "We'd be walking across campus, and we'd see a pile of leaves, and we'd kick at them and say, 'The leaves are falling! The leaves are falling!' It was our way of making fun of the bad poets on campus."

Ken Smail, professor emeritus of anthropology, co-wrote a column published April 22 in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on the end of the fossil-fuel era. Smail, a Pittsburgh native, wrote the column with Dan Bednarz, a consultant and organizer of the national Consortium on Energy, Climate and Healthcare. "Reducing our reliance on fossil fuels is a fundamental challenge facing Pittsburgh and the world," according to the column. The column authors noted that Portland, Oregon, has made energy preparedness a priority and suggested that other cities follow that example. "None of the other issues we face can be addressed without an adequate, stable source of energy."

November 2007

Kirk Emmert's adept juggling of the roles of mayor of Gambier and professor of political science put him in the spotlight of a features column in the November 13 edition of the Columbus Dispatch in Columbus, Ohio. A former White House assistant and an expert on Winston Churchill, Emmert brought a wry tone to the column. "I'm a small fish in a little pond," he noted. Emmert ran unopposed in the November election. His work in restoring a gas station to the village drew compliments in the column from Howard Sacks, senior advisor to President S. Georgia Nugent and a professor of sociology.

Glenn McNair, associate professor of history, was quoted in a November 10 Columbus Dispatch story about ethnically insensitive and racial incidents on college campuses. "A lack of real, intimate communications about race" on campuses is an issue larger than a series of scattered incidents, McNair said. "Real, intricate connections between people" are needed to ease racial misunderstandings, he said.

David Lynn, editor of the Kenyon Review, was quoted in a story about the Kenyon Review Literary Festival and the journal's Literary Achievement Award in the November 9 edition of the Columbus Dispatch. The story reported that author Margaret Atwood received the sixth annual award on November 8 in New York City. "The Kenyon Review trustees continue to honor writers who, over a period of decades, have produced bodies of work that are both of the highest merit and represent voices that are brave and resist commercial devaluation," Lynn said. "Margaret Atwood sends that message loud and clear." Atwood's speech in Gambier was covered in the November 12 edition of the Mount Vernon News in Mount Vernon, Ohio. Abigail Serfass, associate programs director for the Kenyon Review, discussed the literary festival for about twenty minutes during a program on WMVO-AM, a Mount Vernon radio station, on October 23.

Janet McAdams, the Robert P. Hubbard Professor in Poetry and associate professor of English, was mentioned in the Poughkeepsie Journal of Poughkeepsie, New York, in a November 8 story about a program in which she participated called "Earthworks: A Night of Native American Poetry" at Vassar College.

Actor Frank Dicopoulos '79, who plays Frank Cooper on the television soap "Guiding Light," was featured in a story in the November 4 edition of the Daily Press in Ontario, California. Dicopoulos was described as "always good-natured, polite, fun and so considerate." He has appeared on television in "Dynasty," "Hotel," and "Falcon Crest." Tracing his career, Dicopoulos said he took a drama course at Kenyon to "keep his grades up" for a run at medical school. The psychology major and varsity track athlete said the drama experience instead led to modeling and television commercial work. A move to California in 1984 accelerated his acting career.

Sacks, an expert on the American minstrel show, was quoted in the November 4 edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune of San Diego, California, in a story about offensive blackface costumes worn by students at the University of Illinois, Colorado College, and Syracuse University. Sacks said blackface entertainment thrived generations ago but its images remain hurtful. "This is a legacy of association to when blackface was a theatrical form of racism," he said. The story was also published in the Daily Herald of Provo, Utah.

In a November 1 story in the online Inside Higher Ed about environmental sustainability on college campuses, Sacks, director of the Rural Life Center,commented on Kenyon's Food for Thought program that is building a sustainable market for locally produced foods. The story reported that Kenyon buys local food products and gives students academic credit for field work, studying urban sprawl, and generating ideas for farmers to expand their businesses. "We live in a rural community to which we didn't engage for years," Sacks said. "This has broken down the barrier significantly."

October 2007

Kegan Borland, Class of 2010, and his parents, Hillary and Ron Borland, were mentioned in a story in the October 30 edition of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, about the parents of athletes coping with sports withdrawal when their offspring leave for college. Kegan competes in swimming for Kenyon. Mrs. Borland lamented the loss of contact with the families she met while following Kegan's high school swimming career. "You just go on," she told the newspaper. "It's another metamorphosis in the life of an adult."

