November 12, 1929

Helen Kenyon ’05 was elected the first woman chairman of the board of trustees, with indeterminate tenure. She served as president of the Associate Alumnae of Vassar College from 1918 until 1921 and as an alumnae trustee from 1923 until 1928. In 1921 and 1922, Kenyon was treasurer of the Salary Endowment Fund, helping to raise a record $3 million for the fund.

In 1935, the college and the trustees expressed their gratitude to Helen Kenyon in the construction the exemplary Helen Kenyon Hall of Physcial Education, embodying, in President MacCracken’s words at its dedication, “the transition of physical education from its earlier function as a calisthenic drill to is incorporation as a social institution in daily life.” Miss Kenyon retired from the board in 1939, subsequently devoting her time and energies to other philanthropic interests. She died in 1978.