Laurel Kennedy named as Denison University's new Vice President for Student Affairs
Posted: April 16, 2010
Denison University has named Laurel Kennedy as its new vice president for student affairs. She will succeed Sam Thios in the position, who will retire at the end of June after 38 years of service to Denison. Kennedy, who has been a member of the faculty at Denison since 1990, is currently a tenured associate professor of communication and the director of the college’s John W. Alford Center for Service Learning. Kennedy also served as dean of first-year students at Denison between 2002 and 2007.
About Kennedy’s appointment, University President Dale Knobel said, “Laurel brings to the post a remarkable record of leadership at Denison. She is in an exceptional position to work effectively with her colleagues of the Student Affairs division.” Knobel continued, “Many Denison students already know her from close engagement with her in service and service learning, in the first-year program, or in the classroom. Laurel is a “hands-on” campus leader who easily develops personal relationships with students of many interests and experiences.”
As both Alford Center director and first-year dean, Kennedy has already developed relationships that span Campus and Residential Life, Academic Support and Enrichment, Career Services, Health and Counseling Services, Multicultural and International Student Services, and Religious and Spiritual Life.
Kennedy, 52, holds a B.A. in communication arts and film from the University of Wisconsin (1980) and an M.A. in communication policy from Ohio University (1981). She earned her Ph.D. in international communications from Ohio University (1990).
Kennedy joined the Denison faculty as a visiting lecturer in 1988-89, and was appointed as assistant professor of communication in 1990. She was promoted to associate professor and awarded tenure in 1996, and served as the Department of Communication’s chair from 1996 to 2002. Among her scholarly interests are the American media industry, comparative media systems, and international communication. Areas of Kennedy’s research include the political economy of communication systems in Vietnam, the United States, and Malaysia, where she studied as a Fulbright Scholar in 1987-88. Her teaching has focused on media representation of contemporary issues and the dynamics of leadership among activists and social change advocates.
Kennedy was selected for her new post following a national search that attracted more than 100 candidates. Over the last several weeks, numerous Denison students, staff, and faculty participated in the selection process.
Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.
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