Bishop Philander Chase was mentioned in an October 27 story in the Youngstown Vindicator in Youngstown, Ohio, about the bicentennial of St. James Episcopal Church in Boardman, Ohio. Chase, identified as the founder of Kenyon College, consecrated the first St. James building.

An October 25 story on flaws in the college-admissions process published online at www.itbusinessnet.com quoted Jennifer Delahunty, dean of admissions and financial aid. The story said a study by the Education Conservancy found confusion and disenchantment among high school students as they apply for college. The Education Conservancy urges colleges to reject participation in rankings compiled by U.S. News &World Report. "They've confirmed what all of us on the front lines knew in our guts," Delahunty said.

William Frame, a former member of the political science faculty, was interviewed for an October 29 story in the (Tacoma, Washington) News Tribune about Frame's role as interim head of the Pacific Lutheran University School of Business and the leader of the search to find a new dean for the school. The Kenyon connection was mentioned in the story about Frame, who retired last year as president of Augsberg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Leslie Parsons, Class of 2009, of Wellington, Ohio, was quoted in an October 27 front-page story in the Columbus Dispatch of Columbus, Ohio, about evolving television habits, particularly among college students. The story examined how computers are being used to watch television programs. Parsons explained how she uses a converter to connect her computer and television, watching shows available on Web sites. Parsons, who does not have cable access, can trim commercial breaks from the shows. "My time -- it's that valuable," she said. "I can say, 'OK, I have forty minutes until my next class. If I skip the opening credits, I can watch it.'"

A story on a new Fulbright Program grant to bring international students to the United States, published in the October 26 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education, included Kenyon on its list of top producers of 2007-08 Fulbright awards for bachelor's institutions. Kenyon landed eight Fulbright awards, placing sixth on the list.

The early cartoon work of Bill Watterson '80, creator of the legendary comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes," was published on the German Web site www.nerdcore.de on October 25. The Watterson cartoons include commentaries on college life and originally appeared in Kenyon publications.

A Torah that survived the Holocaust, was restored, and was then donated to the College by Michael and Deborah Salzberg of Bethesda, Maryland, attracted news-media attention during the week of October 22. Deborah Salzberg is a Kenyon trustee, and the couple's daughter, Anna, is a member of the Class of 2009. The (Cleveland, Ohio) Plain Dealer published a front-page story, with a photo, about the Torah in its October 24 edition. Marc Bragin, Kenyon Hillel director and Jewish chaplain, told the newspaper, "It's an amazing contribution." Bragin noted that about 13 percent of Kenyon students are Jewish. The Columbus Dispatch, published a story about the Torah in its October 25 edition. Bragin told the Dispatch, "Even to receive a Torah at all is a wonderful opportunity, for not just the Jewish community but the entire campus. But one rescued from the Holocaust teaches generation-to-generation survival, which adds to the meaning." On October 26, The Dispatch published a photo of Jesse Sarlin, Class of 2010, of Montclair, New Jersey, and Rabbi Menachem Youlus of the Save a Torah organization that rescues and restores lost Torahs. Youlus finished the delicate work of restoring letters on the Torah with the help of visitors and students in the Judaic Tradition class of Miriam Dean-Otting, professor of religious studies. The Mount Vernon News of Mount Vernon, Ohio, published front-page stories about the Torah on October 26 and 27, including an account of the dedication ceremony. The Mount Vernon newspaper also provided a video retelling of the events on its Web site ( www.mountvernonnews.com ).

Writer William Gass '47 of St. Louis, Missouri, was the subject of a feature story in the October 21 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The story was pegged to Gass receiving the St. Louis Literary Award. He was described as an "ironman of the literary world" and the "most esteemed writer living in St. Louis." Gass is an essayist, novelist, and short-story writer. The longtime English professor at Washington University is perhaps best known for his 1995, 652-page novel The Tunnel. On writing, Gass said, "I know an awful lot about one thing, and that's the sentence. I've studied it all my life."

The Buffalo News of Buffalo, New York, on October 17 published an interview with John Green '00, who has written two novels in the young-adult genre, including Looking for Alaska, which has been acquired by Paramount Pictures as a film subject. The story reported that Green studied English literature and religion at Kenyon. Green described epic road trips to the Grand Canyon and to Alaska that he took while a Kenyon student.

A story about the naming of Frances de Lavis, Class of 2010, as Wilton (Connecticut) Sports Person of the Year was published in the October 12 edition of the Wilton Villager. "Her immediate impact on the women's college lacrosse scene was filled with records, awards and eye-opening performances," the newspaper reported. De Lavis played lacrosse at Kenyon after surgery to correct a heart condition.

