Posts tagged “randolph”

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Nominated for 2026 Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award (Rising Star)

This fall I was nominated in the Rising Star category for the 2026 State Council of Higher Education for Virginia’s Outstanding Faculty Awards! As part of the nomination process, I had to solicit letters from supervisors, colleagues, students, and community leaders. Several letter-writers graciously shared their letters with me. What a treat! Regardless of whether I’m selected or not, I appreciate having a stash of letters I can turn to next time I’m feeling blue.

A few months earlier, the image below appeared on the college’s homepage. I was hoping my 15 minutes of fame would be a little cooler, but you take what you can get, I guess!

This is a screenshot of the Randolph College website homepage. It is a photograph of Dr Kenaston in a dress shirt, black sweater vest, and blue pants talking to three students. Text overlay states This is College Reimagined.

New Job Title!

I’m happy to announce that as of today, I have a new job title: Assistant Professor of History and Ainsworth Scholar in American Culture at Randolph College! This fall Randolph held a national search for a tenure-track position in US and Atlantic history, and thankfully they offered me the job! I will teach in the History Department and co-lead the American Culture program in 2023-2024 before transitioning to full-time in the History Department in 2024-2025.

I have really enjoyed working at Randolph this past year and am looking forward to this next phase. I have loved being back in the classroom, connecting with students, making new friends, and exploring new places with Maria Niechwiadowicz and our pup, Franklin. Moving and transitions are often challenging, and I’m so thankful to the many, many folks near and far who have supported and accompanied us on our journey thus far.

Sunrise of Randolph College's red-brick Main Hall. The sky is light pink and blue.

Randolph College's Q&A with New Faculty

A few weeks ago, I started my new job as the Ainsworth Visiting Assistant Professor of American Culture at Randolph College. You can read more about my new job in this New Faculty Q&A on Randolph’s website.

Screenshot of Randolph College's Q&A with Connor S. Kenaston, the new Ainsworth Visiting Assistant Professor of American Culture