Kenyon Event in London Brings Together Students and Alumni

The celebration included honoring 50 years of the Kenyon-Exeter Program.

By Molly Vogel '00
Date

Alumni, students and Kenyon friends from across Europe gathered at Fortnum & Mason in London on Nov. 15 at the College’s first international gathering in more than five years. In addition to celebrating 50 years of the Kenyon-Exeter program with current students and faculty, guests heard from a distinguished panel on living and working abroad following a Kenyon education.

Alumni based in Dublin, Switzerland, France, Sweden and Beijing joined others from all over England and the States at the sold-out event sponsored by the Office of Alumni and Parent Engagement. Members of the planning committee include: Ruth Crowell Wild ’02, Richa Jha ’03, Kellyn Caldwell ’12, Bill O’Hearn ’90 and Wendy Singer P’14, Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Initiatives.

The international event was representative of Kenyon’s global approach to education, as well as the fact that Kenyon’s international student population comes from 48 countries and more than 800 alumni currently reside abroad.

Attendees heard from (from left): Vicki Barker ’78 H’96, London freelance correspondent, CBS Radio and NPR, Ruth Crowell Wild ’02, CEO of the London Bullion Market Association, and Peng Wu ’03, program director of research at Stellar Capacity in a panel discussion moderated by Wendy Singer P’14 on liberal arts education in a global context.
During the program, President Julie Kornfeld (center) spoke to attendees about the strategic plan’s focus on expanding opportunities for experiential, interdisciplinary learning and Kenyon’s global approach to learning.
Richa Jha ’03, a member of the volunteer event planning committee, arranged for two interactive displays that invited alumni to note their major and where they were originally from. The exercise generated some fun conversation and nostalgia from alumni about their time at Kenyon.
The event was an opportunity for students currently studying at Exeter and others studying abroad in London, like Aishik Biswas ’27 (left), to interact with alumni and each other, including Gianluca Bocanegra Rodriguez ’27.
Provost Jeff Bowman closed the event with reflections on the strength of the Kenyon community.