A column on overpopulation and global sustainability in the October 17 edition of the Post-Bulletin in Rochester, Minnesota, leans heavily on the comments of Kenneth Smail, professor emeritus of anthropology. Smail had written an article on the topic for the August issue of Balanced View, a publication of the nonprofit organization World Population Balance. "Population reduction is the primary issue facing humanity: All other matters are subordinate," Smail said. Couples should have no more than two children for several generations in order to save the world from disaster, he said.

The "Tuesday Morning Quarterback" column posted October 16 on www.espn.com reported that girls continue to outperform boys on SAT and ACT test scores, with one result being a 57-percent tilt in favor of female enrollment in the nation's colleges. The column mentions Jennifer Delahunty, dean of admissions, and her observation that highly selective colleges place a tougher standard on girls for admission in order to strike a better gender balance on campuses.

A story about college-based advisors to presidential campaigns in the October 12 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education quoted William Melick, associate professor of economics and a campaign advisor on international-trade policy to Republican Senator John McCain. Melick said the opportunity to shape public policy is a strong lure. "It's a way for an academic to not only see how the sausage gets made, but to try to influence how the sausage gets made," Melick said. "And that's pretty valuable both for your own education and for the public good."

A story in the October 11 edition of the Omaha World-Herald in Omaha, Nebraska, previewed the stage premiere of Miss Bindergarten, which was adapted from three children's books by Joseph Slate, professor emeritus of art. The story noted that Slate began writing children's books in 1996, as he neared retirement from Kenyon. An art student suggested Slate write for children. "Knowing what ones talent fits into is hard to find," Slate said. "It's almost luck or accident, but you have to search for it. I found that children's books were my niche."

PRNewswire circulated a story on October 10 announcing the addition of Gordon Pennoyer '03 to the senior staff of the Republican National Convention. Pennoyer was named deputy director of media operations. The convention is in St. Paul, Minnesota, on September 1-4, 2008.

The second annual "Guide to the Jewish U," published October 9 by the Jewish Ledger of West Hartford, Connecticut, included Kenyon on its list of colleges marked by a Jewish student enrollment of at least 10 percent.

In an October 9 Columbus Dispatch review of The Pillowman, director Daniel Kramer, assistant professor of drama, earned praise for guiding the eight-person cast "through the tricky shifts in style and mood" demanded by the comedy/mystery/drama. The production at the Contemporary American Theatre in Columbus, Ohio, was described as thrilling.

A column in the October 6 edition of the Baltimore Sun of Baltimore, Maryland, features April Yvonne Garrett '92, who is the founder and president of Civic Frame, a Baltimore nonprofit organization with a goal of encouraging critical thinking and civic dialogue to address social issues. Garrett had moderated a community discussion about immigration in Baltimore. The column noted that Garrett a religion major, studied Islamic civilization at from Kenyon and has worked at Columbia University and Harvard University. She enjoyed vibrant discussions about social issues in academic settings and hopes to extend that same dialogue to the public.

The 2007 Ohioana Library Association award for editorial excellence, earned by the Kenyon Review and editor David Lynn '76, was mentioned in the October 2 edition of the Columbus Dispatch in Columbus, Ohio. The award is based on editorial achievement by an Ohio-based magazine or journal that relates to literature, the arts, the humanities, or other cultural endeavors.

Anthony Olbrich '70 of Boise, Idaho, is on a speculative list of replacements for U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, who has said he will resign from his Senate seat in the wake of a guilty plea to a charge of disorderly conduct related to lewd behavior in a Minneapolis rest room. The Idaho Business Review, on October 1, included Olbrich on its list of contenders who may be considered for appointment by Gov. C.L. Otter. Olbrich, regional president of US Bank, was described as a "banking guru" with a strong understanding of the nation's financial situation and a degree in political science from Kenyon.

September 2007

The New York Times, in its September 30 edition, carried two references to Kenyon. Lloyd Thacker, founder of the Education Conservancy, in an interview in the Times Magazine included Kenyon on a short list of "good schools." The Times book-review section included a column by author Stephen King, who wrote about the precarious state of the American short story. King described his quest for good short stories in a book store, where he managed to find "fresh treasure" in a handful of literary journals, including the Kenyon Review.

Writer-in-residence P.F. Kluge proved the world is his beat by writing the cover story for the September issue of National Geographic Traveler on Pacific Ocean island retreats as well as a story in the same magazine about a return-to-roots tour of breweries in Bavaria, Germany, and in Austria.

