By Phoebe Roe

This weekend, Kenyon alumni from all over the country will be flocking to their alma mater to participate in Winter Weekend, a series of meetings held for many different Kenyon alumni groups.

“We’ll have the Alumni Council here, we’ll have the Kenyon Fund Executive Committee here, we will have regional presidents here, we will have the Greek Alumni Leadership Council here, we will have members of a group called Kenyon Volunteer Leaders of Emeriti here and Friday night is our senior alumni welcome dinner as well,” Scott Baker, director of alumni and parent programs said. “This is obviously a huge weekend for our office.”

Altogether, there will be roughly sixty alumni on campus.

When Kenyon’s Alumni Council convenes this weekend, they will attend to their yearly duties and meet with members of Kenyon’s administration.

This year, the Alumni Council will also be working with the Career Development Office to brainstorm new ways that alumni can be supportive of Kenyon graduates who will soon be entering the workforce.

“There’s a loose proposal out there about a career initiative,” Baker said. “I don’t want to announce anything prematurely.”
Along with bringing alumni groups back to campus, part of the goal for the weekend is to collect donations for Kenyon. The Kenyon Funds Executive Committee (KFEC) is primarily responsible for collecting donations from alumni.

The KFEC also works with Kenyon’s administration to brainstorm new programs to help raise money for the College. “[KFEC’s relationship with the College is] somewhat like the relationship between the professional staff and President Decateur,” Director of Class Giving Ryan Stewart ’08 said.

During this weekend’s meeting, KFEC will be reviewing how close they are to completing their financial goals and assessing which programs are working and which should be changed.

“Annual gifts to the Kenyon Fund help every student at Kenyon by increasing the money available for faculty salaries, buildings, supplies and financial aid,” Myles Alderman Jr. ’82 said. “Without donations to the Kenyon Fund, Kenyon College would not be what it is today.”