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Woodberry Forest School Names New Building Kenan Hall
Woodberry Forest School’s newest building, which is home to its dining hall and its math and computer science departments, has been named Kenan Hall to recognize the Kenan family’s longstanding devotion to the school. Headmaster Byron Hulsey ’86 said the Kenan family’s “devotion to the Woodberry community is remarkable and enduring, and I am very, very happy about the official naming of the new building.”
The decision was made last week by Woodberry’s board of trustees, which voted unanimously to recognize more than eighty years of commitment to the school by the Kenan family. The announcement was made during a board of trustees’ dinner hosted by Thomas S. Kenan III ’55.
“I still feel very inadequate to accept this great honor on behalf of my late father, his wife, and myself. We were blessed that the Kenan Trusts had the resources to strengthen Woodberry along the way,” Tom said. “I know my father was smiling, because his love for Woodberry knew no bounds.”
Tom’s father, Frank Hawkins Kenan ’31, served as the senior prefect during his final year at Woodberry. He went on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from which he graduated in 1935. Throughout his notable business career in North Carolina and Florida, he was a devoted friend to Woodberry Forest, serving as a trustee and delivering the commencement address during the school’s centennial year. He received both the Distinguished Service Award and the J. Carter Walker Award, the school’s highest honor. The Frank Hawkins Kenan Medal was established by Frank’s wife, Betty P. Kenan, to honor him. Each year at Woodberry’s graduation, it is given to a student who embodies leadership and outstanding achievement in academics, athletics, and the fine arts.
Frank was a longtime trustee of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, established by Frank’s cousin, William R. Kenan, Jr. William was a native of Wilmington, N.C. and a noted scientist and businessman who resided in New York. The trust has been a major benefactor of Woodberry Forest, supporting such programs as the William R. Kenan Jr. Fund, which provides support for faculty salaries, and the Kenan-Lewis Internship program, which is named in honor of Frank and Lawrence Lewis, Jr. ’37.
A graduate of UNC, Tom has served Woodberry in an extraordinary variety of capacities. He has been a trustee on multiple occasions and has supported all facets of the school’s life through his charitable giving. He is particularly passionate about the fine arts. Most recently he established the Graham Kenan Endowment for the Arts, set to launch this year and support many student and faculty opportunities in the arts. Like his father, Tom is a recipient of Woodberry’s Distinguished Service Award.
The life of the entire community is enriched during services in St. Andrew's Chapel each week thanks to the Fisk Organ Opus 88, which was donated by Tom in honor of his father, who had been the senior warden of the Chapel Council.
Tom is also a longtime trustee of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust and has been a devoted advocate for Woodberry through his work at the trust. The Kenan family and the trust have been generous donors to schools and universities across the country, with a focus on the Southeast. The University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School is named for the family, as is the Kenan Memorial Stadium.
Opened in September 2015, Kenan Hall houses the Randall B. Terry Jr. ’53 Dining Hall, where students, faculty, and staff gather for meals. The second floor of the building is home to the school’s mathematics department, while the third floor contains additional math classrooms and space for the growing computer science program.
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“I still feel very inadequate to accept this great honor on behalf of my late father, his wife, and myself. We were blessed that the Kenan Trusts had the resources to strengthen Woodberry along the way,” Tom said. “I know my father was smiling, because his love for Woodberry knew no bounds.”
Tom’s father, Frank Hawkins Kenan ’31, served as the senior prefect during his final year at Woodberry. He went on to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, from which he graduated in 1935. Throughout his notable business career in North Carolina and Florida, he was a devoted friend to Woodberry Forest, serving as a trustee and delivering the commencement address during the school’s centennial year. He received both the Distinguished Service Award and the J. Carter Walker Award, the school’s highest honor. The Frank Hawkins Kenan Medal was established by Frank’s wife, Betty P. Kenan, to honor him. Each year at Woodberry’s graduation, it is given to a student who embodies leadership and outstanding achievement in academics, athletics, and the fine arts.
Frank was a longtime trustee of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust, established by Frank’s cousin, William R. Kenan, Jr. William was a native of Wilmington, N.C. and a noted scientist and businessman who resided in New York. The trust has been a major benefactor of Woodberry Forest, supporting such programs as the William R. Kenan Jr. Fund, which provides support for faculty salaries, and the Kenan-Lewis Internship program, which is named in honor of Frank and Lawrence Lewis, Jr. ’37.
A graduate of UNC, Tom has served Woodberry in an extraordinary variety of capacities. He has been a trustee on multiple occasions and has supported all facets of the school’s life through his charitable giving. He is particularly passionate about the fine arts. Most recently he established the Graham Kenan Endowment for the Arts, set to launch this year and support many student and faculty opportunities in the arts. Like his father, Tom is a recipient of Woodberry’s Distinguished Service Award.
The life of the entire community is enriched during services in St. Andrew's Chapel each week thanks to the Fisk Organ Opus 88, which was donated by Tom in honor of his father, who had been the senior warden of the Chapel Council.
Tom is also a longtime trustee of the William R. Kenan Jr. Charitable Trust and has been a devoted advocate for Woodberry through his work at the trust. The Kenan family and the trust have been generous donors to schools and universities across the country, with a focus on the Southeast. The University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School is named for the family, as is the Kenan Memorial Stadium.
Opened in September 2015, Kenan Hall houses the Randall B. Terry Jr. ’53 Dining Hall, where students, faculty, and staff gather for meals. The second floor of the building is home to the school’s mathematics department, while the third floor contains additional math classrooms and space for the growing computer science program.
Woodberry Forest School is an exceptional private school community for high school boys in grades nine through twelve. It is one of the top boarding schools in the United States and one of the only all-boys, all-boarding schools in the country.
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Woodberry Forest admits students of any race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, and national or ethnic origin to all of the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, disability, religious belief, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan programs, and athletic or other school-administered programs. The school is authorized under federal law to enroll nonimmigrant students.