Mapping the Industrial History of Mount Vernon, Ohio
- Student: Lucas Kruezer
- Community Partners: Knox County Historical Society, Area Development Foundation, the City of Mount Vernon
- Faculty Mentors: Pam Camerra Rowe (political science) Eric Holdener (GIS)
The project goal was to make Mount Vernon’s industrial history more accessible to the Knox County community and to compare the changes in Mount Vernon in light of larger socio-economic trends by creating geographic information system (GIS) maps into an interactive, online timeline that highlights the industrial changes in the city.
Low-Income Women and Rural Health Care: The Provider’s Perception
- Student: Rebecca Allen
- Community Partner: Knox Public Health
- Faculty Mentor: Austin Johnson (sociology)
While literature explores an increasing number of qualitative analyses of the ways in which rural women perceive their health and attitudes toward healthcare, there is little research surrounding how providers perceive the health outcomes, attitudes toward healthcare, and barriers to health experienced by rural women. This project aimed to work toward filling that gap in order to increase understanding of how disparities in health experienced by rural women are, or ought to be, addressed.
Cost of Community Services Study in Knox County
- Student Kieran Allsop
- Community Partners: Knox County Regional Planning Office and Area Development Foundation
- Faculty Mentor: Katie Black (economics)
In 2003, the American Farmland Trust conducted a Cost of Community Services (COCS) Study for Knox County, Ohio; a COCS study consists of analyzing the fiscal impacts of current land uses with the view to inform policy makers about the benefits and costs of potential future developments. This project replicated the aforementioned COCS study using 2018 data in order to validate the methods and update the findings in the report. Another COCS study was also conducted of Knox County with the goal being to mitigate some of the potential bias that may be present in the previous study and provide a second view as to which is the most fiscally beneficial type of land use.
Connecting Small Farms to Consumers: A Computational Project on Rural Sustainability
- Student Isaac Susser
- Community Partner: Yellowbird Foodshed
- Faculty Mentor: Jim Skon (mathematics, computer science)
A common problem for many small farm enterprises is the creation of connections with consumers who desire their products. Without large marketing budgets or skills, or consistent connections with retailers, many small farm products may never reach those who desire them. And without such farm-to-consumer connections, some otherwise effective small farming enterprises can become unsustainable. The vision for this project was to create a web based solution for effectively connecting Ohio farmers with consumers and resellers who desire and would benefit from having access to their products.
Forecasted Housing Need, Knox County, Ohio
- Student Brian Sellers
- Community Partner: Area Development Foundation
- Faculty Mentor: Katie Black (economics)
This research utilized observed county-level economic and population trends to forecast employment growth over the next 10 years to estimate future housing needs.
Creative Writing Workshops, Dialogue Facilitation, and Community-Engaged Environments
- Student Emily Nielson
- Community Partner: Public Library pf Mount Vernon and Knox County
- Faculty Mentor: Orchid Tierney (English)
The goal of this project is to create and pilot a program that combines dialogue facilitation with the creative writing workshop using the book "What Unites Us" by Dan Rather. The curriculum will blend reading, writing, sharing and open conversation and will be scaffolded in a way that leaves all participants feeling supported and heard. Building the curriculum for this writing and dialogue program will include studying the theory of mediation and facilitation and theory surrounding the creative workshop — particularly workshop models that have the power to decolonize and deconstruct. This will also be built further through community interviews with potential participants and local partners to lay the groundwork and understand the issues most affecting Knox County. The program, too, will have broader implications for other communities, and the research will be made accessible to all. Feedback will be collected from participants to see how adjustments could be made to the program and how to better improve the experience, with the hope of offering the workshop again and even making the curriculum available to other communities.
The Oak Grove Cemetery Project
- Student: Ian Prescott
- Community Partner: Village of Gambier
- Faculty Mentor: Laurie Finke (anthropology)
Oak Grove Cemetery was established shortly after the Civil War and is under the authority of the Village of Gambier. The first part of this project would entail updating and improving the Village's records and archives. The second part would be developing a separate research project that uses the cemetery as an archive of local history. Oak Grove Cemetery, unlike the Kenyon cemetery, is home to a largely stable population; there are often family lineages that can be traced back generations. This improvement in the record keeping system will not only prevent errors, but it will improve the cemetery's value as a source of local history. By drawing from data collected in the cemetery a more concentrated research project can be established that examines information about the position of individuals, families, communities and historical demography in local contexts.
Knox County Perspectives On Intel Manufacturing Sites
- Student: Joseph Pozo
- Community Partner: Area Development Foundation
- Faculty Mentors: Katie Black (economics) and Huachen Li (economics)
Economic growth in rural areas is a pressing concern for local and national policymakers and Knox County is poised to experience a large economic shock with the development of an Intel fabrication plant nearby. An economics student is conducting a study for the Area Development Foundation to identify optimal future industrial-park sites for Knox County.
Extending the Knox Public Health Community Assessment: Exploring Barriers to Care in Ynderrepresented Groups
- Student: Leah Kessler
- Community Partner: Knox Public Health
- Faculty Mentors: Jan Thomas (Office for Community Partnerships), Kimmarie Murphy, (anthropology), Jessie Greenlee (psychology)
In 2021, Knox Public Health (KPH) conducted a county-wide Community Health Assessment to better understand the health needs and priorities of Knox County residents. KPH asked Kenyon to help them conduct a more thorough study of access to care with a specific focus on residents that were underrepresented in the original survey including: those of non-European descent, those with disabilities, older adults, those born outside of the United States and low-income adults. An interdisciplinary team of faculty and students has undertaken this work.
Global Water Dances: Promoting Awareness and a Behavioral Shift toward Solutions for Water Preservation
- Student: Ashley Sanchez
- Community Partners: Brown Family Environmental Center, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
- Faculty Mentor: Julie Brodie (dance)
Global Water Dance, a movement to increase awareness of local water issues through dance, provides an opportunity to integrate dance, art and site-specific work that increases awareness of the natural world, and to expand our understanding of community partnerships to the international scale. Choreographers are provided with a template for creating work with dancers and community members regarding water issues specific to their region. These dances are filmed and shared with the international dance community. The team researched the most pressing water issues in this area to use as inspiration for the choreography and also assisted with community outreach, establishing a base of local dancers and movers for the performance, and creating and teaching the choreography.