Dear members of the Kenyon community,
I write as many of you are preparing for what I hope will be a restful break. This is a season for gratitude, and I fervently hope you have many opportunities over the next week to appreciate and enjoy time with family and friends, to savor delicious and comforting food, and to treasure moments of laughter and light. While we cannot and should not ignore what is happening in troubled regions around the world, including Israel and Gaza, it is important for our health and well-being that we take time to rest and restore. Our ability to support one another requires us to take care of ourselves.
For me, this is a chance to reflect on many wonderful moments getting to know Kenyon students, faculty, staff, parents, alumni and community members. I feel fortunate to have joined a community that has welcomed me and my family (including our dog Milo) so warmly and thoroughly. Yet, these weeks have also been full of great challenges. Like many of you, I have struggled to comprehend the horrors of war and violence we have witnessed since October 7.
As Kenyon’s president, my first responsibility is to ensure that all members of our community feel supported and included. This is necessary so that we may do the difficult work required of us as global citizens and educators to understand the complexities of the conflict and the scope of its impact. That means creating spaces where all members of the Kenyon community are free and encouraged to ask difficult questions, examine their worldviews, and develop informed opinions rooted in their values. We have provided several forums this fall for this type of constructive dialogue, and we will continue to do so.
But we must remember, too, that we are experiencing this conflict not just as students, teachers and colleagues. We are also children, parents and siblings, spouses and partners, friends and loved ones. For me, I feel this moment most acutely as a daughter. My 91-year-old mother is a Holocaust survivor — she and her two sisters were hidden in France for three years during World War II, separated from their parents. My mother never spoke of this when I was a child because she wanted me to grow up in a world free from antisemitism and full of the freedoms that were taken away from her as a child. In recent months, my mom has suffered from dementia, and I find myself strangely grateful to be able to spare her the sadness and shock of the renewed spread of intolerance and hate around the world — a reversal of roles that I hoped would never be necessary.
I am sharing this piece of my personal history because I know that the war in Israel and Gaza touches many close to home and affects each of us in different ways, ways others cannot know. I also believe it is possible for this special community, despite differences in deeply held beliefs and emotions, to remain true to its mission and to support and respect one another.
Please take care and stay well during this break. I, too, will take time to rest and enjoy my family as we gather in Cromwell Cottage for our first holiday in Gambier. I want to end by expressing my own gratitude for this wonderful and welcoming community and for the privilege of serving as your president. I am also grateful for the talented team of faculty and staff that show up every day to ensure that Kenyon is the best that it can be. I could not ask to be in a better place.
Warmly,
Julie