Keith Jenkins
Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion
Keith Jenkins
Vice President and Associate Provost for Diversity and Inclusion
Education
BA, University of Arkansas; MA, Ph.D., Florida State University
Bio
Since joining the Department of Communication at RIT in 1992, Professor Jenkins, in addition to his current role as Vice President ; Associate Provost for Diversity & Inclusion, has also served as RIT Faculty-in-Residence (1993 – 1995), RIT’s first Assistant Provost for Diversity (1999 – 2002), Director of Undergraduate Degree Programs in the School of Communication (2011 – 2016), and Interim Vice President and Associate Provost, Division for Diversity & Inclusion (2016 - 2017).
Professor Jenkins is the recipient of many awards. Among the RIT awards are the 2010 Eisenhart Award for Outstanding Teaching, the 2005 Isaac L. Jordan Pluralism Award, the 2004 RIT Diversity Trailblazer Award, the 1993-94 Provost’s Excellence in Teaching Award, the 1996 and 1997 Higher Education Opportunity Program “Community Professor” awards which recognize a professor who has made a difference in the lives of HEOP students at RIT, and NTID’s (National Technical Institute for the Deaf) 1995 Pluralism Award.
Professor Jenkins’ scholarly publications and presentations center around studies in intercultural communication, political and visual rhetoric, and the rhetoric of gospel song. Most recently, the focus of his research has been on pragmatism and the rhetoric of inclusion in Barack Obama’s 2008 Presidential campaign.
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Currently Teaching
In the News
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February 24, 2023
RIT scholarship for city residents expands to include students enrolled in Urban-Suburban program
Rochester Institute of Technology’s scholarship program that provides City of Rochester graduates full-tuition scholarships and academic support is expanding its eligibility. The Destler/Johnson Rochester City Scholars program will now be open to students participating in the Urban-Suburban Interdistrict Transfer Program.
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February 1, 2023
Community members commit to diversity and inclusion
People from across the university are helping RIT make substantial progress on the initiatives laid out in the Action Plan for Race and Ethnicity. Launched in July 2021, the plan unveiled an extensive series of initiatives designed to make RIT more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.
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January 31, 2023
Award-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones speaks at RIT
WROC-TV features RIT's Expressions of King's Legacy event.
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September 20, 2022
Chamber of Commerce honors Jenkins
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August 26, 2022
Staff, alumna among Chamber of Commerce honorees