Thank You and Farewell from President Kington

Dear Grinnellians,

When I was introduced as Grinnell College’s 13th president, I spoke about Grinnell’s dual commitment to excellence in liberal arts education and social change. I said change may require great courage and creativity, rigorous thinking, hard work, and significant sacrifice, but it can occur — and I have experienced first-hand how Grinnellians engage in these very things as they have advocated for social responsibility.

It has been my great honor to serve all students as Grinnell’s president these past years … or 3,621 days to be more precise. I am a firm believer, however, in the wisdom that it is not the number of your days that is most important, but what you do with those days that matters most. I have relished not only being a witness to the development of students, changes on campus and in town, and the work done to improve the global community, but also being an active participant in helping to make change possible. This role has shaped my professional and personal life in ways I could not have imagined from that stage in 2010.

Education can change lives. My family’s history and my own life are proof of that. With the priceless gift of education comes a responsibility to “pass it on.” It has been my privilege and responsibility to help Grinnell advance its mission of changing the lives of our students so that they might change the lives of others.

At Grinnell, we are especially committed to providing an education that empowers as well as informs. An education should challenge our assumptions — about the world, and about ourselves — and at times make us confront what makes us uncomfortable. We want students to learn to connect with ideas and people who are not like them, to learn tolerance and a willingness to probe their own ideas and assumptions. And I think we all can agree, at this time in our nation’s history, that ability has never been more important.

Over the past few months, I have been impressed time and again by the incredible grace, patience, and resilience Grinnellians have displayed in the face of unprecedented hardships experienced because of the pandemic. And I have been impressed by the engagement, determination, and commitment to change demonstrated by Grinnellians in response to the intolerable pain of racial inequality and injustice so brutally manifested in our history and society.

This moment is especially poignant for me as it is the last time I will write to you as president of Grinnell College. I am humbled by the trust, support, and graciousness that have been given to me by so many; from our Trustees, faculty, staff, alumni, community members, and most of all our students and their families. You have challenged me and Grinnell to always do better and to be better. Although we have fallen short at times, I have always trusted that, ultimately, we were working together to serve the common good. Going forward, I am confident that my successor will continue to work diligently to further strengthen the College for the benefit of current and future Grinnellians.

I want to thank every member of our community for the welcome that my family and I received so many years ago and the countless acts of kindness and support we have been graced with since. Although I am leaving Grinnell, I take with me Grinnell’s framework for changing the world around us, in ways both big and small. And I will always carry with me the inspiration I have received from your many examples of commitment, perseverance, and loyalty to each other, to our community, and the world.

Thank you for allowing, and helping, me to serve as your president.

Sincerely,

Raynard S. Kington
President