Winter 2023 Report from the Board of Trustees

Date

The Kenyon College Board of Trustees convened for its winter meeting Feb. 9-10 in Washington, D.C. The nation’s capital offered a number of special opportunities, including a gathering with more than 150 Kenyon alumni, parents and friends hosted by the D.C. Regional Association Thursday evening in honor of outgoing president Sean Decatur.

In her remarks to the attendees, Trustee and D.C. Regional Association Committee Member Rachel Berger ’11 thanked President Decatur for nearly a decade of extraordinary leadership and noted that a part of him will always remain with Kenyon, and Kenyon with him. Quoting Frank Lloyd Wright, “No house should ever be on a hill or on anything. It should be of the hill. Belonging to it. Hill and house should live together, each the happier for the other,” Berger said.

In its plenary session Thursday afternoon, the board heard from Jessie Brown, vice president and chief of staff at the American Council on Education, the nation’s largest higher education association and policy advocate. In her session, “Affirmative Action and Legal Issues in Higher Education,” Brown briefed trustees on legislative items affecting higher education as well as two pending Supreme Court cases challenging the consideration of race in college admissions. 

For its second plenary session, the board was joined on Friday morning by members of the Art & Science Group, a research firm that has been working with faculty and staff on how to implement Kenyon’s strategic plan, Foundations for Kenyon’s Third Century. The ambitions of the strategic plan require modest enrollment growth, and the Art & Science Group has been helping the College identify ways in which initiatives might be scaled, integrated and prioritized to attract and retain a strong and diverse mix of students in a highly competitive market.

The central business of the winter meeting was to discuss and approve the operating budget proposed for the 2023-24 fiscal year, which was set at $189,748,000. Highlights include:

  • The financial aid budget will increase to $59,666,000 for the 2023-24 fiscal year. A priority of the strategic plan is to ensure that a Kenyon education is affordable for talented students of any means, and continued investment in financial aid along with fundraising efforts such as the Kenyon Access Initiative reflect this commitment. 

  • The general salary pool will increase by 3.25%. In addition, faculty will receive a one-time market adjustment, much like the wage increase most hourly employees received in 2022 to ensure that Kenyon remains a competitive option for highly skilled employees. (Details will follow from the Provost’s Office.) 

  • While overall health insurance costs will remain flat, the College will adopt a more progressive scale for health insurance premiums so that employees at the lower end of the scale will pay less toward health insurance premiums. In addition, Kenyon will enhance the design of its “premium” plan, with lower deductibles, co-insurance fees, out-of-pocket maximums and prescription drug costs. These changes were recommended by the Benefits Advisory Committee following a year-long discussion of health plan designs.

  • The maintenance of buildings, grounds and equipment will continue to prioritize health and safety. Major investments will include generators for Peirce Hall and Gund Commons to ensure that essential operations will continue without disruption should the campus experience an extended power outage. Funds also have been set aside for additional radon testing and remediation.

  • Total student charges will be set at $83,740 for the 2023-24 academic year, a 4.5% increase. The budget assumes an opening enrollment of 1,808 students on campus.

In other business, the board:

  • Approved the promotion to full professor for the following members of the faculty: H. Abbie Erler, political science; Brian D. Jones, mathematics; Irene López, psychology; Paula Millin-Lipnos, psychology; and Jon Sherman, film.

  • Adopted a resolution of appreciation for Kenyon’s 19th president, Sean M. Decatur.

Finally, the chairs of the Campaign Leadership Committee reported on overall giving to the Our Path Forward to the Bicentennial campaign, which has crossed the $500 million mark, thanks to the generosity of Kenyon alumni, parents and friends. Announced in 2018 with an original goal of $300 million, the campaign will continue through June 30, 2024, building Kenyon’s endowment for scholarships, professorships and high-impact educational experiences.

Prepared by the Office of Communications
Feb. 16, 2023