GAMBIER, Ohio — This year, four Kenyon College students from Ohio have been awarded Austin E. Knowlton Memorial Scholarships: first-year Kyle Kelley, sophomore Phillip Diamond, junior Jack Provenza and senior James Clark. Knowlton Scholars normally receive support for all four years at Kenyon.
Established in 2014 by the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation, Kenyon’s Knowlton Memorial Scholarship Fund provides financial aid to students who are interested in pursuing mathematics or related fields. To date, the Knowlton Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $700,000 to Kenyon. These funds are invested in the College’s endowment, with income restricted for Knowlton Memorial Scholarships.
Austin E. “Dutch” Knowlton was chair and owner of the Knowlton Construction Company, which completed more than 600 significant construction projects throughout Ohio and the Midwest, including schools, hospitals, libraries and post offices. As a successful Ohio businessman and generous philanthropist, Knowlton worked to help Ohioans earn degrees from Ohio colleges and universities.
“The Knowlton Scholarship further illustrates the supportive and encouraging environment that Kenyon cultivates,” said Kelley, who hails from Perrysburg and plans to major in mathematics and music. “Though my time here has just begun, I’ve been warm-heartedly welcomed into this community, tackled thought-provoking problems, and grown academically as well as personally.” Outside of the classroom, Kelley participates in Kenyon’s chess and tabletop gaming clubs and takes percussion lessons.
Clark, from Mentor, is a mathematics major and philosophy minor, with a concentration in scientific computing. Provenza, from Cleveland, majors in mathematics and is a running back on the football team. Diamond, from Yellow Springs, plans to major in math or physics with a minor in Spanish, and is involved on campus in sketch comedy, Ultimate Frisbee and the Kenyon Jazz Ensemble.