July 2019 Message from the President

Dear Members of the Kent State University Alumni Family,

As I proudly assume leadership of Kent State as its 13th president, I am honored and humbled to lead this great university. I am also filled with excitement and anticipation for what is the beginning of a new era built on a renewed commitment to the highest levels of access and affordability while providing a world-class education.

In my role as executive vice president and provost, I have witnessed the exemplary work and dedication of our special Kent State community. My commitment to you today is to strengthen our intense focus on student success, as well as research and academic excellence.

Kent State is a university with unmatched potential for meaningful impact in the state of Ohio and beyond. We are one of the largest university systems in the nation with world-class faculty, nationally respected programs and students who exhibit the sheer grit and determination to make a difference in our global society.

Thanks to all of you, we are a university on the rise. With your support, we have successfully advanced Kent State's position as a top-tier public research university. Our work has resulted in record retention rates, a dramatic rise in graduation rates and a record number of graduates who earned their baccalaureate degrees. In fact, we awarded more than 10,000 degrees last year – more than the entire enrollment of several Northeast Ohio colleges. And this fall, we will announce great news of dramatic increases in our research funding. As Kent State rises higher, so does the value of your degree. 

Our impressive accomplishments are too numerous to list here – from our students garnering two prestigious Goldwater Scholarships to our Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship investment team winning national honors to WKSU being named the Best Newsroom in Ohio for a second consecutive year. I owe each of our students, faculty, staff and alumni a debt of gratitude. It would have been impossible to reach these milestones without the contributions of all of you.

It will take our continued efforts, working together, to elevate this fine institution to its rightful place as a national powerhouse and vital partner in Ohio's growth and success.

I hope to see you back on campus soon!

#FlashesForever, 
Todd Diacon