Community engaged learning (CEL) is course work designed to address specific community needs and/or access community knowledge; it builds on partnerships between institutions of higher education and surrounding communities to identify and work with public issues that have both academic and public life dimensions. Part of Kenyon's Office for Community Partnerships, CEL provides students with opportunities for reflection on real-world, hands-on experiences.

“Even if students don’t remember in 10 years the readings that they did in class, they’ll remember [the community engagement experience], and so I think it really helps the ideas from the class stay with them in the long term.”

Associate Professor of Anthropology Claire Novotny
Habitat and Humanity

CEL Courses

Collaboration between Kenyon, Knox County and Beyond

A variety of courses with community engaged learning components are available each semester. Course topics span the breadth of academic programs offered at Kenyon and involve collaborations with partners including both local service providers and national organizations.

Assistant Professor of Film Hao Zhou included a trip to Mount Vernon’s Memorial Theater for his film students in fall 2023.

Learning does not just happen on the Hill. Over the past decade, the Kenyon community has worked to expand educational opportunities beyond Gambier.

Date
Categories

Community Engaged Learning Tiers

CEL Objectives

At Kenyon, community-based learning focuses on three objectives:

  1. To nurture a learning experience for students that promotes critical engagement with social realities, an integrative sense of purpose and capacity for connectedness and empathy.
  2. To be a resource for faculty to strengthen their knowledge of and engagement with the incorporation of CEL pedagogies into the Kenyon curriculum.
  3. To create bridges with community partners and foster a reciprocal exchange of knowledge and expertise between the Knox County community and Kenyon College.
Contact
Phone Number
740-427-5904
Location
Alyssa Gómez Lawrence
Assistant Director in the Office for Community Partnerships