As the director of the Contemporary American Theater Company production of the play The Pillowman in Columbus, Ohio, Daniel Kramer, assistant professor of drama, was quoted in a theater preview in the Columbus Dispatch on September 30. "If you want to be exclusively comforted, this play isn't the one," Kramer said. "But if you're interested in what theater can do, you should see The Pillowman. It's incredibly disturbing and incredibly funny, and sometimes what's so disturbing is just how funny it is."

Brendan Keefe '90 was hired as an anchor at WCPO, a Cincinnati television station, according to the September 30 edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer in Cincinnati, Ohio. Keefe, who has dual citizenship in the United States and Ireland, earned a degree in English at Kenyon, the newspaper reported, and survived three combat-reporting tours in Iraq for WCBS in New York City.

In a column in the September 29 edition of the Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Louisiana, Renee Peck '75 wrote about the efforts of Colette Pichon Battle '97 to restore the city to life. Pichon Battle, a lawyer, created Moving Gulf Coast Forward, a nonprofit agency that has raised money for the homeless, gathered volunteer law students to counsel the poor, and collected food and household goods for hurricane victims. Kenyon provided a "great education" and proved a "warm and welcoming community" for Pichon Battle, a Creole native of Louisiana, Peck wrote.

The death of French mime Marcel Marceau brought a couple of references to the College in reflections on the artist, in the September 28 edition of the Toledo Blade in Toledo, Ohio, and in the September 30 edition of the Columbus Dispatch. Marceau visited the campus several times as a guest instructor at the Goldston School of Mime when the mime school leased College facilities during summers in the 1980s.

S. Georgia Nugent, Kenyon president, was quoted in a September 26 story in Inside Higher Ed about online databases and the need for colleges to share consumer-friendly information with the public. "We feel that is so important to move from a passive model of consumption, of buying a product off the shelf, as it were," Nugent said. "We can and we should emphasize that education is not a product that you buy, it's an activity that we engage in." Inside Higher Ed is an online journal of higher education.

Dean of Students Tammy Gocial was quoted in the September 18 edition of the Plain Dealer in Cleveland, Ohio, in a story about cheating on college campuses. The story was pegged to an online survey of students that revealed 61 percent of them cheat, with 25 percent admitting to plagiarism. Gocial told the newspaper that Kenyon faculty members monitor academic honesty. "Faculty members are quite able to detect when 'voice' changes in a student's paper or when a whole paper seems more graduate-level worthy than first-year college student," she said.

A story in the September 20 edition of the New York Times explored how the parents of first-year students approach redecorating their newly vacant bedrooms. Alicia Dugas, assistant dean of students for housing and residential life, said that Kenyon parents are advised during an orientation seminar "to honor that space at least through Christmas break." Dugas knows the feeling. She recalled that her mother asked her to return the house keys the night before Dugas left for college. "I broke down in absolute sobs," she said

The Dow Jones Newswire on September 18 quoted William Melick, professor of economics, in a story about the interest rate futures markets days before the Federal Reserve made interest rate cuts. Melick told Dow Jones that rate futures markets are a good predictor of monetary policy and an important tool for Federal Reserve officials to see how clearly it communicates its policy.

The September 14 edition of the San Diego Union-Tribune included comments by John Elliott, professor of political science, in a Copley News Service analysis of the September 13 speech by President George W. Bush. Elliott, described as an expert on the presidency, said Army Gen. David Petraeus proved to be an asset to Bush while the general weathered questioning in the U.S. House and Senate. "There is more confidence in the military than in the president and his administration," Elliott said.

A wager between congressmen Zack Space '83 (D-Ohio) and Norm Dicks (D-Wash.) on the outcome of the football game between Ohio State University and the University of Washington attracted the attention of the Associated Press, which circulated its story around the country on September 13. The story mentioned that Space played football for Kenyon and graduated from the OSU College of Law. He won a pound of Starbucks coffee and Almond Roca candy after Ohio State defeated Washington on September 15 in Seattle. Space had bet Buckeye chocolate candy and Troyer's Trail Bologna. The story was carried on http://ourcivicpride.com, sportsillustrated.cnn.com, and www.cleveland.com and reported on television stations Fox 5 in Washington D.C.; Fox 9 in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minn.; NBC 4 in Columbus, Ohio; NBC 24 in Toledo, Ohio; and WANE in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Michael Levine, professor of psychology, was quoted in the Galveston County Daily News on September 12 in a story about public fascination with the weight and shape of Britney Spears after her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards show. Spears was being punished for not living up to cultural expectations, Levine said, and was targeted with the most pejorative use of the word fat. "If she looked like a young, taut, buxom pole dancer, she probably could have staggered away … and people would have said, 'At least she looked great.'"

