Our traditional Opening Convocation will be reimagined for a virtual presentation in 2020. Watch the ceremony on Sunday, August 30, at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The program will be a mix of formal and celebratory moments including a message from President Decatur, the Presentation of the Class of 2024 by Diane Anci, vice president for enrollment, and greetings from across the Kenyon family of faculty, staff, students and alumni.
Opening Convocation is the first of the formal ceremonies that frame the academic year at Kenyon College. This ceremony is a deliberate reflection of the graduation ceremony that students will go through at the end of their Kenyon career.
In a typical year, led by the senior faculty marshal and the flags and banners of the College, the incoming class processes down Middle Path between two rows of faculty members and administrators in full academic regalia as the Pealers ring the bells in the steeple of the Church of the Holy Spirit.
During the ceremony, the class is presented to the assembled members of the Kenyon faculty and administration by the dean of admissions. Students and their parents are welcomed by the president, the provost, the dean of students, and a member of the College's Board of Trustees. In homage to Kenyon's historical ties to the Episcopal Church, the opening and closing ceremonies of the year include both an invocation and benediction. In keeping with the College's desire to be broadly inclusive of all those in the community, the Episcopal chaplain often shares these duties with fellow religious leaders of other faiths who work with the student body.