At the kickoff event for the “We Are Kenyon: The Drive for Excellence” campaign, Kenyon College honored Tom Turgeon with the surprise announcement that the College was creating the Thomas S. Turgeon Professorship in Drama. The endowed chair was funded by a number of Turgeon’s former students, and Jonathan Tazewell ’84, professor of drama, was named the first holder of the Professorship. As a student, fellow performer, and academic colleague, Tazewell enjoyed a long association with Turgeon, professor of drama.
In January 2013, Turgeon passed away at seventy years old, after suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. “The passing of Tom Turgeon is a sad event indeed for Kenyon,” said former President S. Georgia Nugent. “For generations of students and colleagues, Tom played a crucial role in fostering the College’s uniquely rigorous – and extraordinarily successful – approach to the teaching of theater. The success of Kenyon drama students is no accident; it is due, in large part, to the clear vision, intellectual range, and compassionate heart that marked Tom Turgeon’s teaching.”