The online magazine Slate, on September 10, mentioned Vernon Schubel, professor of religious studies, as a source for a column explaining the Muslim approach to facial hair. A videotape showing Osama Bin Laden with an apparently dyed beard raised the question about the propriety of Muslim men altering the color of their beards. The conclusion was that Muslims can dye beards, but many imams discourage the practice.

An interview with Ladies swimming team member Allison Johnson '08 of Tucson, Ariz., was published September 7 on www.swimmingworldmagazine.com. "As soon as I stepped on campus at Kenyon College, I felt like I was at home," she said. "Coach (James) Steen's commitment to his swimmers as individuals and his enthusiasm for the sport made a huge impression on me."

A photo of President S. Georgia Nugent graced the cover of the Sept. 7 Wall Street Journal Weekend Journal section and another photo was included inside the section as part of a feature on how the country's "movers and shakers" spent their summer vacations. Nugent said one of her summer goals was to take up tap dancing for a performance at the College's end-of-summer, senior-staff retreat. The photos show her with top hat and cane. The story noted that Nugent's three-minute performance to Cole Porter's "You're the Top" was followed by a standing ovation. The photos earned a credit line for Adam Gilson of Public Affairs.

Siobhan Fennessy, associate professor of biology, was quoted in the Sept. 4 edition of the Columbus Dispatch, in Columbus, Ohio, in a story about a central Ohio wetlands reclamation project. Fennessy, a wetlands expert, provided context on the difficulty of restoring or reclaiming wetlands.

The $710,000 National Endowment for the Humanities grant to Kenyon for the creation of the Center for the Study of American Democracy was reported in the Sept. 2 edition of the Columbus Dispatch.

August 2007

The 2008 Newsweek/Kaplan How to Get into College guide, published in August, included the Kenyon Athletic Center, with a photo, among recent construction projects around the country that "lure students."

Matthew Segal, class of 2008, and his efforts to encourage voting and civic engagement among young citizens was featured in the Aug. 14 edition of Inside Higher Ed. Segal discussed the development of the Student Association for Voter Empowerment, a nonprofit organization based in Washington with 19 chapters on college campuses. "This is a student organization leading on the ground from an insider's perspective," Segal said. "Unlike a teacher, a parent or some other adult, we're not condescending to students. We are students."

The renovation of Peirce Hall and improvements being made to better handle locally grown food were mentioned in the Aug. 13 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Actress Allison Janney '82 described her acting experience at Kenyon in a story in the Aug. 12 edition of the Boston Globe. Janney said her work on campus with Paul Newman '49 and Newman's wife, actress Joanne Woodward, has led to a lifelong relationship with the couple.

Ted Mason, professor of English, joined a National Public Radio broadcast August 2 to help launch a month-long literature series called "Inside the Black Literary Imagination" on the program News & Notes. Mason joined program host Audie Cornish and Jerry Ward Jr., professor of English and African American World Studies at Dillard University in New Orleans, Louisiana. In discussing antebellum African American writing, Mason said, "Literature becomes a way of not only achieving political ends but has another aim: 'I, as a writer, am just as much a human as anyone else.'"

The unparalleled success of the Kenyon men's and women's swimming and diving teams was the subject of an August 2 story on www.espn.com . The story was part of a series on "great college sports programs that don't receive the attention they deserve." Coach Jim Steen is quoted saying, "We've enjoyed the success we've had, we've enjoyed it at the moment, then we've really moved on. All a coach of any successful program attempts to do is be successful in that given moment, in that given season."

Michael Levine, professor of psychology, is quoted in the August 1 edition of the Baltimore Sun in a story about female body image and the media, pegged to the recent retouching of a photo of singer Faith Hill that appeared on the cover of Redbook magazine. "Do you know anyone who is female who wouldn't want to look like the real Faith Hill? And yet looking like Faith Hill isn't enough for the (beauty) business," Levine said.

July 2007

The July 27 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education reported a $2 million gift from Edwin H. Eaton Jr. '60 of Naples, Fla., and his family to endow the Kenneth Smail Endowed Professorship in Anthropology.

Joan Slonczewski, professor of biology and science-fiction novelist, was included in a July Nature magazine forum discussion on the influence of the biological sciences on the science-fiction genre. Slonczewski and three other writers with a background in the biological sciences were pictured as creatures from another dimension in a caricature that illustrated the story. "One of the things that fascinates me is how people react to ideas of aliens or of artificial intelligence, and it seems to me that the way we treat artificial intelligence has a lot in common with the way we treat immigrant labor and the lower classes, or slaves," she said.

