Farewell, President Nugent, Fare Thee Well

On Tuesday, Aug. 14, as exhausted Pelotonia riders summited the Kenyon hill, President S. Georgia Nugent, the 18th president of Kenyon College and the first woman to hold that position, formally announced her decision to step down.

The quiet that normally permeates Gambier during the summer months was momentarily lifted, as the Village opened its arms to cyclists, supporters and survivors participating in the Ohio bike tour that has raised over $25 million for cancer research. Standing amongst passersby and onlookers, Nugent overheard a number of conversations remarking upon the beauty of Kenyon — a place many were experiencing for the first time — and expressing a desire to bring their own children to campus, so that they too could be inspired by this special community.

“That day I thought, ‘I wish I would see what will become of this,’” said Nugent, with that flash of perspective that comes only in retrospect. “I brought this here, and I would like to see it grow and flourish.”

Nugent’s decision to step down at the end of this academic year surprised many in the campus community and caused some to look to this summer’s Sodexo controversy as the reason for her departure. In June, Nugent and the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Barry Schwartz, announced their decision to outsource maintenance management to the French firm Sodexo. After widespread protest, those negotiations were suspended.

Despite the timing of her announcement, Nugent said her decision to step down has been in the making for several years.

“I came in thinking that any leader has certain strengths, and I felt that after you’ve been with an institution for 10 years, you’ve probably accomplished those things that are best for you to accomplish,” she said. “Three years ago I had a conversation with the then Chair of the Board and made the decision [to leave] at that time.”

The search for Kenyon’s 19th president is currently underway, and trustee Brackett B. Denniston ’69 of Fairfield, Conn., vice president and general counsel of General Electric, will chair the search committee.

Denniston did not respond to multiple requests for comment, but in a statement issued by the College, he said, “I am honored to serve as chair of the search committee on this important mission to select a successor to [President S.] Georgia Nugent as one of those extraordinary leaders and to be joined by a very able group of committee members with a love for Kenyon and Kenyon’s future. We all look forward to working with, and hearing from, the Kenyon community in the coming months.”

Other members of the committee include representatives from the alumni, the Board of Trustees, faculty, staff and students. The selection process will follow the protocol of recent Kenyon presidential searches, and the College will hire a search firm to assist in the presidential search.

Though the community will be watching closely as the search for a replacement advances, Nugent’s successful decade in office will not be overlooked.

Dean of Students Hank Toutain spoke highly of his experience working with Nugent. “During the time that I worked with her she has been consistently supportive of student affairs, of the work that I do and the work that my colleagues do,” said Toutain. “Not only [does she] take an interest in matters and issues that concern students directly, but [she] really is … very supportive of those initiatives that make the student experiences the best that they could be.”

Toutain cited the North Campus Apartments project, as well as Nugent’s involvement with the development office in raising financial support, as examples of how generations of students will benefit from her leadership.

In 10 years, Nugent completed 12 renovation and construction projects that have both aesthetically and functionally improved the campus. In addition to the newly completed Horvitz Art Building, the Gund Gallery and the still under-construction North Campus Apartments, Bailey House, the Morgan Apartments, Evans Seminar Room, Peirce Hall, Lentz House, O’Connor House, Finn House, the Gambier Child Care Center and the Kenyon Athletic Center were built or renovated during President Nugent’s tenure.

While this construction was a highly visible success, Nugent made other tangible changes. During her tenure she more than doubled diversity amongst students and faculty  and created the largest scholarship fund in the school’s history — around $60 million.

When Nugent first arrived, approximately 8 percent of the student body consisted of diversity students, compared to  20 percent today. “That’s really moving the needle,” Nugent said. “I’m always especially excited about first-generation students, and this year we have the most we’ve ever had and the most international students we’ve ever had.”

Six years ago, Nugent asked the Board of Trustees to assemble a task force to address the lack of diversity within the school. This task force studied diversity in the curriculum, among students and faculty, and in the campus environment over a two-year period, eventually proposing a set of directives which the College initiated.

These included a diversified recruitment strategy, the hiring of a full-time international recruiter this year, establishing the Diversity Action Committee on campus, appointing diversity members to the Board of Trustees and a variety of other measures.

While no president can complete all she sets out to do, those projects that Nugent has nurtured over the years have become integral to the campus’ identity. The establishment of the Child Care Center, enactment of an updated family leave policy and the introduction of a local foods program are three of Nugent’s landmark achievements which unite the campus and the surrounding area.