Featured Story

NEA Big Read Northeast Ohio Celebrate Joy Harjo

“An American Sunrise” by Poet Laureate Joy Harjo, the first Native American poet laureate of the United States, will be the focal point as Kent State kicks off the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Big Read Northeast Ohio community reading program. The kickoff event will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 12, beginning promptly at 7 p.m. in the Kiva. The event is free and open to the public, but registration is appreciated.

Kent State University’s Class of 2025 form a K on campus.

Kent State University’s Class of 2025 arrives with a strong record of classroom success, boasting an all-time high GPA of 3.5. These newest Golden Flashes arrive 3,982 strong, an increase of more than 4% from a year ago.

Alan Canfora (left), one of the nine Kent State University students wounded on May 4, 1970, gives a tour of the historic May 4 site. Thomas Grace (right), who also was a student wounded on May 4, looks on while Canfora talks.

Members of the Kent State University community and people around the world will gather virtually for the 51st Commemoration of May 4, 1970, the day the Ohio National Guard fired on Kent State students during an anti-war protest, killing four students and wounding nine other students.

American Academy Students Show Off the Winning T-Shirt Design

What do friendship, academics and T-shirts have in common? For the students at the American Academy, Kent State University and the PUCPR’s undergraduate program in Brazil, a student-led T-shirt design contest created that missing piece of camaraderie during the pandemic between students and their two schools.

A graduating Kent State University student smiles in her cap and gown at Risman Plaza in spring 2020.

Kent State University will hold in-person commencement ceremonies in May for the Spring Class of 2021 and will welcome back all 2020 alumni for an in-person graduation ceremony during Homecoming Weekend this fall.

Photo of B'nai B'rith Hillel Marker on May 4 site

In keeping with the commitment to honor and remember the events of May 4, 1970, Kent State University will hold a virtual May 4 51st Commemoration this year. The virtual commemoration will feature a video premiering at noon on Tuesday, May 4, that focuses on the nine wounded students: Alan Canfora, John Cleary, Thomas Grace, Dean Kahler, Joseph Lewis, Donald Mackenzie, James Russell, Robert Stamps and Douglas Wrentmore.

CT Scan Rendering of a Komodo Dragon Head

Honors College alumna Jessica Maisano, ’94, B.A., started her career at Kent State as a fashion merchandising student before realizing her passion for dinosaurs and dirt was a viable career option. One Kent State professor would show Maisano that childhood dreams are actually within reach.

Photo of Kent State University campus by Franklin Hall

U.S. News & World Report has named four Kent State University programs as U.S. News Best Online Programs for 2021. Kent State is recognized in the Best Online Master’s in Nursing Programs, Best Online MBA Programs, Best Online MBA – Business Analytics Programs and Best Online Graduate Education Programs rankings.

An image of an exhibit from the TEXTURES exhibition

Black lives and Black cultures have been underrepresented and discriminated against for many years. TEXTURES: The History and Art of Black Hair is an exhibition coming to the Kent State University Museum in 2021 with the help of significant sponsorship from corporate and federal funding that focuses on celebrating and empowering these lives and cultures.

GFAM at the New York Stock Exchange and Ritts poses with her team’s first place trophy at the Quinnipiac G.A.M.E Forum.

Senior finance student Anne Ritts has built an outstanding resume during her time at Kent State, but with a full-time job already lined up for her after graduation, she will not have to worry about updating it any time soon. In her first three years here, Ritts has maintained membership in multiple finance organizations and a sorority, studied abroad, changed her major, and held multiple internships. Ritts’ next adventure will begin this summer in her career with PNC Bank in Charlotte, North Carolina.