Alum’s legacy recognized with scholarship for students in Disability Studies Program

Kent Shiner ’96 is known for a lot of things: his devotion to service and his community, his passion for connecting with others, his kind heart and his love of sports, just to name a few. 

With the creation of the Kenton E. Shiner ’96 Scholarship for Excellence and Service in Disability Studies, that list just became a little longer. 

Shiner has spina bifida, a developmental disruption occurring during the formation of the spinal cord, which resulted in him being a lifelong wheelchair user. Since graduating from Roanoke with a degree in health and physical education, he has remained a very active and supportive alumnus. 

Faculty and staff organized a ceremony to announce the scholarship in the Cregger Center on Saturday, Oct. 25. What Shiner thought was an alumni event turned out to be a celebration centered around him. His family and friends, along with his elementary school principal and his pediatrician, came to the event. The news came as a complete surprise, he said afterward. 

“It was one of the first times that I can remember tearing up in a situation like that, from the pride that I had and the overwhelming honor of having something named for me,” he said. “To have something named for me while I’m still around and able to appreciate it, that’s special. More importantly, it’s the fact that it was named for me based on who I am as a person.” 

Frances McCutcheon, lecturer and founder of the Disability Studies Program, said Shiner has been a supporter of the Disability Studies Program since its inception. He has been a guest speaker for McCutcheon’s May Term classes and served as a nominator for Toy Like Me, a charitable organization within the college that modifies toys to reflect children and individuals with disabilities. 

“It’s who I am,” Shiner said of the Disability Studies Program. “It’s a program about who I am as a person and the importance of treating those of us with disabilities like everyone else and putting us on equal grounds to other individuals.” 

The scholarship acknowledges the legacy that Shiner has left behind at Roanoke. There are tangible ways to measure Shiner’s impact on Roanoke— for example, there were no ramps leading down to the science quad or up to the graduation stage before his time. But the mark he has left on the college goes much deeper than infrastructure. This year, Toy Like Me donations were mostly funded by Shiner’s friends and family, McCutcheon said, because of his passion for the program.  

“Long after we’re gone, Kent is still going to be here. There’s still going to be this legacy where, from here, disability studies students are going to go and change the country, the world. He's going to be a part of that long after we’re gone,” she said. “People are going to remember his name and remember what a Maroon is: service, friendliness and honor.” 

Three students who received the scholarship in May, along with three candidates from the current academic year, attended the award announcement. The scholarship will enable students to teach others about disabilities and how to build an inclusive society, which makes it especially meaningful to Shiner, he said.  

The scholarship is awarded to students who demonstrate academic excellence and high proficiency in the field of disability studies, practice good student citizenship, and provide outstanding service to the disability community. It honors character and leadership, two abiding values of the third imperative in Roanoke College’s strategic plan, “Imagine Roanoke.”

Shiner is a model of those values, McCutcheon said. During his time both as a student and an alumnus, he has been very involved with Alpha Phi Omega, a service fraternity. He worked for Roanoke County Public Schools for many years, and these days, he spends his time volunteering in the Ronald McDonald House of Southwest Virginia’s Family Room inside of Carilion Clinic.  

“These students exemplify the things that Kent does—loyalty, service, service of the disability community and honoring Roanoke College by giving their best,” McCutcheon said of the scholarship recipients.  

To donate to the Kenton E. Shiner ’96 Scholarship for Excellence and Service in Disability Studies, follow this link or contact Suzanne Hiner at hiner@roanoke.edu.