Diversity Honors
DEI Awards and Honors
Alfreda Brown Diversity Trailblazer Award
The Alfreda Brown Diversity Trailblazer Award recognizes diversity pioneers associated with Kent State University. The award is presented to those individuals who have displayed exemplary contributions in the area of diversity to the university community.
Learn More About the Alfreda Brown Diversity Trailblazer Award
Beverly J. Warren Unity Award for Diversity
The Beverly J. Warren Unity Award for Diversity recognizes the contributions of any Kent State University unit that demonstrates significant contributions in the areas of diversity, equity, and/or inclusion. This award honors units for their commitment to implementing diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Learn More About the Beverly J. Warren Unity Award for Diversity
Rozell Duncan Student Diversity Award
The Rozell Duncan Student Diversity Award recognizes students and student organizations who have demonstrated a respect and value for differing backgrounds and points of view within Kent State University or surrounding community.
Learn more about the Rozell Duncan Student Diversity Award
Vice President's Shining Star Award
The Vice President's Shining Star Award is bestowed upon a faculty or staff member within the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This person personifies a strong dedication and commitment to the division’s mission, vision and purpose in addition to going above and beyond the call of duty.
Learn more about the Vice President's Shining Star Award
President's Ambassadorship
The President's Ambassadorship is an opportunity for collaboration with a local, high-level person of color who will serve as a catalyst for change, promoting pluralistic understanding and mutual respect among diverse constituencies of students, staff, faculty and administrators at Kent State University.
Read More about the President's Ambassadorship
National Diversity Awards
Insight Into Diversity
Kent State University’s commitment to maintaining a diverse and inclusive campus has received acknowledgement from INSIGHT Into Diversity, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education, for a fifth consecutive year. INSIGHT Into Diversity has selected Kent State on multiple occasions as a recipient of the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award.
The annual HEED Award is a national honor that recognizes U.S. colleges and universities that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. As a recipient of this award, Kent State was featured in INSIGHT Into Diversity publications.
Kent State University has the distinction of ranking among the top five companies nationwide in Forbes recent list of America’s Best Employers for Diversity 2019.
Kent State ranks No. 4 among 250 companies in 25 industry sectors and No. 1 among universities in the 2019 ranking, which was released last week. Kent State was the only public or private university in Ohio to make the second annual list.
Kent State President Beverly J. Warren received applause as she announced the honor to the campus community Jan. 23 during the university’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration.
“This is due to the incredible work of so many here at the university and beyond, and I am grateful to you beyond words,” President Warren said.
Kent State’s work in the area of diversity and inclusion has also been recognized by the publication INSIGHT Into Diversity.
In 2018, the university was among a group of institutions named a Diversity Champion for “exemplifying an unyielding commitment to diversity and inclusion throughout their campus communities and across academic programs.” The presidents of the institutions were lauded for creating diverse, accessible and inclusive campuses that serve as national models of higher education.
INSIGHT Into Diversity cited President Warren’s creation of a $1 million fund to support the recruitment of diverse faculty, which has significantly increased the number of hires and tenure-track faculty from underrepresented groups.
Kent State is in excellent company on the Forbes Best Employers for Diversity list. It includes some of Northeast Ohio’s most prominent corporations, with Lubrizol ranking No. 22, Progressive at No. 98 and Cleveland Clinic at No. 125 out of 250 Best Employers for Diversity.
Kent State scored 84.72 on the list, not far behind Ball, a metal packaging company in Broomfield, Colorado, which topped the list with a score of 85.85.
The University of California Irvine, which ranked No. 7, was the only other university that made it to the top 10.
Forbes collaborated with marketing research firm Statista to compile the list by anonymously surveying 50,000 American employees working for the companies.
The surveys asked “respondents to rate their organizations on criteria such as age, gender, ethnicity, disability and sexual orientation equality as well as that of general diversity.”
Statista reviewed the responses for “potential diversity gaps.” For example, Statista took into account whether workers from minority groups rated organizations poorly on diversity as opposed to non-minority groups rating the employers highly and the “company’s scores were adjusted accordingly.”
A final list ranks the 500 companies with the most recommendations, the most diverse boards and executive ranks along with the most proactive diversity and inclusion initiatives.
Learn about Kent State’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
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Photo Caption:
Senior Chemist Hari Krishna Bisoyi (left) and Senior Research Fellow Quan Li (right) conduct an experiment in Kent State University’s Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, located on the campus in Kent, Ohio.
Media Contacts:
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595