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.
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.
Learning does not just happen on the Hill. Over the past decade, the Kenyon community has worked to expand educational opportunities beyond Gambier.
Community Engaged Learning Tiers
CEL Objectives
At Kenyon, community-based learning focuses on three objectives:
- 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.
- To be a resource for faculty to strengthen their knowledge of and engagement with the incorporation of CEL pedagogies into the Kenyon curriculum.
- To create bridges with community partners and foster a reciprocal exchange of knowledge and expertise between the Knox County community and Kenyon College.
Recent Collaborations
Kenyon students collaborated with local farm to learn about sustainable agriculture and with Knox Public Health to assist in designing and executing a new health assessment.
Assistant Director in the Office for Community Partnerships