Every college is proud of their alumni—bringing them back to campus, boasting about them on their website, and casually name-dropping on admissions tours. Kenyon is no different, but with the deluge of John Green-related propaganda, it can all run together. “Oh yeah, some famous people went here. Whatever.”
Over the last couple weeks, though, I’ve been reminded that it’s not just “whatever.” That some really impressive and influential and important people came out of this college. We shouldn’t dismiss that just because we think admissions brags too much—newsflash, that’s admission’s job.
So here’s a list of 15 badass people who went to Kenyon. Be proud of them.
Paul Newman ‘49
You know how when you tell people you go to Kenyon, you’re met by a blank stare about 90% of the time, and the other 10% is either gushing about our English program or “Oh, it’s so pretty there.” Well, I once told my eye doctor that I was going to Kenyon, and she got all excited and said, “That’s where Paul Newman went!” Yes, that Paul Newman, the one with the 10 Oscar nominations and the charitable salad dressing company. Who IMDb describes as “Screen legend, superstar, and the man with the most famous blue eyes in history.” Impressive, right?
John Green ‘00
Yeah. I know. Kenyon talks about this every chance they get. But do you know what? John Green’s books are really good, and being really popular doesn’t change that at all. His online videos are sometimes fun and sometimes educational and almost always both. And plus he just seems like a really cool guy. (Oh also John Green-related admissions propaganda was the reason I looked at this school in the first place, so…)
Olof Palme ‘48
The former prime minister of Sweden went to our school?
Bill Watterson ‘80
Only a Kenyon alum would think to make a cartoon script about a French Reformation theologian and an English political philosopher. Calvin and Hobbes is much better than it sounds.
Lauren Hillenbrand ‘89
She somehow wrote a fascinating and emotional and enthralling book about horse racing. I don’t know how she did it, but Seabiscuit is A+.
Leopoldo López ‘93
Now this is a guy you should actually google on your own—the reason he’s so important is far too complicated for me to describe in a couple of light-hearted sentences. Essentially he is a political prisoner in his native Venezuela, jailed for “public incitement of violence” through his peaceful protests against the government. A Kenyon student made a fascinating short documentary about him a couple of years ago, and if I was a good journalist I’d find and include a link to that here…. So let’s move on.
Ransom Riggs ‘01
John Green’s friend and fellow YA author. His book Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children was made into a movie a couple weeks ago (directed by Tim Burton <3) and it was wonderful. Scary and fun and just plain odd. Would definitely recommend.
P. F. Kluge ‘64
Professor Kluge will be more than happy to tell you about his accomplishments. He will also scold you if you take one of his classes and then don’t regularly attend his office hours for the rest of your life.
Allison Janney ‘82
This woman has 7 Emmy awards and 2 Tony nominations. She kills in in tons of movies (including Miss Peregrine’s, see above) and who can honestly say they don’t want to be C. J. Cregg from The West Wing?
Carl Djerassi ‘43
You can thank this Kenyon alum every month you’re not pregnant due to his invention, the birth control pill.
Josh Radnor ‘96
Liberal Arts, oh Liberal Arts. Filmed on Kenyon’s campus, Josh Radnor intended it to be an homage to his wonderful time here. But it turned out to be cheesy and just a bit creepy. Oh well—we still love you in How I Met Your Mother.
William Rehnquist ‘46
How did I not know this guy went to Kenyon? Seriously? He was on the Supreme Court for 33 years, and I’m pretty sure one of the chapter headings in my high school government book was “The Rehnquist Court.” Admissions need to brag about this more.
Nick Petricca ‘09
I know, John Green all over again. You semi-ironically scream along to “Shut up and dance with me,” in the car and secretly love it but don’t tell anyone because it’s not “cool.” But do you know what guys? Walk the Moon’s music is really good. And they named a song after our very own Professor Anna Sun, and that’s neat too.
E. L. Doctorow ‘52
Wikipedia calls him “one of the most important American novelists of the 20th century.” So, we’ve got that going for us.
Rutherford B Hayes 1842
A freaking president of the United States of America went to Kenyon. Maybe Time magazine considers him one of the top 10 forgettable presidents. And maybe his election was a bit shady. But still. HE WAS PRESIDENT, BE IMPRESSED.
Which of these 15 alums is your favorite?
Image credits: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15