A Once-A-Century Occasion

Students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the College gathered in the Village of Gambier for a mayoral proclamation, a parade, student and village-led activities, 43022 giveaways and more on Saturday, April 30. Watch Video >>

Our alumni regional associations held events on April 30 in Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Cleveland, Columbus, Connecticut, D.C., Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Richmond and San Francisco. View Photos >>

The 43022 tees were a hot item and have sold out for now (more on the way!), but the Bookstore is still selling limited edition 43022 totes and water vessels that include a built-in gift to the Kenyon Access Initiative to support today’s Kenyon students. And, for a limited time, you can earn a purple 43022 hat by making a gift of $250 or more to Kenyon. Make a gift >>

Kenyon’s social media channels shared 43022 content during the month of April and many others joined in with their own #43022Day content on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

In 1825, Philander Chase rode up the hilltop we call home and uttered the famous words, “This will do.” He soon purchased a 4,000-acre plot on which the hill was located, negotiating the owner William Hogg into a selling price of $3 an acre (a steal, even at the time), then persuading Hogg to remit one-third of the property to him as a gift toward the new institutions.

After Chase completed the purchase of Hogg’s land, he gave Lord Kenyon’s name to the College and Lord Gambier’s to the village, in recognition of their financial support. In 1828, the fledging college moved from Worthington to Gambier.

On March 15, 1850, the village was incorporated by an act of the legislature. The first “town council,” established at the same time, began producing ordinances to govern life in the village, one of the first of which prohibited “the sale of ardent spirits, except upon a physician’s prescription.”

In the nearly 200 years of their history, the College and the village have grown and changed with the times. Today, we take the time to honor our history (138 years older than the existence of zip codes!) and our present, with a village parade and mayoral proclamation. Wherever you are in the world, we hope you’re able to celebrate what 43022 means to you!