The July 2 edition of the Times Record of Brunswick, Maine, in a college-advisor column, listed Kenyon among the best colleges for the study of dance.

A story on sustainable dining included a reference to the Kenyon Food for Thought initiative in the June issue of University Business. "We're trying to turn the dining room into a classroom," said Howard Sacks, director of the Rural Life Center. The story mentions that twenty-eight percent of the food used at Kenyon is purchased locally.

A July 30 story on the naming of economist Charles L. Evans as president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago written by the Dow Jones wire service included a comment on Evans from Will Melick, professor of economics. "He's produced good work, and you get a certain profile being head of research at a federal reserve bank," Melick said. Melick is a former research economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington.

Photos of the residence hall doors of Kendall Krawchuk, Class of 2010, and Ieshia West, Class of 2008, were included in a July 29 story in the New York Times magazine Education Life. Krawchuk's door includes whimsical pages from a Star Wars coloring book, and he described his coloring as "very relaxing." West's door includes a poster of rapper Tupac Shakur that says, "Only God can judge me." The photos were taken by Emily Zeller, Class of 2008.

A story on the positive financial status of private colleges in the July 25 edition of Inside Higher Ed mentioned the improvement of Kenyon's bond rating to A plus from A in a recent Standard & Poor's report.

Kenyon was included in lists of gifts published by the Chronicle of Higher Education on July 13 for a gift of $5 million from Jane and Phillip Currier '56 and on July 20, noting the gift of $10 million from the David and Francie Horvitz Family Foundation to build the David and Francie Horvitz Center for the Arts and the anonymous gift of $25 million for the arts center and to renovate and expand Peirce Hall.

Jennifer Delahunty, dean of admissions, was mentioned in the July 20 edition of the Chronicle of Higher Education in a column about discrimination against women in college admissions. The column said Delahunty "ran into a buzz saw of criticism" after the March 2006 publication in the New York Times of a column she wrote that described apparent discrimination against her daughter in the college admissions process. Delahunty said the Kenyon administration stood by her but admissions directors at other colleges offered little support.

The financial success of Barrett Toan '69, a Kenyon trustee, was reported in the July 19 edition of the St. Louis Business Journal. The story notes that Toan, the retired chairman of Express Scripts, has made donations to several charities and institutions including a recent $2 million gift to Kenyon.

In an interview in the July 16 edition of the Sunday Herald in Scotland, actress Allison Janney '82 credited Tom Turgeon, professor of drama, for instilling in her the discipline she needed to succeed. Janney expanded on the positive role Kenyon played in her life, including her pivotal work at the College with actor Paul Newman '49.

David Lynn, professor of English and editor of the Kenyon Review, was quoted in the July 10 edition of the News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware, in a story about the character Harry Potter emerging into adulthood. "You know, the remarkable thing about Harry Potter is he is a believable character in an unbelievable setting, and his believability is what makes us believe the rest of it."

Margaret Willison '07 was quoted as a recent Kenyon graduate and appears in a photograph in the July 9 edition of the Boston Globe in a story about the effect of the Harry Potter book series on children's literature and publishing. Willison, who worked for several summers as a Boston-area youth literacy coach and is pursuing a career as a youth librarian, told the newspaper that the Potter books have not necessarily sparked a wider interest in reading.

John Elliott, professor of political science, was quoted in the July 11 New York Times in the "White House Memo" column by Sheryl Gay Stolberg. Stolberg addressed the relationship of President George W. Bush with the media. "The president is struggling to assert himself as president and as a powerful figure," Elliot said. "It's harder for him to make news. The American public isn't really listening to him."

President S. Georgia Nugent wrote an op-ed piece criticizing the U.S. News rankings and it was published in the July 10 Plain Dealer. She called the "reputational" assessment that goes into the rankings "a meaningless exercise" and said that, in focusing so much on measures of institutional wealth, the overall survey neglected the impressive learning opportunities at small colleges like Kenyon. "Embarking on a college education is not like buying a car or a major appliance," wrote Nugent. "Yet the consumer-oriented production of rankings relies on that false analogy."

June 2007

The addition of Nancy Duncan Porter to the Development Department staff as philanthropic advisor was reported in the June 15 edition of Business First in Columbus, Ohio, and in the June 28 edition of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

The June 21 edition of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review includes a story that features David Flaherty '07 and Jeffrey Gardner '07 and their production of The Bacchae as the inaugural play in their newly formed Fourth River Theatre Ensemble in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The two are described as recent Kenyon graduates who met while involved with the Kenyon Drama Club.

