In The News
![Lisa Givan (left), Alfreda Brown (middle) and Dana Lawless-Andric, all from Kent State's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, display the Innovation + Inclusion Leadership Award that was presented to the university.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/InclusionAward.jpg?VersionId=xDjXO6Y_FLclOg2bDz8hj4hC0CGPHeBL&h=55842195&itok=O8HPVNig)
Kent State University is receiving national recognition for its mission to support a climate that welcomes and supports diversity in all of its forms.
![](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/file/kent_state_media_placeholder_0.jpg)
Kent City Schools awarded its March Collaborative Organization of the Month to Kent State University’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion’s Diversity Education and Training Lab.
![Kent State University receives grants to to prevent sexual harassment and assault, relationship violence and stalking. Kent State University receives grants to to prevent sexual harassment and assault, relationship violence and stalking.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/kent-state-sign--ka.jpg?VersionId=wAhBJFA5WopYnvOqeq.8l4fC_..wwguX&h=bde28bee&itok=hgn5WByF)
Kent State receives $450,000 in grants to help prevent sexual harassment and assault, relationship violence and stalking.
![Kent State University employees Tabitha Martin, Lori Bodnar, Alicia Robinson and Kristin Williams stand in the clothes racks at the Kent State Career Closet, located in the lower level of the Williamson House on the university’s Kent Campus. Kent State University employees Tabitha Martin, Lori Bodnar, Alicia Robinson and Kristin Williams stand in the clothes racks at the Kent State Career Closet, located in the lower level of the Williamson House on the university’s Kent Campus.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/03.06.17%20Photo%20of%20Kent%20State%20Career%20Closet.jpg?VersionId=rjSP3OxC8HJNXuwgglS2aaL_ldICHExH&h=dcb14e83&itok=ed86Lzz5)
University employees collect, organize and distribute professional attire for students in need of appropriate clothes for job interviews
![Kent State transgender student Emily Grubb (left) stands with Ken Ditlevson, director of the university’s LGBTQ Student Center. The LGBTQ Student Center is located on the lower level of the Kent Student Center.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/EmilyKen.jpg?VersionId=aklxTmjmeG1k.amW5pIbyXG0wHYaSpnH&h=ec98a0f6&itok=RE3kQYAE)
For transgender students like Emily Grubb, Kent State is home.
Grubb and other students have found an inclusive, welcoming environment that offers resources for the transgender community, such as the student organization Trans*Fusion and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Student Center. Transgender students also receive support from Kent State’s faculty, staff and administrators.
![A Kent State student listens to a speaker during the university’s 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration. A Kent State student listens to a speaker during the university’s 2017 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/B0B_0501.jpg?VersionId=DYCogGHVrwQCRJl.z67b36rpzWFHZT21&h=e6f36a9c&itok=_jKQ8qZB)
Kent State University held its 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Jan. 26 at 4 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.
![Students attend last year's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in the Kent Student Center Ballroom. Students attend last year's Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/MLKLeadNEW.jpg?VersionId=2mihia14lixFFguwP4E2hFdLHUG.3eCq&h=ec98a0f6&itok=uBCsu3nI)
Kent State University will hold its 15th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Jan. 26 at 4 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.
![Kent State’s Vice President for Information Services Ed Mahon accepts the Unity Award for Diversity on behalf of the division from Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Alfreda Brown.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article/02.01.17%20Photo%20of%20Unity%20Award%20for%20Diversity%20winner%20-%20Division%20of%20Information%20Services.jpg?VersionId=bc1gHlklXssARc3f.kLIpKQSk0GAjph0&h=10d202d3&itok=_BIuejpa)
Division of Information Services and Communication Studies Faculty Member Honored
![](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/file/kent_state_media_placeholder_0.jpg)
David Anderson, founder and president of the BridgeLeader Network, to serve as keynote speaker
![Kent State University employees, led by a Kent State zoology major, explore campus pollinators during a lunchtime walk and talk on the Kent Campus. Kent State University employees, led by a Kent State zoology major, explore campus pollinators during a lunchtime walk and talk on the Kent Campus.](https://www-s3-live.kent.edu/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/1_5_2_thumbnail/public/article_thumbnail/PHOTOLEAD-Fit1.jpg?VersionId=RERaYzt89_cxbB5SkDYPxkgeFR7x2ESA&h=ec98a0f6&itok=w7Cpr_G8)
Kent State University has been named a 2016 Gold Level Recipient of the American Heart Association’s Fit-Friendly Worksites recognition program.