OUR CLASS ACTS

For 20 years Kenneth Cole has created educational fellowships that provide mentorship and encourage social consciousness.

EMORY UNIVERSITY

In 2002, Kenneth Cole developed the first university-based leadership program of its kind, Emory University's Kenneth Cole Fellowship in Community Building and Social Change. The fellowship combined teaching, research and community service to prepare Emory undergraduates to become the next generation of community builders.


COLUMBIA COLLEGE

In 2010, Kenneth Cole tapped Columbia College and The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science to launch a groundbreaking initiative that encouraged students to become agents of social change. The program prepared students to make meaningful, sustainable change by developing practical approaches to challenges and opportunities facing participating communities.


SOCIAL IMPACT 360

After hearing about the program at Columbia in the Wall Street Journal, Compass Partners, now Social Impact 360, reached out to Kenneth Cole. Kenneth Cole then decide on a partnership encouraging and empowering the next generation of change agents to identify and build solutions to social problems using business and entrepreneurship skills with maximize social impact.


BROWN UNIVERISTY & THE RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN

In 2017, Kenneth designated a gift to the Swearer Center for Public Service at Brown University to create the Kenneth Cole Fund for Social Innovation. As many as six undergraduate students from Brown University or the Rhode Island School of Design are chosen each year as part of the Fellowship. These fellows work on ventures that utilize art and design or focus on social justice and public health issues.

THE COUNCIL OF FASHION DESIGNERS OF AMERICA

In 2018, Kenneth Cole Productions and the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) partnered to create the Kenneth Cole Footwear Innovation Award; a one-year design fellowship opportunity offered to fashion graduates combining design and social consciousness.

Rich with mentorship, the Kenneth Cole Footwear Innovation Award builds both conceptual and practical skills, while promoting creative consciousness and collaboration. Fellows explore the power of design to create value in society through empowered awareness culminating in the design, development and presentation of a researched project mentored by the Kenneth Cole team.