The programs and services below are led by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI), as well as a number of campus and community partners who share in this important work. Below, you can explore some of the many ways that we work to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion across our campus community.
The Kenyon Educational Enrichment Program (KEEP) is a selective program aimed at supporting and empowering underrepresented students, including the following: students of color, LGBTQ+ students, first-generation and/or lower-income students, students with disabilities, and others.
For the students who are selected for the program, KEEP introduces them to Kenyon before Orientation by offering them an intensive academic experience in the summer and by connecting them with supportive peers and mentors. Stipends are provided for the students who are selected to participate in this selective program.
Recognizing Each Other's Ability to Conquer the Hill (REACH) is the peer mentoring program, which is coordinated by the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. Consistent with the best practices in the area of underrepresented peer mentoring programs, REACH recognizes the need to assist first-year and second-year students in adjusting academically, emotionally and socially to campus life.
The overall goal of the program is to retain targeted, underrepresented student populations by providing them with support and guidance from mentors, who are able to offer support, insight, and positive reinforcement to help better foster success.
For two years in a row, Kenyon has been recognized by the Campus Pride Index as a national leader for LGBTQ+ inclusivity and equity in higher education. LGBTQ+ students are supported with inclusive policies, LGBTQ+ focused courses, signature programs and events and student-run spaces.
Being the first in your family to attend college can be intimidating, but it doesn't have to be. At Kenyon, there are a number of faculty and staff who were first-generation college students themselves. These staff members — along with campus partners and fellow students — will help to ensure that you don’t face these challenges alone. Below, you can learn more about the resources that Kenyon offers to first-generation college students.
If you are a student with an unexpected need — related to course supplies, graduate school applications, interview attire, everyday needs, or something else — the Student Success Fund is one of many resources that may be able to help with ensuring your support and success.
The Alumni of Color Mentoring Initiative provides students the opportunity to network with, learn from and share feedback with alumni of color. Additionally, this mentoring initiative also provides alumni of color with the opportunity to give back to the campus community in a transformational way that can help shape students’ academic and personal success.
Program Houses
The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion oversees three distinct program houses: the Crozier Center for Women, the Snowden Multicultural Center, and Unity House. Each of these program houses help to support residential learning experiences, while also providing additional opportunities for student leaders to help shape the programming implemented by the ODEI.
In addition to these program houses, other identity-bases spaces — such as Hillel House and Thomas House for Muslim Life — are also active across campus. While these two spaces are managed by the Office of Spiritual and Religious Life, they actively collaborate with the ODEI’s program houses.
The mission of the Crozier Center for Women is to be a safe space for all people to discuss and think critically about gender and gender identity/expression; to be a presence on campus that addresses issues across the gender spectrum while focusing special attention on marginalized gender experiences (i.e. those of women and transgender/non-binary people); and to provide safer sex programming, information and resources.
The mission of the Snowden Multicultural Center is to educate the Kenyon community about diverse cultures through student-focused programs and to increase understanding and respect for people of diverse backgrounds and cultures.
The mission of Unity House is to offer a supportive, educational, social and cultural environment; to enhance the awareness and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community across campus; and to erase stigma associated with non-straight and non-cisgender identities in order to promote greater equity both on and off campus.
Additional Kenyon Resources
The Hillel House enthusiastically invites anyone who wishes to learn more, study, and or commune in the Jewish faiths and traditions. At Kenyon, we encourage dialogue about our faith and demonstrate our diversity through social, cultural, educational, political and religious life.
The Center for Global Engagement promotes international diversity by offering a multitude of study abroad programs, providing orientation programming for international students, and organizing host families throughout the year.
Kenyon Interfaith Partnership (KIP) promotes relationships and mutual understanding among communities of different religious and moral traditions and supports the programming of individual student organizations. We work to encourage interfaith cooperation and exploration while promoting respect for religious life in the pursuit of the liberal arts.
The Office of Spiritual and Religious Life also oversees Thomas House, which is a new space dedicated to Muslim student life on campus.
Student Accessibility Support Services (SASS) coordinates the provision of academic accommodations for students with disabilities. All accommodations are individualized, confidential and based upon both the nature of the disability and the demands of the academic environment.
Composed of faculty members, administrators, and students, the Diversity Advisory Council (DAC) meets throughout the academic year to assess the state of diversity at Kenyon. Underlying the council’s work is a commitment to fostering a campus environment where all individuals, whatever their origin or intended destination, can pursue personal and intellectual goals.