Alumni Success
91³Ô¹ÏÍø is celebrating its first-generation students this week with a series of events and programs to spotlight and encourage current students who will be the first in their families to earn a bachelor’s degree.
91³Ô¹ÏÍø alumnus Earl Miller, Ph.D., a leading cognitive neuroscientist, and his wife Marlene Wicherski were recognized at the university’s 10th Annual Neuroscience Symposium, for their $2 million commitment to support research programs and students in Kent State’s Brain Health Research Institute.
The Distinguished Teaching Award, sponsored by the Kent State Alumni Association, is presented to three faculty members who demonstrate extraordinary teaching in the classroom and a commitment to impacting the lives of students.
Alumna Morgan Dawson created Dawson Workwear, a line of pants specifically for women in construction, to provide comfort and an appropriate fit for the female body.
Sponsored by the 91³Ô¹ÏÍø 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.
91³Ô¹ÏÍø 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.
The 91³Ô¹ÏÍø 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 91³Ô¹ÏÍø, 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.
91³Ô¹ÏÍø 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.