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Kenyon College has appointed Dianna Shandy as its next provost, selecting the longtime higher education leader to serve as the College’s chief academic officer beginning Aug. 1.
Shandy most recently served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois, where she oversaw academic programs, faculty affairs and student success initiatives.
Kenyon President Julie Kornfeld said Shandy’s collaborative leadership style and commitment to the liberal arts made her the ideal choice to help guide the College’s academic future.
“Dianna has a long history of working across disciplines to support — and empower — faculty and students,” Kornfeld said. “She is a skilled collaborator, full of vision and compassion, who is grounded in the core values that define Kenyon and the liberal arts.”
Shandy brings more than two decades of experience in higher education. Before joining Augustana in 2023, she spent more than 20 years at Macalester College in Minnesota, where she served in several leadership roles, including associate provost for strategic initiatives, interim dean of the faculty and associate dean of the Kofi Annan Institute for Global Citizenship.
A first-generation college student from rural Kansas, Shandy said she has always been drawn to colleges where academic excellence is paired with close faculty mentorship and strong residential communities.
“I am honored to join the Kenyon community as provost,” Shandy said. “Throughout the search process, I was struck by the intellectual vitality of the faculty, the genuine care for students, and the thoughtful, candid conversations about both Kenyon’s many strengths and the opportunities ahead.”
She said she looks forward to working with faculty, staff, students and President Kornfeld to build on Kenyon’s tradition of liberal arts education while helping the College navigate the evolving landscape of higher education.
Shandy succeeds Jeff Bowman, who has served as Kenyon’s provost since 2020 and also served as the College’s interim president from July 2022 through October 2023.
The national search was co-chaired by Kornfeld and Aaron Reinhard, professor of physics, and included representatives from the faculty, staff and Board of Trustees. The committee was assisted by executive search firm Opus Partners.
Reinhard said Shandy stood out among a strong pool of candidates because of her vision, leadership and commitment to Kenyon’s mission.
An anthropologist by training, Shandy earned her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and both her master’s degree and doctorate from Columbia University. Her scholarship has focused on migration, gender, qualitative research methods and anthropology education. She has authored or edited nine books and has received numerous honors for teaching, research and academic leadership.
As provost, Shandy will oversee Kenyon’s academic programs and faculty while helping shape the College’s educational priorities and strategic direction. She officially assumes the role on Aug. 1.
