Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement

Award winning reporter and news executive Mizell Stewart III will discuss “Journalism as a Civic Good” at 7 p.m. on March 1, 2023, in Franklin Hall’s First Energy Auditorium (Room 340).

This November, members of the Kent State University community joined together to shine their light on philanthropy. During the November campaign, Kent State’s Giving Tuesday raised $3.6 million, marking the sixth year it has brought in more than $1 million to support scholarships and programs across Kent State’s eight-campus system.

Sponsored by the Kent State University Alumni Association, the Alumni Awards are the university’s highest alumni honors. Recipients are selected based on their exceptional professional and civic contributions and for their outstanding support of the university. The 2022 Alumni Award recipients include six alumni and one student.

Kent State University launched the public phase of its $350 million Forever Brighter comprehensive fundraising campaign in October 2021, and during the first year of the public campaign, a record-breaking $77.6 million was raised. This philanthropic feat was made possible with the support of 10,687 donors, 3,753 of whom made a gift to Kent State for the first time.

Kent State’s Division of Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement launched the university’s most ambitious fundraising campaign, called Forever Brighter, last October, creating communications and fundraising materials that share the remarkable impact of alumni engagement and donor philanthropy on the university. The division has earned 19 marketing and communications awards from multiple competitions. 

George L. Jenkins, a 1963 graduate of Kent State University, and his wife, Gina, of Scottsdale, Arizona, have pledged $1 million to create the Gina and George Jenkins Student-Athlete Scholarship Fund that will support student-athletes in any varsity athletics program or team sponsored by Kent State’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. 

The first-ever Day of Giving raised needed funds from more than 350 alumni, friends and partners in just 24 hours. The blue and gold community came together in support of a variety of scholarships as part of the university’s Forever Brighter comprehensive campaign.

Most people who have spent time on Kent State University’s campus in Kent, Ohio, recognize the name Risman. It is connected to the popular Risman Plaza and Risman Drive, but they may not realize that for the Risman family, educating and supporting students has been a family affair for almost 40 years.

Infant mortality rates in Northeast Ohio are three to five times higher for Black babies than white babies, an alarming statistic that is an issue across the country but particularly prevalent in this part of the state. A new $100,000 grant from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation will support innovative work being undertaken at Kent State, an elite research university with the esteemed R1 designation, to address this important issue.