Kenyon was mentioned in several news reports in June following the decision by a majority of members of the Annapolis Group, an association of liberal arts colleges including Kenyon, to eschew participation in the U.S. News & World Report college-rankings survey. S. Georgia Nugent, Kenyon's president, told the Plain Dealer, "As educators, many of us are concerned that this instrument and magazine report is not offering families meaningful material."

The New York Times mentioned Kenyon as part of "a growing rebellion" against the rankings. The Times story was also published in the International Herald Tribune. Kenyon was mentioned in reporting on the story by the Tampa Tribune, Tampa Bay, Florida; in a favorable editorial in the Cincinnati Enquirer, Cincinnati, Ohio; and in a critical column in the Washington Post by Robert J. Samuelson.

Kenyon swimmer Blair Withington, Class of 2010, of Hastings, New Zealand, was featured in a story in the June 25 edition of Hawke's Bay Today in New Zealand about swimming rivals in his hometown. The story reported that Kenyon is "unrivalled academically" and Withington loves the College's "clean, green, flat 'mile-long campus.'"

The Kenyon cemetery was included in the June 25 edition of the Columbus Dispatch in a story about active college cemeteries. The story noted that the College cemetery, which dates to the early 1800s, is still used for alumni, employees and others, with the permission of the president.

The closing of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, announced June 12, triggered a mention of Kenyon as a successful counterpoint to Antioch in a Los Angeles Times column by Meghan Daum in the June 30 edition. Kenyon was mentioned in the same vein in a column in the Toledo Blade, Toledo, Ohio, in a June 24 column by Peter Benesh, national correspondent for Investor's Business Daily. A June 30 editorial in the Blade mentioned Kenyon as part of the "proud history" of Ohio liberal arts colleges.

A $2.25 million gift to the campaign from Kenyon trustee Barry F. Schwartz, Class of 1970, executive vice president and general counsel at MacAndrews & Forbes Worldwide Corp., was reported in the June 8 edition of the Wall Street Journal. In the story, Schwartz credited Kenyon with "my ability to think critically and to connect with people who come from very different backgrounds."

From Altoona to Walla Walla, from China to New Zealand, the $10 million donation from actor and philanthropist Paul Newman, Class of 1949, to the $230 million comprehensive campaign, We are Kenyon: The Drive for Excellence, attracted global media attention during the first week of June. The story was carried worldwide by the Associated Press and Reuters news services.

Details of the campaign itself, including Newman's gift, were mentioned in China Daily, Beijing, China; the Columbus Dispatch, Columbus, Ohio; the Sunday Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle, Washington; and the Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio. Television coverage on the overall campaign and Newman's gift included reporting by WBNS, Columbus, and WTOL, Toledo, Ohio. The $10 million gift of David W. Horvitz, Class of 1974, was mentioned in the Columbus Dispatch and the Plain Dealer.

May 2007

The Chronicle of Higher Education, in its May 11 edition, mentioned Kenyon's bond-rating upgrade. Moody's Investors Service moved Kenyon to A1 from A2. The rating applies to $178 million in outstanding bonds. Reasons for the upgrade include a 50-percent increase in total financial resources, to $330.9 million at the end of fiscal year 2006; financial flexibility thanks to half of the College's resources being unrestricted; and a diversified and "well-managed" investment portfolio.

The May 9 edition of Roll Call, the Washington-based newspaper that covers Congressional news, reported that John Spragens '04 has been named communications director for U.S. Rep. Jim Cooper, D-Tennessee. Spragens is also a legislative assistant in the office.

April 2007

Himmelright Professor of Economics David Harrington published an op-ed essay in the April 4 Columbus Dispatch, commenting on an article about how the Ohio State University (OSU) medical school requires people who donate their bodies to pay for shipping--both for delivering their bodies to OSU and for having the ashes returned to families. It's partly a matter of supply and demand, Harrington explained. Medical schools that "have to scramble to find cadavers" must offer to pay for shipping. So why is OSU so successful in attracting donations? One reason is Buckeye athletic prowess: medical schools at universities with successful sports programs have "a surplus of bodies," as alumni "line up to join the ultimate fan club," Harrington wrote. Another is that funerals are unusually expensive in Ohio because of anti-competitive regulations, which "are picking the pockets of grieving families," some of whom choose body donation because they can't afford a funeral. In some areas, a cadaver surplus has led to the illegal diversion of bodies to other uses, Harrington noted.

