The Division of People, Culture and Belonging is pleased to announce that beginning August 2026, we will transition to a new vendor for milestone* service anniversary gifts for unclassified staff. Kent State will begin utilizing Club Colors through our longstanding partnership with Barnes & Noble. This decision was informed by employee feedback and will provide a cost savings to the university while still giving employees a high quality gift selection.
What’s Changing
A new selection of gifts curated for Kent State employees.
For many items, employees may now opt to have the item branded with the Kent State University logo.
Gift selection will take place during designated windows in the fall and spring, rather than on a rolling basis.
A new gift selection portal, courtesy of Club Colors.
What’s Not Changing
Employees and their supervisors will still receive a notification of the approaching milestone in the days leading up to their anniversary.
20-year chairs and lamps will still be available, but there will be additional gift options.
Milestone anniversary recognition and gifts for classified staff will not be impacted.
*Milestone anniversaries for staff are recognized at every 5 years of continuous service (5 years, 10 years, 15 years, etc.)
Questions may be directed to people@kent.edu.