GAMBIER, Ohio -- A former collegiate athlete, coach and instructor, Nicole Gardner was recently hired as Kenyon College's Assistant Director of Athletics, Fitness, and Recreation. She'll arrive on campus after serving the last 18 months as the Director of Athletics at DePaul Cristo Rey High School in Cincinnati, Ohio.

"We are excited to have Nicole join our team," Jill McCartney, Kenyon's Director of Athletics, Fitness, and Recreation, said. "She brings energy and enthusiasm as well as a wealth of experience in fundraising and athletics administration. I know she is ready to hit the ground running in order to make a positive impact for our student-athletes, coaches, and sports programs."

Gardner's duties at Kenyon will not only be to serve as an administrator, but to provide oversight of assigned sports, to represent Kenyon Athletics, Fitness, and Recreation at various campus, community, conference and national meetings, and to work closely with both Kenyon's Advancement and Alumni and Parent Engagement teams.

"I am excited and grateful to become a member of this community and I look forward to empowering our student-athletes, coaches, and community members to reach unprecedented heights of success," Gardner said. "Kenyon is a premier institution and I'm really looking forward to helping build upon the well-established supportive and innovative culture that allows our student-athletes to continue to succeed and to set a path that empowers them to be barrier breakers in and out of the classroom."

While at DePaul Cristo Rey, Gardner directed coaches and student-athletes across nine sports, while overseeing extracurricular programming, community volunteers, budgeting, and eligibility. She worked diligently to coordinate fundraising partnerships and consistently remained invested in the student-athlete collegiate recruitment process.

Prior to her work at DePaul Cristo Rey, Gardner worked at KIPP Houston as a Head Cross Country Coach and Assistant Athletics Director for nearly three years. She then moved on to her alma mater, Central State University in Columbus, Ohio, and worked for a year as an Adjunct Instructor.

Gardner also served, for a little more than a year, at KIPP Columbus, where she was the Regional Director of Athletics and Extracurricular Activities who oversaw 127 employees working across 13 sports, 16 extracurriculars, and 10 developmental programs.

During her college years, Gardner was a member of the Central State track program. She graduated in 2016 with a degree in criminal justice and later returned to work as an Assistant Track and Field Coach for two seasons.

Following her undergraduate degree, Gardner earned her master's degree in physical education from Wright State University. 

Her start date at Kenyon is slated for May 1.