Kenyon College launches new Web site

GAMBIER, Ohio (July 31, 2003) Kenyon's redesigned site on the World Wide Web made its debut in July, offering the campus community and the outside world a rich portrait of the College that is not only visually appealing but also filled with easy-to-find information and new features about Kenyon people and events.

The site, still located at www.kenyon.edu, has an entirely new look and feel, beginning with a home page that highlights the College's distinctive character, introduces some of the people that make this community impressive, and calls attention to current news and events. The home page, and virtually every other page, link to such key areas as academics, admissions, community, student life, and athletics, as well as to gateways for faculty and staff, current students, alumni, and parents.

Almost one thousand Web pages were created or converted from the old site as part of the initial phase of the redesign. Among those new pages is a "community" link located on the home page. This section highlights activities and events, community resources, and places to go in Gambier. S. Georgia Nugent, Kenyon's eighteenth president, hopes that the community pages will help promote the neighborly relationship between the College and the community.

The new pages that "went live" in July include an "About Kenyon" section along with sections on admissions and athletics, academics, pages for alumni, and a series of profiles of students, faculty members, and alumni. The coming months will see the development of additional new and converted pages, says Vice President for Development Kimberlee Klesner, who helped to organize the redesign effort.

While improved aesthetics and ease of navigation were central goals of the redesign, another major aim was to provide fresh, frequently updated news of interest both off- and on-campus. This week, for example, Web users may be interested to learn about Kenyon's connection to the new film Seabiscuit, and incoming first-year students can find information about Orientation.

Users should note that the site is best viewed with Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher, or with Netscape 6 or higher. Note, too, that you can now locate a Kenyon employee or student from any page by clicking on "Contact Kenyon" at the top of the page, then "Find a person at Kenyon." This feature replaces the "Directories" button on the old site.

Kenyon initiated the Web redesign last year, using as guidelines the recommendations of a marketing study and the report of a College committee. Kenyon chose mStoner, a Chicago-based consulting firm, to undertake the redesign in collaboration with Global Image of St. Louis.