This year, four Kenyon College students from Ohio have been awarded Austin E. Knowlton Memorial Scholarships: first-year Jonathan Lee, sophomore Kyle Kelley, junior Phillip Diamond and senior Jack Provenza. Knowlton Scholars normally receive support for all four years at Kenyon.
Established in 2014 by the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation, Kenyon’s Knowlton Memorial Scholarship Fund provides financial aid to students who are interested in pursuing mathematics or related fields. The Knowlton Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $700,000 to Kenyon. These funds are invested in the College’s endowment and have grown to nearly $900,000, with income restricted for Knowlton Memorial Scholarships.
Austin E. “Dutch” Knowlton was chair and owner of the Knowlton Construction Company, which completed more than 600 significant construction projects throughout Ohio and the Midwest, including schools, hospitals, libraries and post offices. As a successful Ohio businessman and generous philanthropist, Knowlton worked to help Ohioans earn degrees from Ohio colleges and universities.
Lee, from Cincinnati, said he was “excited and grateful” when he learned he would receive the scholarship. He is thinking about majoring in math and statistics at Kenyon, and is interested in the field of data science. Additionally, Lee is heavily involved in Kenyon’s music scene, playing the piano and saxophone, and also volunteers at the nearby Wiggin Street Elementary School in Gambier.
Diamond, from Yellow Springs, is a math major with minors in physics and Spanish, and who has a particular interest in the mathematics that motivate quantum physics. Over the summer and continuing this year, he has worked with Professor of Physics Benjamin Schumacher on research into the foundations of quantum theory, with the pair planning to publish a series of papers in 2023.
Kelley, who hails from Perrysburg, is a double major in mathematics and music. Outside of the classroom, he is involved in Kenyon’s jazz and percussion ensembles and the chess club, and serves as crossword puzzle editor for the Kenyon Collegian newspaper. Along with Diamond, he is working to reinvigorate Kenyon’s dormant Math Club.
Provenza, a Clevelander, majors in mathematics and is a running back on the football team.