Kent State University welcomes visitors to our campus. For the 40th anniversary of May 4, 1970, guests and members of the media will join the Kent State community – students, faculty and staff – as well as local residents and alumni to mark this special date in American history.
For new and familiar guests to our campus, here are some pieces of information about Kent State:
- Kent State is Northeast Ohio’s leading public research university and the third largest university in Ohio. The university is comprised of a central residential campus in Kent and seven smaller, demographically diverse regional campuses spread across the northeast portion of the state.
- In Northeast Ohio, Kent State ranks first in terms of the enrolled students as well as the number of graduates and living alumni in the region. Total enrollment for the Kent State system is 38,800 credit students.
- The university has produced 196,000 graduates, with 68 percent of living alumni living in Ohio.
- In 2010, Kent State celebrates its centennial anniversary, having been a vital resource to Ohio throughout its 100-year history. For more information on Kent State’s centennial, visit http://www.kent.edu/news/celebrate/index.cfm.
- Today, the university and the productivity of its graduates in the workforce produce nearly $2 billion in added income to Northeast Ohio each year.
- The university is among the top 77 research universities in the country, and it is known for the Liquid Crystal Institute (LCI) where researchers discovered the innovation that fueled the flat panel display industry. Kent State research has resulted in 109 active patents, 24 licenses and 16 start-up companies.
- Kent State’s fashion design program is ranked among the top Schools of Fashion in the United States. Students study design in studios in New York City and Florence, Italy. The Kent State University Museum has one of the world’s finest collections of high fashion garments and will host the world premiere of a new exhibit featuring performance items owned by Katharine Hepburn this fall. (VIDEO: http://www.kent.edu/news/video/fashion-icon-dana-buchman-visits-kent-state.cfm)
- Kent State University Professor of Anthropology Dr. C. Owen Lovejoy is an internationally recognized biological anthropologist who specializes in the study of human origins. He was one of the researchers who introduced the world to “Ardi” (Ardipithecus ramidus),a hominid species that lived 4.4 million years ago. This discovery changes the way we think of human evolution and was named 2009 Science Breakthrough of the Year. (VIDEO:http://dsc.discovery.com/videos/ardipithecus-genetic-caution.html)
- The university’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication is one of the nation’s top 20 journalism programs. Kent State’s student media operate with a converged newsroom with the student newspaper, Web site, television station, radio station and magazine working together to cover the news and get hands-on experience before entering the workforce.
- The university’s new air traffic control simulation laboratory provides hands-on experience and training for students in the aeronautics program in a simulated environment. The simulation lab that includes two air traffic control towers with 240 degree views of the airport and 20 computers. Students and instructors can simulate a whole flight, from takeoff to landing. (VIDEO: http://www.kent.edu/news/video/airtrafficcontrolsimulator.cfm).
- Kent State’s official mascot may be Flash, the golden eagle, but an unofficial bushy-tailed mascot scurries up trees and scuttles across campus on a daily basis. Squirrels may be small, but their presence on campus is large. It started in 1961 when 10 rare black squirrels were imported from Canada by Larry Woodell, Kent State’s superintendent of grounds, and M.W. Staples, a retired executive of the Davey Tree Expert Company, which is headquartered in Kent, Ohio. When first released, the large, black-spiked squirrels were frequently mistaken for skunks. Today, they own the campus. The university honors them each fall with the Black Squirrel Festival, a day-long event that started in 1981.
- Famous people who attended Kent State include comedians Drew Carey, Arsenio Hall and Steve Harvey; actor Michael Keaton; musicians Joe Walsh, Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders, and Devo band members Mark Mothersbaugh, Gerald Casale and Bob Lewis; cartoonists Tom Batiuk (Funky Winkerbean and Crankshaft) and Chuck Ayers (Crankshaft); 2009 Tony Award Winner Alice Ripley; and television and film producer and screenwriter Brannon Braga (Star Trek franchise, 24, Mission Impossible II and FlashForward).
- Famous sports figures who attended Kent State include legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz; college football champion Alabama Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban; 2003 British Open Champion Ben Curtis; Usama Young of the Super Bowl Champions New Orleans Saints; and NFL Pro Bowl players James Harrison of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Antonio Gates of the San Diego Chargers, and Josh Cribbs of the Cleveland Browns.
For more information about Kent State, visit www.kent.edu.