The Collegian sat down with President Julie Kornfeld to discuss her time at Kenyon one year after she first took office on Oct. 1, 2023.

What are some of your favorite memories from your first year at Kenyon?

I would definitely say my inauguration was a favorite memory, and for two big reasons. One is I really wanted that to be a community celebration, and it really felt like it was. I had the students and alumni, and I didn’t want it to be just about me, I wanted it to be something that we were all celebrating together. Some of my favorite moments of that were the ’80s dance party, and having students out on the dance floor, and just having everybody together celebrating what was I felt like a happy moment for the College. I’ve also really enjoyed alumni weekend, and doing some of the Bicentennial events around the country has just been a really wonderful opportunity to meet alum who feel so connected to this place.

Definitely going to the conference championships for the swimmers was also a really amazing opportunity. And learning about [and] appreciating both the community around swimming and its presence, and what an integral part it is of Kenyon.

What challenges have you faced?

The challenges, I think, in many ways are not so much challenges on campus, but challenges in the external world around us. And last year was a difficult year, both in terms of world events and also in terms of higher education. I mean, we’re living in a moment where people are challenging the value of a college degree in ways that I think have never really been called into question. We’ve had a lot of volatility in the admissions and enrollment landscape. We had a FAFSA fiasco, we’ve had [the] affirmative action Supreme Court decision, we’ve had post-COVID test-optional admissions.

We’re not immune to those external landscapes and how they impact Kenyon, and so I think that makes it challenging, because we want to continually focus on the mission of educating our students, and fostering conversation and dialogue, and ensuring that we’re preparing citizens for the world that we live in.

What are your goals for Kenyon?

I definitely want to build stronger, what I would call high-impact experiences, experiential opportunities for students to actually have real-life experiences in fields and areas that matter to them, that help support their goals professionally or for what they do in their lives after Kenyon. And we do a lot of that, obviously…but I really want that to be available and accessible to all students, and to really elevate our connectivity to our alumni community — those opportunities for alumni to have students come, whether it’s for mentorship, for job shadowing or fractional internships.

I want to build our connections to Columbus and make those stronger as well. Columbus is a booming area, from a regional economic development perspective — a lot of opportunities, companies, jobs coming into the greater central Ohio area. And I want to make sure that Kenyon’s part of those conversations, and that we have opportunities for our students to engage in really exciting work that’s happening around us.

Do you have anything on your Kenyon bucket list?

I want to ride the Pelotonia bike ride next year. Because I watched that, and I said, ‘I would love to be able to do that next year.’ I didn’t quite have the time to train this year, and I’m saying it publicly — maybe I’ll force myself to do it!

I want to play a role, probably in a leadership or a board capacity, in Mount Vernon, on an organization. I want to be able to lend some of my skills and talents on a board in Knox County. I feel like that’s an important connection to have. I know [former] President [Sean] Decatur did that, and I also feel like that will help us build more connectivity to the community.

How has Milo [Kornfeld’s miniature poodle] enjoyed life in Gambier?

Milo loves life in Gambier. We had an event last night [Sept. 24] at the house, and he’s so happy, goes from one person to the next, and wants everybody to play with him and play with his toy. It’s really nice because I think a lot of those students have dogs that they miss, and so they’re so excited to see Milo and hang out with him. And he thinks everybody that comes to Cromwell is coming to see him. Whenever we have students over, he’s like, ‘Oh, yay! More people for me!’

We’re thinking about his Halloween costume…Last year, he was in the dog parade, and he was a wizard, and he wore a little purple hat and had a purple cape. And so, if we have ideas for Milo’s Halloween costume, let me know.

How do you feel about students walking across Cromwell lawn?

You know what? I don’t mind. And actually, now there’s more of the Adirondack chairs set up on the front lawn, and that’s great. I love coming out and seeing students reading a book or sitting under a tree. Part of having the house there is [that] it’s part of the campus. So, yeah, doesn’t bother me at all.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Editor-in-chief Katie Sparvero ’25 and managing editor Annalia Fiore ’25 contributed to reporting.