Hope Springs Eternal
Spring is, perhaps, my favorite season on all the Kent State campuses. Our greens are alive with flowering trees and our gardens are bursting with colorful blooms. Spring is a time when nature renews itself and our world reawakens.
After more than a year of living in the shadows of the pandemic, the impact of nature’s beauty this spring seems particularly significant. All these signs of new life offer feelings of hope and optimism, which perfectly reflect my sentiments on the future of Kent State.
The pandemic has shown us just how resilient we are as an institution and a community, and I am confident that like the daffodils that decorate our campus this spring, our 2021 Fall Semester also will blossom with signs of renewed campus life. Our residence halls will be at capacity, we are anticipating a robust freshman class and we will return to near pre-pandemic levels for our in-person classes and activities.
One of the first signs of this renewal is our Commencement Week in May when the Kent Campus will host a series of outdoor graduation ceremonies for the Class of 2021. We are thrilled to once again welcome graduates and their families to campus to celebrate their accomplishments.
“The pandemic has shown us just how resilient we are as an institution and a community.”
Visitors to the Kent Campus will notice that a new set of markers has been installed as part of our May 4, 1970 memorials, to indicate the spots where nine students were wounded during that day’s shootings. These markers, which provide important historical detail about where the wounded were standing on that fateful day, exist, in part, due to the efforts of alumnus Alan Canfora, one of the nine wounded, who championed this project and so many other May 4 efforts. Sadly, he died in December before the markers were unveiled. His zeal for the truth regarding May 4, and his dedication to Kent State are remembered in a tribute by fellow wounded student Tom Grace, and I know Alan Canfora’s spirit will live on forever at Kent State.
The passion and accomplishments of our alumni are always inspiring, as they experience success in their chosen fields of work or service. One such graduate, Sarah Shendy, recently was appointed the first director of the newly created Ohio Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment. In this issue, you can read about Shendy, as well as many noteworthy women who have had a significant and lasting impact on our university.
One of those influential women is Kent State President Emerita Carol Cartwright, who has continued her dedicated service to higher education throughout her career. You also can catch up with President Emerita Cartwright and learn about the important work she has done over the years to promote student scholarship and safety in college athletics.
I look forward to welcoming many of you back to the Kent Campus in the fall, when Kent State celebrates Homecoming 2021 on Oct. 2. Get ready to don your blue and gold as we are hoping to make this a Homecoming celebration like none other. The Golden Flashes football team will take on the Bowling Green State University Falcons in our traditional Homecoming game.
We also will be hosting a special commencement for members of the Class of 2020. This will be a chance for recent graduates and their families to take part in the pomp and circumstance they were denied by the pandemic last year. We know this will be a joyful occasion and the perfect complement to our Homecoming weekend.
Todd A. Diacon, President
Email: president@kent.edu, Instagram: @KSUPresDiacon