After six years at the helm of Kenyon’s student affairs division, Vice President Meredith Harper Bonham ’92 will join the Columbus-based executive search firm BeecherHill as a managing director. Her last day at Kenyon will be May 10, 2021.
“Meredith has led the student affairs division through remarkable and transformational change, meeting the challenges of our moment with creativity and innovation while also advancing the values and traditions of Kenyon,” said President Decatur. “She has modeled how to be both nimble and sure-footed in the face of crisis; her team’s readiness to reimagine every aspect of campus life this past year is a testament to her leadership and the division’s strong sense of purpose.”
Under Bonham’s leadership, the student affairs team achieved a new level of cohesion, guided by a shared mission to support students’ personal growth and academic success. Bonham led several initiatives to promote student health and emotional well-being, including a reorganization of the Cox Health & Counseling Center with the goal of empowering students to manage their health throughout their lifetime. During Bonham’s tenure, the division expanded efforts to foster equity and inclusion and made notable strides in recruiting staff who reflect the diversity of the student body.
“The leadership of student affairs is among the most challenging roles,” said Brackett Denniston ’69, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “Meredith has done a superb job in this role, reflecting high standards of integrity and intelligence in equal measure. We are very grateful to Meredith for her dedication to her alma mater and for her wise counsel and leadership.”
Bonham’s administrative acumen was pivotal to several long-range planning projects. She initiated and led a study of campus housing that will inform the renovation and expansion of student residences over the next two decades. She also led the master planning process for athletics, which laid the groundwork for a second turf field funded through philanthropy. In consultation with Student Council, she led an effort to overhaul the Student Handbook, clarifying expectations and streamlining the conduct process; co-chaired the Kenyon Emergency Preparedness Team; and oversaw the development of a collegewide policy to ensure the rights of community members for peaceable protest.
“It has been a profound honor to serve my alma mater over the last six years, and to collaborate with an immensely talented student affairs team that is singularly dedicated to the student experience,” said Bonham. “I will miss my colleagues, and of course our students.”
The College will conduct a national search for Bonham’s replacement with the assistance of Storbeck Search. Associate Provost and Professor of Chemistry Sheryl Hemkin will chair the search committee; President Decatur will appoint other members of the search committee and announce plans for the interim leadership of the division in the coming weeks.