The Kenyon College Commitment

Dear members of the Kenyon College community,

The past six months have tested the Kenyon community in many ways, especially our ability to respond in the face of countless unknowns. Every member of our community has had to juggle volatile public health conditions, government orders and expert guidance, new demands on our time and new expectations for how we work, changes in our operations that are anything but incremental, and derailed plans that sometimes lead to surprising opportunities. And of course, all of this decision-making takes place in the context of very real concerns about the health and welfare of friends, family, colleagues and neighbors, as well as the very real toll that the pandemic has taken on our personal lives.

We recognize the virtue of nimbleness and agility, and are grateful for the ways in which our community has been empowered to change course as the conditions around us shift. But the success of the coming year does not hinge on our ability to react, as important as well-considered response plans are. Our success depends on the proactive measures we take every day — as individuals and as a collective — to safeguard the health of our community.

With the endorsement of Campus Senate, every member of the campus community will be expected to abide by the Kenyon College Commitment, a set of guiding principles that recognizes the impact individual decisions have on the health of the community and the success of the 2020-21 academic year. The Kenyon College Commitment is a personal pledge each of us makes to conduct ourselves with the well-being of the collective in mind.

The College also has taken care to develop clear COVID-related policies and protocols — including the Return to Campus Protocols for Employees (issued Jun. 19, updated Aug. 10) and the Conduct Addendum to the Student Handbook (PDF) (issued Aug. 11) — which detail the more practical aspects of working and living on campus.

Adhering to policies and protocols is critically important, and our choice to come to campus signals our agreement to abide by the ones the College has in place. But the real work of the year will be in making the conscious decision to put the health of the community first, and then figuring out what that means in any given situation, and with every interaction. We hope that the Kenyon College Commitment provides both guidance and reassurance, and empowers us all to make the best decisions possible for ourselves and our community.

Sincerely,

Sean Decatur
President

Senior Staff
Diane Anci, Vice President for Enrollment and Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
Meredith Harper Bonham ’92, Vice President for Student Affairs
Jeff Bowman, Provost, Professor of History
Todd Burson, Vice President for Finance
Colleen Garland, Vice President for Advancement
Tom Giblin, Chair of the Faculty, Associate Professor of Physics
Ron Griggs, Vice President for Library and Information Services
Sheryl Hemkin, Associate Provost, Professor of Chemistry
Drew Kerkhoff, Associate Provost, Professor of Biology
Joe Klesner, Senior Advisor to the President, Professor of Political Science
Janet Lape Marsden, Vice President for Communications
Ted Mason, Associate Provost for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Professor of English
Susan Morse, Chief of Staff
Ian Smith, Vice President for Facilities, Planning and Sustainability

Campus Senate, co-chairs
Meghan Mason, Associate Director of the Center for Global Engagement
Jonathan Tazewell ’84, Thomas S. Turgeon Professor of Drama
Delaney Gallagher ’23