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Global Opportunities

When I look back on 2022, it feels as though I am watching a time-lapse video of a seed sprouting quickly into a green shoot and then a stunning flower within the span of a minute.

While it may seem like the year blossomed at record speed, I know that every day and every success was built on the hard work, dedication and long hours put in by our students, faculty and staff. 

Early in the year, we received the prestigious R1 designation for research from the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. This is the highest recognition doctoral universities can receive and affirms Kent State’s place as a top-tier research university in the United States. It also underscores the breadth and excellence of research and scholarship at Kent State.

The honors continued when Kent State was awarded the distinguished 2022 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization from NAFSA: Association of International Educators, recognizing Kent State’s overall excellence in integrating international education throughout all facets of the university.

This issue of Kent State Magazine highlights our many successes in global education, including the 50th anniversary of the 5X���� Florence Center, our growing partnership with the American Academy in Brazil and our recent relationship with the University of Rwanda.

Our partnership in Rwanda already has resulted in a contingent of 12 new students, sponsored by the Rwandan government, who arrived on our Kent Campus to begin their studies in the fall. And three Brazilian students from the first cohort of the American Academy graduated with four-year degrees this December on the Kent Campus. 

These students are among the more than 1,600 international students attending Kent State in Fall Semester 2022, as we celebrated an increase of nearly 18% in international student enrollment, due in large part to increases in international graduate student admissions.

“Kent State is living up to its mission to foster world peace and understanding through international engagement and integration of global perspectives in our curriculums.”

Together with our worldwide alumni community, I am confident that Kent State is living up to its mission to foster world peace and understanding through international engagement and integration of global perspectives in our curriculums.

As this stunning blossom of a year fades into 2023, I want to say how inspired I am by the dedication and commitment of our entire university family. Your efforts and support translate into our successes, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to serve as Kent State’s president.

With all best wishes for a healthy and prosperous 2023,

Todd A. Diacon, President
Email: president@kent.edu, Instagram: 

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