Trans at Kenyon

Kennedey Bell (they/them), ODEI interim coordinator of strategic initiatives.

Gender Group: This is a student-run organization for transgender, non-binary, and/or questioning students. Emails from Gender Group will appear in your inbox labeled as "Kenyon Group" for the privacy and safety of group members. Meeting times and locations for Gender Group are private. Get in touch at transkenyon@gmail.com. 

Office for Civil Rights: This office monitors and coordinates compliance with nondiscrimination laws and investigates complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, physical and/or mental disability, age, religion, medical condition, veteran status, marital status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by institutional policy or state, local or federal law. Get in touch at kenyon.edu/offices-and-services/office-for-civil-rights/contact

Trans Subcommittee of the LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee: This is a subcommittee of the college’s LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee, and it focuses solely on the needs of transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming people across the campus community. Get in touch.

Unity House: This program house is located behind Farr Hall across from Snowden Multicultural Center. Get in touch at GLBTQ@kenyon.edu. 

The non-discrimination statement at Kenyon is fully LGBTQ+ inclusive, and the College's Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment Policy prohibits discrimination on sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression and sexual orientation, in addition to other categories. For more information on the non-discrimination statement, please contact the Office for Civil Rights.

The Office for Civil Rights at Kenyon

The Office for Civil Rights at Kenyon is also available for students to report incidences of Title IX violations. Feel free to contact Kevin Peterson (director of the Office for Civil Rights and Title IX coordinator) or any other Office for Civil Rights staff members for further information.

The Cox Health and Counseling Center is available on campus to provide healthcare services to support wellness for transgender and gender diverse students. We are committed to providing respectful, equitable, holistic, trauma-informed, and patient-centered care to all students. We honor and affirm each individual’s diverse identities, backgrounds, and experiences, ensuring accessible and compassionate care and support for all, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, ability, cultural beliefs or reason for seeking care.

Our clinicians recognize that consideration of all aspects of a person’s identity is integral to delivering high-quality healthcare and counseling. Students are encouraged to contact the Cox Health and Counseling Center for any questions they might have or to make an appointment, which includes communicating directly with our nurse practitioners via the “Ask a Nurse Practitioner” secure message box located in their Student Health Portal

Contact Information 

Health and Counseling Services: 740-427-5525 or email health@kenyon.edu; open Monday through Friday 8:30 a.m to 4:30 p.m. (closed 12-1 p.m. for lunch).

In short, Kenyon is equipped to ensure that gender affirming care including transition-related healthcare options are supported during a student’s time on campus. We collaborate closely with the Office for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to support student access to community resources. We have a team of independently-licensed mental health counselors, and our health clinicians refill transition-related medications and perform lab testing in collaboration with off-campus providers. 

Off-Campus Health, Mental Health and Wellness Services

• Equitas Health: The state’s leading LGBTQ+ healthcare provider, Equitas Health provides quality, low-cost, and affirming whole-person care at their locations across the state of Ohio. Their services include medical care, pharmacy, mental health and recovery services, and support groups, including groups for transgender and non-binary people who are medically/socially transitioning or considering transitioning. The closest locations to Kenyon College for these services are the Equitas Health locations in Newark and Columbus, Ohio. For more information about this resource, visit the Equitas Health webpage. 

• Ohio State University Medical Center (OSUMC) Gender Affirming Care: OSUMC’s Primary Care Clinic offers transition-related care and primary care in a welcoming, supportive and affirming environment. For more information about this resource, link to Transgender Primary Care Clinic.

• Peer Support Groups with OCTOPUS: The Ohio-based transgender resource group, OCTOPUS, regularly hosts peer support groups for transgender and non-binary people throughout the area. Current groups include a general group, a non-binary specific group, and a POC specific group. For more information about this resource, reach out to Kimberly Sue Griffiths (she/her) with OCTOPUS via email at griffithskimberlys@att.net.  

• Trans LifeLine: Trans LifeLine, the nation’s first and only trans-operated hotline service, is a crisis and support hotline for transgender, non-binary, and/or questioning people. Their service supports people ranging from those who simply need to talk to an affirming person to those in immediate crisis. There is also a new Spanish-speaking extension for this service. For more information about this resource, visit the Trans LifeLine webpage.

• The Trevor Project: The Trevor Project is the nation’s longest operating support hotline for LGBTQ+ youth and young adults. Their services can be accessed through a variety of methods including phone, web chat, and text messaging. For more information about this resource, visit The Trevor Project website.

• BIPOC Resources: In coordination with the ODEI, the Cox Health and Counseling Center has also compiled a list of regional and national mental health and wellness resources for BIPOC students and community members. You can review these resources via the Cox Health and Counseling Center webpage.

In addition to some of the resources available on this page, transgender and non-binary employees can also find additional, employee-specific resources under the “Faculty and Staff Resources” section of the ODEI’s LGBTQ+ Community pages. On that page, you can also explore information related to trans-inclusive healthcare access under our employee health insurance plan. 

And of course, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion about campus and/or community-based resources that you need assistance with accessing.

Some, though certainly not all, trans and non-binary people may be interested in binding, tucking and/or vocalization, but it’s important to make sure to do so safely. In an effort to help make this information more accessible, you can explore information about how to more safely bind, tuck and vocalize via the information below.

Safer Binding: There are multiple ways to bind, but it’s important to make sure that you’re binding safely. For more information on how to bind more safely, refer to the “Safer Binding” guide from the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.

Safer Tucking: There are also multiple ways to tuck, but it’s still important to make sure that you’re tucking safely. For more information on how to tuck more safely, refer to the “Safer Tucking” guide from the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.

