Kenyon College · Gambier, Ohio · Est. 1975
Integrated Program in Humane Studies · Kenyon College

Still asking the biggest
questions.

What it means to be human. What makes a life worth living. What makes a good society. Over half a century of asking, at Kenyon — now in conversation with the machines we have made.

Over half a century of asking what it means to be human — now in conversation with the machines we have made.
IPHS 50th Anniversary · September 25–26, 2026

What is an education like Kenyon’s for?

Leopoldo López ’93 H’07 returns to Gambier for a 4 p.m. Saturday conversation with Raul Romero ’22 in Archon Hall, followed by a poster walk and the anniversary reception at Gund Gallery.

View the anniversary program →

Friday Evening Alumni Gathering

Reconnect with IPHS alumni and friends as Homecoming weekend begins.

The Possibility of Many Things

Leopoldo López ’93 H’07 in conversation with Raul Romero ’22

Plus two consecutive Saturday morning classes in Timberlake, the Homecoming tailgate and football game, a poster walk outside Archon Hall, and the 5–7 p.m. anniversary reception at Gund Gallery.

50
Years of
Humane Studies
10
Years of
Human-Centered AI
125K+
Research downloads
in 198 countries

Built in a small village in Ohio. Read in more countries than the UN has members.

Explore

An older, wider conversation — in five parts.

About

What is humane studies?

The questions are older than the departments.

Read more →
Our Work

What we do now

Whatever helps us ask the question — AI safety, computational social science, archival AI, and what students build.

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People

The people

The faculty asking with students — from the origins of philosophy to the frontier of AI.

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Recognition

Recognition

Cited by a Fields Medalist; remembered by alumni.

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Fifty Years

Homecoming, 2026

IPHS 50th Anniversary events take place during Homecoming weekend, September 25–26, 2026 — with the full fifty-year timeline.

Read more →

Were you in the program in the ’70s, ’80s, ’90s, or 2000s? Help us complete the record.

Share a memory →
2026–27

Humane Studies, this year

Fifty years in, the conversation is still moving. Follow IPHS students, alumni, faculty, and collaborators from Gambier to Iowa State, London, and Michigan — and join the conversations happening here at Kenyon.

Sep 25–26 · Gambier

IPHS at 50

Homecoming, conversations, classes, and a gathering of generations of Humane Studies.

Oct 13–20 · London · Iowa · Michigan

IPHS on the Road

Humane Studies research travels to Schmidt Sciences, TSLL, and the University of Michigan.

Oct 22 · Gambier

What Do We Save?

AI, Archives & Cultural Memory

Nov 12 · Gambier

From Liberal Arts Majors to Careers in AI and Tech

See the year →
News · July 14, 2026

A lasting commitment to Humane Studies.

George Layburn ’79 supports the future of IPHS

George Layburn ’79 has made an outright gift to Kenyon’s endowment and a significant estate commitment. His giving will add to the George Layburn Endowed Scholarship and establish an endowed professorship in IPHS in honor of his mother, Shirley Dinsdale.

Read Kenyon’s story →
In Memoriam

Tim Shutt, 1950–2025

Tim Shutt
Photo: Kenyon College

Tim Shutt came to Kenyon in 1986 and was for decades the intellectual heart of IPHS, which he long directed. His Dante lectures filled Philomathesian Hall to overflowing, and generations of students met the Divine Comedy, Chaucer, and the Icelandic sagas through him. He retired in 2021 and died in November 2025.

This year's celebration is dedicated to his memory.

Read Kenyon's tribute →
Frequently asked

A few questions, answered.

For alumni, students & press

What is the Integrated Program in Humane Studies?

The Integrated Program in Humane Studies (IPHS) is an interdisciplinary program at Kenyon College, founded in 1975. It returns to an older, wider conversation — asking what it means to be human, what makes a life worth living, and what makes a good society — now in conversation with the machines we have made.

What is the AI CoLab?

In 2016, IPHS launched the AI CoLab, the first interdisciplinary, humanities-led AI program built with partners across academia, industry, government, and the nonprofit world, and the anchor of the world's first human-centered AI curriculum. Its student work lives at Digital Kenyon, where, by the repository's counts, it has been downloaded more than 125,000 times in 198 countries since 2016.

When is the IPHS celebration?

IPHS 50th Anniversary events take place during Kenyon College Homecoming weekend, September 25–26, 2026. The program includes an informal Friday alumni gathering; two consecutive Saturday morning classes in Timberlake; the Homecoming tailgate and football game; a 4 p.m. featured conversation in Archon Hall; a poster walk immediately outside Archon Hall; and the 5–7 p.m. anniversary reception at Gund Gallery.

Who teaches in the program?

IPHS faculty include Katherine Elkins, Professor of Comparative Literature and Humanities; Jon Chun, Visiting Instructor of Humanities in the Integrated Program in Humane Studies; and Lisa Leibowitz, Assistant Professor of Political Science.

Collaborators · Funders · Press
Schmidt SciencesNIST CAISIOpenAIUNESCOMLA MetaIBMOxford Internet InstituteColumbiaSmith CarletonNotre Dame Tech Ethics LabWeill Cornell–Qatar Yale City CenterBerkleeHelix CenterADHOForbesNPR
Across Kenyon's AI ecosystem · IPHS at Kenyon Human-Centered AI at Kenyon Kenyon AI CoLab Archival Intelligence Human-Centered AI Lab