Kent State University invites all to pay tribute to those who have served in the U.S. armed forces and attend the university’s annual Veterans Day Commemoration. The event will take place at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10, at the Student Green on the Kent Campus. The Student Green is located in front of the Kent Student Center and Risman Plaza.
The program will include a flag-raising ceremony and posting of colors conducted by representatives from Kent State’s Army ROTC program; the national anthem, performed by Stephanie Jones, senior special assistant to the vice president, general counsel; an invocation; welcome remarks from Kent State President Todd Diacon; a Fallen Comrade Table; and a service song medley. George G. Lemons Jr., food service worker in University Culinary Services and a Navy veteran, will serve as master of ceremonies.
This year’s keynote speaker is retired U.S. Air Force Col. Nicholas E. Phillips, J.D., a 1970 Kent State alumnus and attorney whose military career spanned 31 years. As a Kent State student, Phillips served as cadet wing commander of the university’s Air Force ROTC Detachment 630 when the events of May 4, 1970, occurred. He also founded the Kent State Student Bar Association for pre-law students and helped female students eliminate curfew hours that were applied only to women on campus.
After law school at the University of Akron, Phillips entered active duty in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate. While stationed in Hawaii as director of international law for Pacific Air Forces headquarters, he helped establish the Wake Island Judiciary, a justice system for more than 14,000 Vietnamese refugees after the fall of South Vietnam in 1975. He continued his service in the Air Force Reserve, including assignments at the Pentagon, and retired as a colonel in 2001. His military honors include the Legion of Merit.
In his legal career, Phillips has practiced as a trial attorney in North Royalton, Ohio, and served as special counsel with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and as North Royalton’s law director. The Ohio Supreme Court appointed him to a five-year term on the Ohio Board of Bar Examiners.
Phillips also founded the North Royalton Community Emergency Response Team in 2003. He and his wife, Diane, a 1975 Kent State alumna, fund an annual scholarship for Kent State Air Force ROTC cadets, and in 2020, he received Kent State’s Distinguished Citizen Award.
Honoring Those Who Served
The outdoor commemoration on Nov. 10 pays tribute to all who served and are serving our nation in its armed forces. Those who are unable to attend the event in person can watch it via livestream.
Veterans and service members are invited to an appreciation luncheon at noon in the Kent Student Center second-floor dining room. RSVP for the luncheon. Then at 1 p.m., guests are invited to join the Kent State grounds team in planting daffodil bulbs behind Taylor Hall in memory of U.S. service personnel killed in Vietnam.
Kent State has been recognized for its unwavering commitment to supporting military-connected students. For 2026-2027, Kent State earned the Military Friendly® School designation for the 17th consecutive year, with the Kent Campus receiving Gold status for the third straight year. Kent State also was named to U.S. Veterans Magazine’s Top Veteran Schools 2026 list, which recognizes schools that help veterans succeed in college and beyond. In addition, Kent State holds the Collegiate Purple Star designation, first awarded by the state of Ohio in 2022 and renewed in 2025, for its support of veteran and military students.
Find information about Kent State’s Veterans Day Commemoration.
An Evening With Wil Haygood
Kent State’s recognition of veterans continues on Thursday, Nov. 12, with “An Evening With Wil Haygood – The Vietnam War and the American Military: Patriotism, Service and the American Experience.” The bestselling author and prize-winning journalist will lead a conversation from 6-7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva on the Kent Campus. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Before the program, Haygood will sign books at 4 p.m. at the Kent State University Bookstore, located on the first floor of the Kent Student Center.
Haygood is the author of eight books, including the New York Times bestsellers “The Butler” and “Showdown.” His latest book, “The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home,” examines the racial tensions that defined the Vietnam War era and continue to shape the nation today. During 30 years as a national and foreign correspondent for The Washington Post and The Boston Globe, Haygood was named a Pulitzer Prize finalist for feature writing. In 2026, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
The event with Haygood is presented by Kent State’s Pepsi Leadership Center in partnership with the university’s Center for Adult and Veteran Services and the May 4 Visitors Center. It is open to students, alumni, faculty, staff and community members. Registration is required. For disability accommodations, email csi@kent.edu.
