Celebrating 200 Years

Kenyon celebrated its bicentennial throughout 2024 on campus and with alumni and friends across the country. There were many ways for everyone to be part of this historic moment for Kenyon.

Most know the story — and songs — of Philander Chase settling on the location for Kenyon College, but what came next? Explore our historical timeline, from that initial ascent through two centuries of change and growth.

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Browse the Bicentennial Shop

From throwback T-shirts of your favorite Kenyon icons to classic sweatshirts and sweaters, our bicentennial is the perfect excuse to update your Kenyon gear.

Signing the Book

We took a figurative page from the Matriculation Book to create the Bicentennial Book, which traveled to every bicentennial event that took place throughout 2024. Anyone who attended an event was invited to sign it — at each event they attended.

200 Things to Love About Kenyon

Kenyon Alumni Magazine

In a special bicentennial edition of the magazine we’ve assembled and shared just a tiny collection of the many things that you told us you loved: professors, buildings, traditions, memories and the lasting lessons you took from your time in Gambier.

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Bicentennial News

A new book celebrates the powerful sense of belonging that Kenyon has always inspired. Insightful chapters on the campus, its history and its surroundings, together with vivid personal reflections and magnificent photos, capture the magic of a college like no other.

Special Projects Fund

A special fund invited the creativity and participation of the wider Kenyon community to commemorate the bicentennial. Funding supported campus beautification, permanent and temporary installations, performances, research projects, events and other creative ideas.

Sharing Your Kenyon Story

Kenyon is about so much more than the dates and details contained in the timeline. Alumni were invited to share memories of their time on the Hill for posterity and publication in an oral history book.

Alumni, parents, faculty, staff and all who love this place are invited to give to Kenyon in honor of 200 years, in recognition of the vitality of sustaining our educational mission. Celebrate our shared history with a gift for Kenyon’s bright future.