Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, has received a $100 million gift from an anonymous donor to pay for construction of three apartment-style residence halls on campus.
The college says each of the three buildings will have living space for a little over 100 students and will be designed to last a century or more.
The funding of the new residences will enable Kenyon to meet a critical strategic goal of improving housing.
““With this gift we are doubling down on the residential experience that is at the heart of a Kenyon education, the intrinsic value of which distancing and remote learning has only made more clear,” says College President Sean Decatur.
Apartment-style suites on Kenyon's South Campus were identified as the most desirable option in a comprehensive housing study conducted last year.
Meredith Harper Bonham, vice president for student affairs, says the College has known anecdotally that students want more independent housing in their junior and senior years.
“The study helped to confirm our sense of student preferences," Bonham says. "It also reinforced Kenyon’s developmental approach to student housing, beginning with an emphasis on community-building and enhancing a sense of belonging among first-year students, and ending with apartment-style units where students can enjoy living with their friends.”
The new buildings will be constructed to LEED gold standards for sustainability and support Kenyon’s commitment to carbon neutrality by 2040. Construction is scheduled to begin following the conclusion of the academic year in spring 2023.
VIDEO from Kenyon College:
