Nine new tenure-track faculty have joined the Kenyon community and will begin teaching in Gambier this fall. The new faculty members represent a broad academic spectrum — from the natural sciences and humanities to the fine arts and social sciences — as well as a diversity of expertise and experiences.
Provost Jeff Bowman, whose office oversees the College’s academic division, said he is excited to welcome this new group of faculty.
“These talented and imaginative teachers will be outstanding additions to the Kenyon community. They will challenge and inspire our students — and their peers — as scholars, artists and teachers. I’m eager to welcome them to our community and to get to know each of them better.”
Chloe Cappuccilli
Assistant Professor of Drama
Chloe Cappuccilli specializes in costume design, scenic design and puppetry. She has been a costume and puppet designer for over a decade, including work with regional theaters, universities and children’s theaters across the country. She has professionally worked as a costume designer, draper, crafts artisan, props designer, technical director, puppet designer, and as part of puppet construction teams.
Design credits include: “Godspell” (University of Dayton), “The Moors” (Magnolia Theatre), “Mojada: A Medea in Los Angeles” (New Mexico State University), “The Phantom Tollbooth” (West Virginia University), “Half Life of Memory” (Cold Basement Dramatics), “The American Revolution” (Theatre Unspeakable), and “The Tempest” (Columbia College Chicago).
- Master of Fine Arts in costume design and technology from West Virginia University (2020)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in theater from Columbia College Chicago (2015)
Rebecca Clements
Assistant Professor of Biology
Rebecca Clements’ research focuses on the immunobiology of fetal and neonatal red blood cells, exploring how erythroid progenitors contribute to immune responses and how infection and inflammation alter red blood cell biology. Her work sheds light on fundamental aspects of host-pathogen interactions and immunity during early life.
Prior to Kenyon, Clements completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania and later served as a visiting faculty member at Swarthmore College.
- Doctor of Philosophy in biological and biomedical sciences from Harvard University (2021)
- Bachelor of Science in molecular biology from the University of Pittsburgh (2016)
- Bachelor of Arts in religious studies from the University of Pittsburgh (2016)
R. Jordan Crouser
Professor of Computing and Founding Director of the Interdisciplinary Program in Computing
R. Jordan Crouser is a computer scientist whose work explores the human side of computing — how people interact with data, algorithms and each other via emerging technologies. His teaching and research emphasize ethical, equitable design in areas such as human-computer interaction, data visualization and responsible AI. Crouser is especially passionate about interdisciplinary collaboration and building computational tools to solve real-world problems.
Before joining Kenyon, he chaired computer science at Smith College and conducted research at MIT Lincoln Laboratory and the Laboratory for Analytics Sciences at North Carolina State University, where he worked at the intersection of data science, decision support and human-machine teaming.
- Doctor of Philosophy in computer science from Tufts University (2013)
- Master of Science in computer science from Tufts University (2010)
- Bachelor of Arts in mathematics and computer science from Smith College (2008)
Catherine Fahey
Assistant Professor of Biology
Catherine Fahey’s research investigates how plants interact with the diverse microbial communities that live in and around them — and how these hidden relationships influence plant health, growth and resilience. Using field experiments and molecular approaches, she explores how global change drivers such as climate change, invasive species and biodiversity loss alter plant-microbe interactions. Her work has spanned a wide range of ecosystems, primarily in forests ranging from tropical forests in Panama to boreal forests of Northern Ontario, but also grasslands and agricultural systems. By studying these diverse environments, she aims to understand how ecological interactions and biodiversity can help ecosystems remain resilient in a rapidly changing world.
Fahey is also a research associate at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center in Maryland, where she studies how biodiversity supports the resilience and function of forest ecosystems.
- Doctor of Philosophy in interdisciplinary ecology from the University of Florida (2018)
- Master of Science in botany from the University of Florida (2014)
- Bachelor of Science in environmental science from Cornell University (2010)
Nathanael Hunter
Assistant Professor of Chemistry
Nathanael Hunter’s research is focused on the synthesis of new redox-active main group element compounds. He is especially interested in the potential applications of these new molecules as catalysts in industrially and pharmaceutically relevant chemical synthesis, as well as their applications as sensors for toxic materials. His work aims to develop more cost-effective methods for well-known chemical processes.
Prior to Kenyon, Hunter was a National Science Foundation Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellow (MPS-Ascend) at Texas A&M University, where he studied antimony- and bismuth-based Lewis acids as non-toxic ion transport promoters in biological systems, and as potent reagents in synthetic chemistry.
- Doctor of Philosophy in inorganic chemistry from The Ohio State University (2022)
- Bachelor of Science in chemistry and philosophy from John Carroll University (2017)
Julianna Johnston
Assistant Professor of Art
Julianna “Jules” Johnston is an interdisciplinary artist, performer and assistant professor of art and new genres. Their practice integrates media, performance, installation and experimental pedagogy to explore how play and embodied engagement can unsettle and reframe personal and collective relationships to digital interfaces and surveillance technologies.
Their work has been shown across the U.S. and internationally, including at Slamdance Film Festival, Athens Digital Arts Festival, Rathaus für Kultur (Switzerland), Studio Hüette (Berlin), Spectra Studios, and Human Resources (Los Angeles). Johnston will be presenting a new performance in New York this year as part of the MAXMachina fall season. They have been an artist-in-residence at DOGO Residenz für Neue Kunst, Crosstown Arts, Mass Gallery and Vermont Studio Center. Previously, they taught in the Department of Media Arts at UCLA and directed the Oxbow School Summer Art Institute.
- Master of Fine Arts in media arts from the University of California, Los Angeles (2024)
- Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design (2018)
Courtney Jones
Assistant Professor of Psychology
Courtney Meiling Jones specializes in lifespan racial identity development, particularly among multiracial people, and how structures of power like white supremacy shape that development at societal and interpersonal levels. Her work also explores how multiracial people can develop racial identities which promote resistance to systematic oppression.
While Jones specializes in multiracial identity, she is broadly excited to think about many facets of identity (e.g., gender, sexual orientation, race), how those facets intersect in people’s daily experiences, and how those identities are shaped by, and promote resistance to, societal systems of oppression. In addition to her content expertise, Jones is also deeply passionate about building a more inclusive and antiracist science, using qualitative methods (i.e., interviews) to center voices historically excluded from psychological research.
- Doctor of Philosophy in personality, development and health psychology from Northwestern University (2025)
- Master of Arts in personality, development and health psychology from Northwestern University (2021)
- Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Carleton College, magna cum laude (2015)
Lea Rendell
Assistant Professor of Economics
Lea Rendell’s research examines how financial constraints affect business formation and explores the role of government policy in supporting entrepreneurial ventures. She is also interested in labor economics, particularly the measurement of and changes in labor supply in the post-pandemic era.
Rendell brings policy experience from multiple roles in the federal government. During the 2023-2024 academic year, she served as a staff economist at the White House Council of Economic Advisers. While completing her Ph.D., she worked as an economist at the U.S. Census Bureau. Prior to graduate school, she was a research assistant at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2015 to 2017.
- Doctor of Philosophy in economics from the University of Maryland (2025)
- Master of Arts in economics from the University of Maryland (2020)
- Bachelor of Arts in economics from Vassar College (2015)
Karan Shakya
Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Economics
Karan Shakya is an applied economist whose research explores the drivers and consequences of global environmental change, with a focus on how these changes affect vulnerable communities and their capacity to build resilience. His work also has focused on examining the unintended effects of environmental and agricultural policies, as well as the influence of seasons on children’s well-being in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Shakya’s work primarily involves quantitative analysis, integrating large-scale household surveys with remote-sensed data while also drawing on qualitative fieldwork to support findings.
- Doctor of Philosophy in applied economics from The Ohio State University (2025)
- Bachelor of Arts in in economics and environmental studies from Dickinson College (2020)