Safer Vocalizing: There are also multiple ways to explore vocalization, and to help maintain a healthy voice, it’s important to make sure that you’re exploring vocalization safely. For more information on how to vocalize more safely, refer to the “Finding Your Voice” guide from the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center.

Kenyon operates on an open-housing model, which largely allows students to find housing options that meet both their needs and their preferences. However, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion has recently collaborated with the Office of Residential Life to clarify a formalized process that will further ensure the needs of our transgender and non-binary students are consistently and equitably met in terms of inclusive, comfortable and accessible housing.

Information about gender inclusive housing is currently available through the Office of Residential Life.

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion also retains a number of funds to support the success and well-being of our students. One of these funds, the Student Success Fund, can help students with financial need access transition related apparel, including but not limited to professional attire, binders and undergarments among other items. This fund can also assist with various fees associated with the name and/or gender marker change process.

For students with financial need, please refer to the Student Success Funds webpage or contact the ODEI for more information about how this fund may be able to meet your needs.

For students: Contact the Registrar's Office with your legal name change information. The Registrar can then update your name information in Banner. Once the information is updated in Banner, it automatically updates other campus information systems.

Additionally, the Office of the Registrar and Information Technology (IT) have collaborated with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (ODEI) to ensure that correct names and pronouns will auto-populate on class rosters once changed in Banner.

Please note: Even though you have selected a preferred first name, many offices on campus do have access to your legal first name. Please contact any office that uses your legal first name and let them know that you have a different preferred first name.

For staff members: Contact Human Resources at hr@kenyon.edu.

All new email addresses have your last name and a number (ex: surname1@kenyon.edu), and your name pulled from the Admissions database will also be displayed.

Step 1: Go to your "Settings" by clicking on the cog symbol under your email profile (the small circle where your profile photo would go).

Step 2: Click on the "Accounts" tab, then click "edit info" and type in your name.

Step 3: Change your name in Google by going to your Google Account main page and clicking "Personal Info & Privacy." Click the "Name" section and edit your name.

Step 4: Log out and reload the page, then log in again to check if your name is changed. If not, contact Helpline for further assistance.

The "First Name Label" associated with your email address will be then be changed (to your new name); not your actual email address.

Step 5: After your legal or preferred last name change has been approved by the Registrar, contact the IT Accounts Management Team to arrange an appointment for the change. There will be a disruption in your access during this time.

To change your name and/or photograph on your K-card free of charge, contact Vice President for Student Affairs (VPSA) Celestino Limas at limas1@kenyon.edu. 

After you have received confirmation from the VPSA, visit the circulation desk at Chalmers Library to pick up your new card once approved. (Please note that you may submit a photo of your choice via this link, prior to arriving at Chalmers Library.)

Names can only be changed on college documents if you have legally changed your name in your residential state (for U.S. citizens). Information about legal names changes and identification documentations is available through the Trans Equality ID Document Center.

Periodically throughout the year, the ODEI will be partnering with Equitas Health and TransOhio to offer a free gender and/or name change clinic on campus. At this free clinic, attorneys will help answer your questions, review any necessary documentation, and complete relevant name/gender change forms with you. Courtesy of TransOhio, scholarships are also available at this clinic, which can fully cover the cost of filing the paperwork with the state of Ohio.

For more information on upcoming gender and/or name change clinics at Kenyon, please contact ODEI.

To change your legal name and/or gender marker, bring associated legal documents (i.e. the court order in most instances) to the Office of the Registrar.

Students, faculty, and staff can also easily add their pronouns to their name in Google Meet by doing the following:

Step 1: Open the Chrome browser. In the upper-right corner of the browser window, click on the three vertical dots.

Step 2: From the drop-down menu, click on "Settings." This will open a new page.

Step 3: Find "Manage Your Google Account" and select it; again, a new page will appear.

Step 4: On the left menu, click on "Personal Info" and a new page will appear.

Step 5: Click on the "Name" field. You may be prompted for your password. Re-enter it, if so.

Step 6: Change the "First Name" and/or "Last Name" field to what you would like to use. If you are only adding pronouns, add them to the “last name” field.

Step 7: Click the "Save" button at the bottom of the page.

After this, Google Meet will now display your new profile name in meetings and in the name field of your email address for all future meetings and emails.

To change your name in Moodle, you should log into Banner via the the Personal Access Pages.

Once logged in, click “Personal Information” and then select “Update Personal Information.” Use the edit button to make any updates. The extended directory, class rosters, class lists and Moodle are updated nightly to reflect changes made in Banner.

Only those who want their choices regarding first names and personal pronouns to be available to all students and employees should enter this information in Banner. Otherwise, these fields should be left blank.  

Students can easily and quickly change the name on their P.O. box at the Gambier Post Office. To do so, you simply need to bring your K-Card to any representative at this post office location. After presenting your K-Card with the correct name, give them your P.O. box number and ask them to update the name for their records. This process should be able to be completed within one to two business days.

If you encounter any problems with this, please contact the ODEI for assistance in having this information updated.

Students can easily and quickly update their name at the Campus Mailroom, and updates can be performed for both legal name changes and chosen/preferred name changes. After updating your information in Banner (as noted above), contact the Mail Services Manager Mike Knight at knightm@kenyon.edu. 

When doing so, please state whether your current name information should be pulled from your legal name or chosen/preferred name field in Banner, and request that your name in the mailroom services directory and Notifii be updated accordingly.

If you encounter any problems with this, please contact the ODEI for assistance in having this information updated.

In the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, we recognize that members of our transgender and non-binary community may have other various needs that aren’t represented on this resource page. If you are in need of information and/or resources to support your holistic wellness and success, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our office directly.