Kenyon was mentioned in the April 3 Wall Street Journal in a story about colleges rejecting a record number of applicants. The Journal reported that Kenyon received 4,624 applications this year, up 8 percent from last year, yet the College accepted 1,348, down from 1,395 last year, to prevent overenrollment. The Journal listed Kenyon's admission rate of 29 percent in a table that included rates of 9 percent at Harvard, 17 percent at Williams, and 21 percent at Cornell.

Kenyon was listed among the private colleges in Kiplinger's April issue ranking the "best values" among 100 universities and liberal arts colleges. Kenyon placed number twenty-three on the list of liberal arts schools. The magazine says that Kenyon has strong programs in English and drama, and that the College bestows merit packages on almost half of its students, with awards averging $12,072. Swarthmore topped the list, followed by Williams, Amherst, and Davidson. Denison's listing was number twenty-four, Oberlin's forty.

The Kenyon Athletic Center was featured on the cover of the campus architecture edition of the February 23 Chronicle of Higher Education. While the accompanying story says the building "looks like it landed from outer space," it goes on to tell how the facility, a "wonder of modern design," has won over critics and become a draw for students. The Chronicle says that the building's location at the bottom of a hill means it doesn't look out of place on a campus whose historic area features the Collegiate Gothic style. Moreover, it notes that the building serves the entire student body, not just athletes. "We didn't want our varsity teams to go in there and lock the doors," Doug Zipp, the facility director, is quoted as saying.

David Long, Class of 2008, was mentioned in the February 15 edition of USA Today. He received honorable mention in the USA Today 2007 All-USA College Academic Team. Nearly six hundred students were nominated for the seventy-four positions. A key element of judging was a student's original academic endeavors. Long, a chemistry and mathematics major, conducts research on carbohydrate catalysis. The results of his work have been published in the journal Carbohydrate Research.

Research by economics professor David Harrington was featured in the February 5 edition of Business Week. Harrington and Edward Sayre, an economist at Agnes Scott College, have proposed a theory to explain why there is a shortage of donor organs. Business Week explains that current laws create a financial incentive for families to donate a whole body rather than individual organs: medical schools cover the cost of cremation after a cadaver has served its purpose, resulting in a benefit of roughly $1,000 for the donor's survivors. And the schools won't take cadavers if organs already have been removed from them. "We're suggesting that market incentives are a pragmatic response to a pressing problem," Harrington is quoted as saying.

The February/March issue of National Wildlife magazine features research by Visiting Assistant Professor of Biology Mark Haussmann. Haussmann's work on Leach's storm petrel, a seabird, is discussed in an article about wildlife studies that may help humans stave off some of aging's most devastating effects. Haussmann and his student assistants, working on Kent Island in New Brunswick, Canada, extract DNA from the petrels and eventually isolate telomeres, sheaths at the ends of chromosomes that protect genetic information from damage. Some scientists have speculated that telomerase, a protein which elongates telomeres, could yield therapies that lengthen the human life span. "I don't think we'll be able to take a telomerase pill to extend our lives," Haussmann is quoted as saying. "But by understanding how these mechanisms work, it could lead to therapies that inhibit tumor-cell growth."

Director of Capital Funds and pen enthusiast Thomas Lockard was featured in the February/March issue of Stylus, a magazine about pens. Stylus notes that Lockard is a collector of "fine fountain pens, and he uses them daily in his job." In an interview, Lockard discusses his penmanship, his preferences in writing instruments, and his two distinct styles of handwriting.

Kenyon was mentioned in the January 24 Chronicle of Higher Education in a story about a 2005 survey of junior professors. Administered by the Collaborative on Academic Careers in Higher Education, the survey found that junior faculty members are generally "a satisfied lot," according to the article. "But those at Brown University, Davidson College, Kenyon College, Stanford University, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Virginia seem downright ecstatic about their jobs." The survey included 5,000 faculty members at forty-two colleges and universities. Faculty members rated their job satisfaction on a five-point scale on concerns such as the clarity of the tenure process, collegiality, compensation, and work and family balance.

A March 2006 New York Times op-ed essay by Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Jennifer Britz was mentioned in the January 26 Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle's story, titled "The New Gender Divide," reported that more women than men are now applying to colleges and men can sometimes have an edge in the admissions process. Britz discussed the same theme in her op-ed piece. "I said what guidance counselors have been dealing with for years," Britz was quoted as saying in the Chronicle. "Some amazing girls aren't getting in" to top colleges, while boys with less-sterling credentials are.