Kenyon College is a highly-selective private liberal arts college founded in Gambier, Ohio in 1824, by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is Ohio's oldest private institute of higher learning. Originally an all-male institution aligned with the Episcopal Church, it became co-educational in 1969.
Among its famous alumni are: former U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes, Secretary of War under Lincoln, Edwin Stanton, Supreme Court Justice David Davis, former Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme, actor Paul Newman, and the creator of the birth control pill, Carl Djerassi.
Among Kenyon's excellent academic departments, the English department is probably the best known, having honored graduates, such as poet and critic John Crowe Ransom, poet Robert Lowell and novelist E.L. Doctorow. The Kenyon Review, a literary magazine was founded in 1939.
Kenyon's men's and women's swimming teams, lead by Jim Steen are generally considered the best in NCAA Division III, with the men's team winning 23 national championships and the women's 18.
Kenyon's sports teams are referred to as the Lords and Ladies, sporting their colors of purple and white.
