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The Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ alumni family will grow by more than 1,200 new graduates as the university holds its summer commencement ceremonies. The accomplishments of the Summer Class of 2022 will be recognized with in-person, outdoor commencement ceremonies and a virtual commencement ceremony on Aug. 20.

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 Â鶹¾«Ñ¡, 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 Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ alumni family will grow by more than 5,000 new graduates as the university holds its spring commencement ceremonies. The accomplishments of the Spring Class of 2022 will be recognized with in-person, outdoor commencement ceremonies on May 12-14 and May 20 and a virtual commencement ceremony for all colleges and degrees on May 15.

Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ officially broke ground on Crawford Hall, the future home of the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship, on March 8 in a ceremony attended by more than 400 people, including university officials, donors, alumni, students, elected officials and special guests.

Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ alumnus Earl K. Miller, Ph.D., and his wife, Marlene M. Wicherski, have pledged $2 million to support research programs and students in Kent State’s Brain Health Research Institute. The Brain Health Research Institute is a recently established, cross-disciplinary institute that focuses on research and education of brain health across the lifespan.

During its regular quarterly meeting held Wednesday, Dec. 15, the Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Board of Trustees approved naming resolutions for 17 spaces to be located in the future Crawford Hall based on philanthropic gifts of $100,000 or more. An additional nine named spaces were approved by Â鶹¾«Ñ¡President Todd Diacon that were below the required Board approval threshold.

During its regular quarterly meeting held Wednesday, Dec. 15, the Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ Board of Trustees approved naming resolutions for 17 spaces to be located in the future Crawford Hall based on philanthropic gifts of $100,000 or more. An additional nine named spaces were approved by Â鶹¾«Ñ¡President Todd Diacon that were below the required Board approval threshold.

The Kent State alumni family grew by more than 2,400 new graduates as the university held its fall commencement. The accomplishments of the Fall Class of 2021 were recognized with in-person commencement ceremonies and a virtual commencement ceremony for all colleges and degrees on Dec. 17-18.

This year, Â鶹¾«Ñ¡ donors demonstrated the power of philanthropy by giving at unprecedented levels. The 2021 Giving Tuesday campaign shattered the previous records, more than tripling last year’s record of $2.2 million.