GAMBIER — Kenyon College was named one of the world’s most beautiful campuses last March but the buzz has not died down.
“This has gotten new life on the Internet,” said Kenyon News Director Mark Ellis. “Yahoo seems to have rediscovered this and it’s getting a lot of fresh buzz from them.”
The Forbes story stated “Kenyon isn’t just a looker compared to Midwestern neighbors. It’s one of the best-looking campuses in the world, according to a panel of architects and campus designers.
“(What appeals to prospective students) about the tiny liberal arts college were the sweeping trees, the vast expanses of green and the way classic Gothic architecture blends in with the Midwestern-style houses on campus.”
According to Ellis, Forbes originally picked 14 campuses, including Kenyon, but they did not rank the colleges. He said Yahoo picked its own top five from the Forbes choices and included Kenyon in that list.
Yahoo’s top five were Kenyon; University of Oxford in Oxford, England; Princeton University in Princeton, N.J.; Scripps College in Claremont, Calif.; and Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif.
Other colleges on Forbes’ list were Trinity College, United States Air Force Academy, The University of Bologna, University of California, University of Cincinnati, Wellesley, University of Virginia and Yale.
“I think (Yahoo) picked it up because it’s an attractive story,” Ellis said. “I think you also get a lot of lists this time of year. Kenyon has figured prominently recently in a lot of lists and rankings. We were ranked 32nd on the list of America’s best colleges by Forbes on Aug. 11. Parade Magazine listed Kenyon third among liberal arts colleges. US News and World Report had us as 32nd among liberal arts colleges. Forbes also said Kenyon offered the nation’s best dorm deals on account of its low prices and high academic quality. Forbes has been very kind to us.”
Kenyon President S. Georgia Nugent was pleased with Forbes’ ranking.
“Yes. In the world,” she said. “I don’t usually pay much attention to some of those rankings but I guess the public does. I think it’s great. We are very happy for people to become more aware of that. It’s definitely a part of who we are. If you talk to any Kenyon alumni, or faculty or trustees, one of the first things they think about is the beauty of the place. I think it’s interesting that it’s both a beautiful natural setting and beautiful architecture. Those two really create a space that people feel is a wonderful place for reflection. To my mind, it does have an impact on the quality of the education because this is a place where you can sit and think and be a little bit calm and quiet. And I think.”
Nugent said she thought one of the distinctive things about Kenyon is its central artery, that is Middle Path.
“To my knowledge I think we are the only campus that has that central plan,” she said. “That’s what a lot of people associate with us.”
