Poetry, Farming, and More

GAMBIER, Ohio (October 16, 2003) Kenyon College President S. Georgia Nugent invites members of the Knox County community to explore a wetland or write a poem. Tour an organic farm. Ride a horse. Play musical instruments from Indonesia. Ponder the intricacies of beer in the laboratory. Tour historic restorations.

All of these activities and more are part of the diverse offerings for "Hands On: Discover Kenyon and Knox County," a series of workshops that will run from 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, October 24, in celebration of the inauguration of President Nugent.

Open to the whole Knox County community, the program includes some twenty activities. Participants can tour the Woodward Opera House in Mount Vernon, hike the trails at the Brown Family Environmental Center, and hear the lore of Kenyon's ghosts on a guided campus tour. College offices will be closed and classes will be held on an abbreviated schedule to allow the Kenyon community to participate.

"Our goal is to allow people from Kenyon, Mount Vernon, and surrounding communities to reconnect with, and in some cases discover for the first time, the rich offerings our academic community provides," says Special Assistant to the President Howard Sacks. "We're not talking about listening to lectures. We're talking about active learning. These workshops are designed to be fun."

The workshops reflect the inaugural theme, "To Seek a Newer World," promoting the idea of exploration and engagement across academic realms, between past and present, and between Kenyon and its surroundings.