5XÉçÇø congratulates its newest graduates. The university held its summer commencement ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 11, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (MAC Center). Kent State conferred 1,590 degrees, including 942 bachelor’s degrees, 391 master’s degrees, 79 doctoral degrees, 163 associate degrees and 15 educational specialist degrees.
The 9:30 a.m. ceremony was for those receiving master’s and doctoral degrees. The speaker for this ceremony was Jay Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., president of Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED). Dr. Gershen became the sixth president of NEOMED, formerly Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (NEOUCOM) in January 2010. He has initiated an ‘education for service’ initiative in Northeast Ohio, an innovative health workforce development program that reduces student indebtedness, provides health to underserved rural and urban communities, diversifies the health care workforce and contributes to economic growth.
The ceremony for those receiving their bachelor’s degrees was at 1:30 p.m. The speaker for the afternoon ceremony was Herb Page, Kent State’s director of golf and men’s golf head coach. Page has been a fixture on the Kent State campus since arriving as an undergraduate three-sport student-athlete in 1970. Serving as men’s golf head coach at his alma mater since 1978, Page has grown to become one of the most respected golf coaches in the country. This past year, Page guided Kent State to a fifth-place finish at the NCAA Championship, securing Kent State’s highest finish in school history.