Tom Stamp ’73 H’22, who dedicated his life to telling his alma mater’s stories through his work as director of public affairs and later as the College’s historian, died July 26 at the age of 73. A longtime resident of Gambier, he joined the Office of Public Affairs in 1984 and served for decades in a variety of official capacities until 2023 — and even then he continued offering his signature campus tours and assisting in important ways.
Throughout his career, Stamp was — first and foremost — Kenyon’s storyteller-in-chief, whether it was burnishing the College’s public image, writing meticulously researched articles, giving expertly crafted lectures, writing loving obituaries, or digging into, preserving and sharing the College’s history.
“What makes Kenyon Kenyon is its memory, and he was the keeper of that, the keeper of the flame. … Kenyon is unthinkable without him,” said David Lynn ’76 P’14 H’23, professor emeritus of English and editor emeritus of the Kenyon Review, who met Stamp as a student and became close friends after they both returned to work at the College.
When Stamp received an honorary degree in 2022, Lynn called him Kenyon’s “great ambassador” not just for his official work at his alma mater but for the many other ways he created — and strengthened — community, befriending and staying in touch with generations of students and alumni and routinely hosting many of them in his home.
“Tom was the most social person I've ever known,” Lynn said. “His number of friends, his connections to his classmates in the Class of ’73, his interest in the children of his friends … knew no bounds. He just lived for other people.”
And he was a lifelong proponent of Kenyon, its people and its values.
“From the moment I stepped into this role, Tom took the time to ensure that I understood the ‘why’ of it all — the alchemy of people, place and practice that has sustained this community for more than 200 years,” said President Julie Kornfeld, who joined the College in 2023.
Stamp was born Oct. 10, 1951 in Butler, Pennsylvania, north of Pittsburgh, to Robert and Marilyn (Raybuck) Stamp. He arrived in Gambier as a student in 1969, joining the first coeducational class in the College’s history. He was proud of the class’s distinction and was known to defend his female classmates against males opposed to their arrival. He also became involved politically following the Kent State shootings in 1970 and went door to door talking about the Vietnam War with Mount Vernon residents.
Stamp graduated in 1973 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and went on to receive a Master of Arts in English from Northwestern University.
After beginning his professional career in communications at Princeton University, he returned to Kenyon in 1984 to serve as director of public affairs and editor of the Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin. Stamp’s award-winning work was known for being unfailingly thorough and accurate. He brought a devotion to elegant writing, proper grammar and an insistence that every piece of literature representing the College have the “Kenyon look” and the “Kenyon feel,” elements that he himself was very much at the center of crafting.
Dan Laskin, former publications director for the Office of Public Affairs who worked with Stamp and Lynn on the bicentennial book “Place and Purpose: Kenyon at 200,” said his mentor’s devotion to the College was evident in how he curated its image: “For those of us who worked with him, he was a role model for how to write about Kenyon — how to tell its story to both the on-campus community and the world at-large — and also how to care about Kenyon. How to ‘get’ Kenyon, while getting it right. For Tom, knowing the place and loving the place went hand in hand.”
And no one knew Kenyon better.
In 2008, after serving as acting head of development and associate vice president for communications, Stamp transitioned to the role of College historian and keeper of Kenyoniana, a term he coined with former President S. Georgia Nugent to describe objects associated with the history of the College. The role was perfectly suited to his love for the College and his interest in every last detail of its history. As he himself once said, “In many ways, this is a position for which I’ve been training more than half my life.”
Stamp literally surrounded himself with Kenyon’s history. His office, most recently located in Treleaven House, was packed with stacks of books, old photos and other artifacts, including a reading stand that belonged to Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase, Kenyon’s founder. Stamp took it upon himself to collect as many physical reminders of the College’s past as possible — sometimes with his own money.
“Tom was endlessly generous and taught me so much about the heart and soul of Kenyon,” said Susan Morse, vice president and chief of staff. “He understood that the history of a place isn't limited to what you can read on a page or watch online; our shared history is also captured in tangible artifacts and memorabilia. Tom wanted to ensure that future generations would be able to hold memories of Kenyon in their hands as well as their minds and hearts.”
