Release: Nov.1 , 2019
GAMBIER, Ohio — This year, four Kenyon College students from Ohio have been awarded Austin E. Knowlton Memorial Scholarships: first-year Jack Provenza, sophomore Jimmy Clark, junior Eden Stephey and senior Chase Frederick. Knowlton Scholars normally receive support for all four years at Kenyon.
Established in 2014 by the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation, Kenyon's Knowlton Memorial Scholarship Fund provides financial aid to students who are interested in pursuing mathematics or related fields. To date, the Knowlton Foundation has awarded grants totaling $500,000 to Kenyon. These funds are invested in the College's endowment, with income restricted for Knowlton Memorial Scholarships.
Austin E. “Dutch” Knowlton was chair and owner of the Knowlton Construction Company, which completed over 600 significant construction projects throughout Ohio and the Midwest, including schools, hospitals, libraries and post offices. As a successful Ohio businessman and generous philanthropist, Knowlton worked to help Ohioans earn degrees from Ohio colleges and universities.
“This scholarship has allowed me to further my education and continue to learn and grow as a person. I think a liberal arts education is incredibly useful in today's world, and I am grateful for the opportunity that this scholarship provides,” Clark, from Mentor, said.
Clark intends to major in mathematics and is a pitcher/outfielder on Kenyon’s baseball team. Stephey, from Tiffin, is a mathematics and statistics double major who is interested in the arts and involved with different theater productions on campus. Stephey also is on the dance team and squash club and helps campus residents in her role as a community advisor. Frederick, from Oakwood, is a physics major and the president of his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, as well as a member of the Department of Physics’ Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory lab. Provenza, from Cleveland, plans to major in mathematics and is a running back on the football team.
Stephey emphasized the significance of the scholarship in affording her the opportunity to attend a top-tier liberal arts college with a strong sense of community.
“I've been able to cultivate close relationships with my professors and peers,” she said. “Outside of the classroom, I get to express my interests in any sphere I choose: theater, athletics, art. I don't think I could have had such a well-rounded experience at a large university.”