Lowry Center

Plans were begun in 2001 for an athletic center to replace the then-outdated Ernst Center and Wertheimer Fieldhouse that had previously served Kenyon College. The building was originally intended to be called the Fitness, Recreation, and Athletic facility (FRA). Designs were made in collaboration with coaches and other athletics personnel, such as swimming coach Jim Steen, who was consulted while making designs for the "state-of-the-art" natatorium. The KAC was built on the south end of Kenyon's campus, over the site of the former Wertheimer Fieldhouse, which was demolished to make way for the new facility. Construction began in 2003 and the facility was first opened to the public on 25 January 2006, two semesters after the originally projected date of completion (May 2005) and almost three years after the beginning of construction. ==Architecture and features==

The athletic center consists of a hangar-like structure approximately long and wide, or in total, with an arching roof supported by concrete columns in the center of the building and along the perimeter. and the Ladies have won 23 (nonconsecutive) titles. According to Calvin Frost, chairman of the Channeled Resources Group, Kenyon students placed a high value on ecological friendliness when sharing their attitudes about the KAC. ==Recognition==

The facility has been widely praised for its architectural design, and has won several awards. It won the 2007 Facilities of Merit award from Athletic Business magazine, the New England AIA Merit Award for Design Excellence, On the other hand, it has also received some criticism for its high cost. ==Use in 2007 Will Graham celebration==

From 5 to 7 October 2007, the KAC was rented out to Will Graham of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association for the 2007 Will Graham Celebration, which was attended by approximately 5,000 people. The event was met with some controversy among the mostly liberal–progressive Kenyon College community, as Graham's son Franklin Graham had been accused of making discriminatory anti-Islamic statements; numerous students and faculty called the choice to host the event "inappropriate" and criticized Kenyon's administration for having allowed it. Several weeks before the Celebration, about 300 residents of Knox County, Ohio, in which Kenyon is located, gathered near the Kenyon Athletic Center for a "Surround the KAC" event to "form a shield of protection" around the property in preparation for the Celebration. The event was also intended as an outreach to the non-Christian community. In order to avoid trespassing on college property, the group used the public roads around the athletic facility to surround and "bath[e] the building in prayer". ==References==