Dear Kenyon Leaders:

As a member of the Kenyon alumni community, my sincere hope is that you will reverse course on demolishing Sunset Cottage.

Having lived in the South (Mississippi) for 26 years, where the language of “moving on” is code for burying the value of place and history, it is startling to read this same language being used by the new COO, Mr. Wakeman, who has spent less than half of a semester in Gambier.

Examples of preserving historic buildings in my community, Jackson, Mississippi, include the Medgar Evers home and Eudora Welty’s House and Gardens. Both of these buildings could have been “let go” but they were preserved; and nothing can replace the experience of standing in Eudora Welty’s study, stacked with her books, looking onto the gardens, or visiting the home where civil rights hero Medgar Evers and his family lived; and standing by the driveway where Mr. Evers’ life was taken. 

Mr. Wakeman is surely making a mistake trivializing Kenyon history in this manner and it is surprising that he received support for this from the College leadership. He may be familiar with the Webster Cottage at Dartmouth. I spent several years in Hanover, and Sunset Cottage shares similar historic value to Kenyon as Webster Cottage does to Dartmouth.

If your administration understands and believes in the Kenyon community, you should realize how quickly you could raise funds to preserve Sunset Cottage in some capacity. It does not have to be for classrooms.

A promise was made by the College to preserve Sunset Cottage and that promise should be kept.

Sincerely,

Jan Richardson, Ph.D.

Class of ’85 Reunion Committee 40th, 35th, 30th, 25th

Kenyon Alumni Distinguished Service Award Winner