Hailing from 48 states and 49 foreign countries, 1,730 new and returning Kenyon students call Gambier home this semester. They gathered together for a rain-soaked First-Year Sing and joined faculty, staff and community members at an all-campus feast for conversation over a shared meal on Middle Path, setting the tone for the critical and creative thinking to come.
This year’s student body comprises one of the most diverse in the College’s history: Seven percent of Kenyon’s students are non-U.S. citizens and 20 percent are domestic students of color.
The largest portion of students are from Kenyon’s home region, with 27 percent hailing from the Midwest. Nearly a quarter are from the Mid-Atlantic region, while 18 percent travel to Gambier from hometowns in the West and Southwest. Thirteen percent of students are from New England, and 10 percent from the South.
An additional 117 Kenyon students are spending a semester or an entire year participating in off-campus study before coming home to Gambier in 2019. Twenty-four juniors are spending two semesters at the Kenyon-Exeter program, which combines the rich curricular options of a top British university and the intimacy of a liberal arts-style seminar taught by Kenyon faculty, and 10 are enrolled in the fall semester Kenyon-Rome program studying Italian art and culture.
Selected from a strong pool of more than 6,100 applicants, the 543 members of the incoming Class of 2022 — plus seven transfer students — are adding a diversity of talent and perspective to the Kenyon community. In her welcoming remarks at Opening Convocation, Vice President for Enrollment Diane Anci praised the newest members of the Kenyon community as “intellectual, curious, hard working and ambitious.”
While academically excellent, with a weighted grade point average of 3.97, members of the new class stood out for their dedication to community. A full three quarters of the Class of 2022 participated in service work, with 61 percent identifying as athletes. Over half of Kenyon’s incoming students took to the stage as musicians, thespians, dancers and other performing artists, and many held positions in student government or wrote and edited for student newspapers and other publications.
“At Kenyon, you’ll be exposed to the world, and to a world of ideas,” Anci said to Kenyon’s newest community members. “Together, the faculty and staff face you with open hearts and tremendous optimism and excitement for your Kenyon careers.”