"Our Path Forward" Supports High Impact Experiences
By Matt Mandel ‘19
On Saturday, October 13, 2018 the College launched the public phase of its comprehensive campaign, “Our Path Forward.” The campaign’s goal is to raise $300 million by June 2021 to bolster the endowment, enhance the physical campus and grow annual operating support.
“It’s a $300 million comprehensive campaign that has three primary goals: to raise $300 million for stated objectives, to secure gifts from 70 percent of Kenyon’s alumni throughout the course of the campaign, and to grow alumni engagement by 10 percent,” Vice President for Advancement, Colleen Garland said. The Office of Advancement hopes that the campaign will increase future alumni engagement, encouraging alumni to volunteer, attend events and give to Kenyon after the campaign ends.
The campaign is broken into multiple priorities. The first, called “extend,” aims to support scholarships and financial aid, as well as faculty endowed positions, to foster an academically excellent and inclusive intellectual community with a goal of $125 million. The second, called “enrich” bolsters teaching and learning opportunities that build bridges between what students know and how they apply that knowledge with a goal of $60 million. The third, called “enhance,” supports the construction of the West Quad and adapts Kenyon to a 21st-century campus with a goal of $80 million. The remaining $35 million will support the annual Kenyon Fund and the Kenyon Parents Fund.
The campaign’s second priority, “extend,” is particularly important to not only students’ academic development, but also to their career development. Gifts like the Scott A. Layson Endowed Fund for High Impact Practices, named in memory of the Career Development Office’s former director, will support activities on campus that give students hands-on learning opportunities that often translate to marketable job experiences. These aspects of student life both on and off campus include opportunities like internship stipends, undergraduate research opportunities, apprentice programs such as Gund Gallery and Kenyon Review Associates, as well as opportunities at The Kenyon Collegian, Off-Campus Study, Community-Engaged Learning courses, project-based experiences, and innovation in teaching and technology.
“This is a piece that resonates with people because they want to make sure that Kenyon students are ready for their first job in addition to being ready for a lifetime of learning,” Garland said.
The campaign is largely focused on raising endowed funds. This means if a donor provides a gift to support internship stipends, approximately five percent of that gift is used per year in perpetuity. This helps ensure today’s and tomorrow’s students benefit.
“It is about making sure that professional opportunities are available to all students and that cost is not a barrier,” Garland said. “It’s not just who you know and if your parents have the right connections. Let’s make sure that all Kenyon students have the opportunity for a really great experience.”
Career-related support is a way for alumni to help students during and after their time on the Hill, Garland said. In addition, Career Development Office resources are of particular importance to prospective students who want to leverage the full breadth of their Kenyon education and find meaningful employment during and after graduation. “[Alumni] are just really proud of Kenyon,” Garland said. “They want to see Kenyon students excel at whatever they do. And that means students have to be ready to compete against graduates from other peer institutions. And the way they can compete best for those jobs is to have real practical experiences even while they’re students.”