The newly named Archon Auditorium hosted a dramatic reading of Ibsen’s “An Enemy of the People,” adapted and directed by Bryan Doerries ’98 H'17, in April 2024.
When Jon Katz ’62 was considering what fraternity to pledge in the fall of his freshman year, he was drawn to what was then the Archon fraternity. “The idea of Archon being open to everybody was important to me,” he said. “As well as the idea of community service to complement the social aspects.”
More than six decades later, the Greek service organization is co-ed and remains focused on being welcoming and helping others.
For his part, after graduating in 1962 with a degree chemistry and a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, Katz was simultaneously called to active duty to begin an exciting career of service, encompassing command of two squadrons and many high level Department of Defense staff positions including the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). Post-retirement, he continued to work on solving complex issues with The Analytic Sciences Corp., teaching telecommunications and networking courses, and consulting for the government and industry.
In making a gift to Kenyon College with an estate commitment, it made sense to him to recognize Kenyon and the campus organizations that had such an impact on his success. The two-story space in Oden Hall will now be known as Archon Auditorium, in recognition of Archon’s service to Kenyon and the surrounding community.
The Archon Society at Kenyon was founded in 1947. On behalf of current Archons, Presidents Elisa Skaggs ’26 and Alexis Whitney ’25 jointly said, “We are honored as an organization to have a signifier on campus that acknowledges and speaks to the history of our society.
“As members of the Archon Society, we pride ourselves on engagement with the community, including connections to our past and present members. It is very reassuring that our alumnus remains thoughtful of this goal, and we are very grateful and inspired by this act of generosity.”