One of the most rewarding things about Kenyon is that "you're teaching all the time," says Kim McMullen, the John Crowe Ransom Professor of English. "You see your students in the classroom and out of class. You have lunch with them. They become your friends."

McMullen's students value not only her friendship but also her dedication to enriching literary study through fresh contexts. A case in point: to honor the centenary of Bloomsday, the day on which James Joyce's Ulysses is set, McMullen organized "Ulysses on the Kokosing," a marathon, 28-hour public reading of the masterwork in locations ranging from the streets of Gambier to the College cemetery. The event drew scores of students, professors, village residents, and even alumni, attracting the largest crowd at 3:00 a.m.

McMullen sees the Joyce celebration as an example of "making the walls of the classroom permeable." Another, more far-reaching example would be the Kenyon Exeter Program, which brings juniors to Exeter University in England for a year, together with a Kenyon professor who supplements the students' classwork with a special seminar involving travel to cultural sites. McMullen, who has directed the program twice, built her seminar around modern Irish literature. For two weeks, she drove the group around Ireland in a van, immersing the students in history, literary landmarks, and the countryside.

McMullen has won two prizes for her scholarly work. (In addition to contemporary Irish culture, her research examines the intersection of gender and nationality.) She has also received Kenyon's Trustee Award for Distinguished Teaching.