On April 24 and 25, the Board of Trustees gathered in Gambier for its spring meeting. Chaired by Aileen Hefferren ’88 H’12, the Board discussed recent developments impacting the world of higher education, finalized the 2025-26 fiscal budget, approved tenure appointments and more. Outside of sessions, trustees met with members of Student Council and the LGBTQ+ advisory committee, joined faculty leaders for lunch and enjoyed senior projects in film and visual arts.
At the April 24 session, the Board discussed Kenyon’s previous and upcoming responses to recent federal and state policies, increased competition and new market pressures. President Julie Kornfeld updated the Board on the progress of Kenyon’s strategic plan. Kornfeld briefed trustees on her conversations with faculty and staff regarding opportunities to expand interdisciplinary learning before faculty members Associate Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies Iris Levin, NEH Distinguished Teaching Professor of Classics Zoë Kontes and Assistant Professor of Art History Katherine Calvin shared their experiences with the new travel-embedded courses.
The Board then shifted gears to discuss the College’s finances. Trustee Chris Eaton ’89 announced the College’s newest fundraising campaign — the Third Century Founders effort — which aims to raise $100 million in investments for Kenyon’s endowment in the next two years. The effort was kicked off by a $25 million gift from Matthew Voorhees ’95, with additional contributions from seven trustees who each contributed another $1 million. Combined with the gifts from additional donors, over $40 million has been gifted to the Third Century Founders effort so far.
In addition to kicking off fundraising for the Third Century Founders effort, Voorhees’ gift will be used to fund the construction of a new guest house for visiting alumni in residence, the location of which is currently undecided. With an emphasis on student-alumni relations, these alumni will be available to teach, coach and mentor students. Voorhees’ gift will also fund support for the new student-alumni networking platform Just Ask.
Following that session, the Board hosted a reception to honor Kornfeld’s predecessor: former Kenyon President Sean Decatur. The highlight of the reception was the reveal of Decatur’s official portrait, painted by Julia Bottoms. “My time at Kenyon was transformative, professionally and personally,” Decatur said in a Wednesday Kenyon Today release. “I have so much gratitude for this community and excitement for its future.”
The April 25 session opened with a discussion about Kenyon’s role in the future of higher education, led by author and journalist Jeff Selingo. Shortly after, the session swiftly switched its focus back to the main topic of the day: the College’s finances, with an emphasis on the 2025-26 fiscal budget. This year’s budget is $198,096,000, according to the Wednesday Kenyon Today release.
As previously announced in March, total charges for the 2025-26 academic year will be $89,600. A 2.8% increase from last year, the cost includes tuition, room, board and other mandatory fees. Kenyon will continue to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need, drawing from a financial aid budget of $65,054,000 for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Though faculty and staff compensation will remain unchanged, the College will be making contracted adjustments that include tenure awards. Health insurance costs will also remain unchanged, with dental premiums decreasing by 20%. Vision premiums will increase by 5%, while the 9.5% retirement contributions will remain the same alongside other benefits. The Board specified that the fiscal budget also includes maintenance to buildings, grounds and equipment, as well as the routine repair and replacement of “critical infrastructure.”
The Board then discussed and approved upcoming changes to faculty positions. Eight incoming faculty were approved for tenure-track positions. The Board awarded tenure to Assistant Professor of Economics Huachen Li, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Catherine Mauck, Associate Professor of Psychology Margaret Stevenson, Assistant Professor of English Matthew Suazo and Assistant Professor of English Orchid Tierney.
The Board approved the appointment of four trustees to six-year terms as at-large trustees, three trustees as emeriti trustees and two trustees to four-year terms as alumni trustee and parent trustee, respectively. The Board then recognized the service of outgoing trustees Diane Elam ’80, Elisabetta Ghisini P’24, Densil Porteous ’02 and Susan Tomasky P’17. A full list of incoming faculty and Board appointments can be found in the Spring 2025 Report from the Board of Trustees on Kenyon Today.
After approving the Class of 2025 for graduation, the Board finalized the slate of honorary degree candidates for Commencement 2025: Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies Robert Alexander, Brackett Denniston III ’69 and Commencement speaker Jacqueline Woodson.
The Board ended with an update from the Audit and Risk Committee, before approving Maloney + Novotny LLC to serve as the external auditors for the 2024-25 fiscal year financial statement audit.