His longtime, unfinished goal was to write a comprehensive institutional history of Kenyon. A related project offered what seemed like limitless entries in encyclopedic form about faculty, trustees, presidents and other figures from the College’s past.
As historian, Stamp wasn’t just the keeper of the College’s story; it was essential to him that he share it. His epic tours of campus — offered during special occasions like Family Weekend and Reunion Weekend — were legendary. He offered much more than facts and figures, sometimes going so far as to comment on individual doorways and trees. He frequently gave public lectures and wrote articles on various aspects of Kenyon’s history, and he turned his passion for collegiate architecture into a popular course for students — many of whom he stayed in touch with.
“No one had a greater command of Kenyon’s history, cared more, or wrote more beautifully about the place, its people and its architecture,” said Lisa Schott ’80 H’22, retired managing director for the Philander Chase Conservancy.
For his contributions to the College over the years, Stamp was honored with a variety of awards. In 2008, he received the Thomas B. and Mary M. Greenslade Award — named for the archivist who helped Stamp’s love for Kenyon’s history blossom. He also received the College’s Distinguished Service Award in 2002 and the Alumni Council’s Distinguished Service Award in 2023.
Even after his retirement, Stamp continued to work on historical projects and volunteer his services to the College. And Mark Ellis, retired associate vice president for communications, has an idea why: “He was not just the Kenyon historian. He was, in many ways, the embodiment of the history of the College. Was there any man or woman who loved Kenyon more? Who lived more steeped in its history, culture and mores? Who had no concept of retirement, because, after all, he was Kenyon?”
Stamp’s affection for his alma mater was rivaled only by his love for his classmates. No reunion for the Class of 1973 was complete without a brunch at his book-filled house on Allen Drive. He also took part in a weekly Zoom meeting with some classmates during the pandemic that he was still participating in just a day before his death.
“He understood the importance of community and he understood the importance of creating events that create community,” said his classmate Liz Forman ’73.
“He knew everybody in our class,” added classmate Julie Miller Vick ’73. “And his house was always open.”
Stamp created other spaces for community as well, whether it was by helping to found the Bettye and Owen York Chapter of the Friends of Martinis social events, the College’s Gay and Lesbian Alumni Association, or simply inviting friends over for some homemade comfort food and old movies.
He actively contributed to civic life in Gambier as well, serving on both the Village Council and the village’s zoning board from 2000-2017. Stamp was honored as Gambier’s Citizen of the year in 2018.
Jack Au ’73, who was roommates with Stamp during their senior year, remembers being drawn to the humanity, kindness and open-mindedness of his friend, an intellectual with a dry sense of humor who loved to write.
“I call him a giant of the Kenyon community,” he said. “Kenyon lost a treasure.”
Au is convinced that his friend, while humble, would be pleased with the legacy he leaves at the College that meant so much to him.
“He wanted to be not only part of it but give back in his own way,” he said. “Now he’s looking down from heaven, smiling at his achievements and basically saying, ‘This will do.’”
Stamp is survived by his brother, Dr. Jeff (Beth) Stamp and extended family that includes a niece and several nephews. He will be interred in the Kenyon College Cemetery behind Rosse Hall. A celebration of his life will take place Friday, Oct. 10, hosted by Kenyon College (more details to come).
As a tribute to Tom Stamp ’73 H’22, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies Royal Rhodes wrote this poem:
FOR THOMAS STAMP — Kenyon 1973
“in meadows sweet with asphodel...”
For decades you were chief remembrancer
Of Kenyon's storied history and lore —
Richer through the grace your words confer.
The THRILL defines the Magic Mountain’s core.
How heartfelt were your warm obituaries
Of those to whom the College sang Farewell,
Making prose like poetry that carries
All in the Kokosing’s own strange spell.
Step by step on Middle Path you led,
So we would feel we walked on holy ground
That gave us art and literature we read.
Angels facing Rosse let bliss resound.
May that Love in all you yearned to give
Preserve the ways you taught us how to live.