Working It
Commencement is my favorite time of the year. I have the best seat in the house to watch our amazing students celebrate their successes with friends and family. After each ceremony, Provost Tankersley and I revel in the opportunity to meet graduates individually and to take impromptu photos with them in and around Risman Plaza.
Each year, Kent State graduates more than 10,000 students with degrees that empower them to become productive members of the workforce or find career enhancement with an advanced degree. More than 63% of our graduates remain in Ohio and throughout their lifetimes will be strong contributors to the state’s economy.
Annually, ºÚÁÏÍø operations and alumni in Ohio generate $4.9 billion in economic impact.
We address areas where jobs are in critical demand, our graduates fill those roles, and collectively our alumni become productive citizens for the state. Along the way, we offer services such as our Rising Scholars Program to help provide a path to a brighter future for some of the most underserved rural Ohioans.
Our College of Nursing produces more Bachelor of Science in Nursing graduates than any other university in Ohio, and an impressive 99.6% of those students have nursing jobs upon graduation. Our graduates fill vital jobs in hospital systems throughout Northeast Ohio—in places like Cleveland Clinic, which employs more than 2,300 Kent State graduates, about half of which came from our College of Nursing. Our graduates fill critical roles that help make Northeast Ohio a hub for some of the highest-quality healthcare in the nation.
Annually, ºÚÁÏÍø operations and alumni in Ohio generate $4.9 billion in economic impact.
Most recently, our Board of Trustees approved the creation of five new bachelor’s degrees within our College of Aeronautics and Engineering. They address the ongoing pilot shortage and speak to the growing need for well-trained employees within the aerospace industry.
One of our new majors, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Flight Operations, will offer a bachelor’s degree for professional drone pilots. It will ensure that Ohio is not just the birthplace of aviation (home to Wilbur and Orville Wright, who invented and flew the first aircraft), but will remain on the forefront of aviation technology.
Kent State research labs give birth to innovations that fuel future generations of business, industry and technology and will solve problems to make the world a better place. This includes the work being done by Kent State researchers from our College of Architecture and Environmental Design to design safer, more efficient trauma rooms within hospital emergency rooms that facilitate better patient care and save lives.
At Kent State, we leverage every dollar we receive from the state of Ohio into $10 for the state’s economy. That is an impressive return on investment by any calculation.
We deliver a system of higher education that is working.
Kent State graduates are working.
To put it simply, Kent State works.
Todd A. Diacon, President
Email: president@kent.edu, Instagram: