Our rural setting also means we must continue to provide varied extracurricular experiences on campus and interaction with the wider county and regional communities. We do this quite well now, and we must assure continuing financial support of this crucial aspect of life at the College. Much has changed in science in the last thirty years, and the teaching of science has changed along with it. Yet Kenyon has not added to or renovated its science facilities in any substantial way during the last three decades. Today's hands-on, investigatory approach to teaching requires many more laboratories than were needed in the past, and such individualized and collaborative research is both expected and needed by graduate schools and employers.
New technology requires special storage and climatological conditions.
And as the lines between disciplines become less rigid, new accommodations must be made for new fields of study at the College, such as biochemistry and neuroscience. Music, a long-celebrated and intrinsic part of the Kenyon experience for many, has been confined, academically, to unsuitable quarters for some time now. More classrooms, rehearsal space, storage for instruments and equipment, and a small recital hall will be an important part of the College in the future. With the aid of distinguished architect Graham Gund '63, we are therefore planning new facilities that can accommodate changes in the sciences and the needs of the music department. Thus, increasing the size of our endowment is our highest priority.