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Kent State University

Undergraduate School

Mailing Address
800 E Summit St
Kent, Ohio 44240
Phone
(330) 672-3000
Email address
admissions@kent.edu
School Information
"At Kent State University, people hail from every corner of the globe to do work that paves the way for a brighter tomorrow. Here, you’ll find world-class faculty serving as researchers and mentors. Alumni leaders in business, healthcare, education and beyond, and students unafraid to break the mold and push boundaries. Our family is true blue and gold." The university enrolls over 38,000 students across its eight-campus system. (Source: https://www.kent.edu/about)
General Information
In addition to announcing new training for members of the campus community, Kent State University has announced revisions to its Code of Conduct. Additionally, in response to numerous racially-driven incidents at the campus rock, the university has decided to, in a symbolic gesture, remove the campus rock. An anti-racism committee was formed, and further actions are expected to come. See developments below:

Actions Taken

Admissions Policies
  • As part of its anti-racism efforts to combat racial inequality for its BIPOC community, the College of Education, Health and Human Services would "[p]romote and enlist the support of various student and professional organizations to enhance the recruitment and retention of students."
  • One of the goals of the College of Arts Anti-Racism Council is the "recruitment and retention of diverse faculty, staff, and students in partnership with Dr. LeAnn Starlin, Assistant Dean."
  • In response to the Supreme Court's Ruling (June 29, 2023) on affirmative action, KSU states that it "does not use race for the purposes of admission to the university" and that it "will continue its commitment to attract, support and graduate a diverse student population."
Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
  • As part of its anti-racism efforts, the College of Education, Health and Human Services is "[o]ffering anti-bias training for faculty, staff and students."
  • As part of its anti-racism efforts, faculty at Kent State have "led the university through engagement in training and transformative experiences to incorporate anti-racism within the pedagogy of the classroom."
  • The College of Arts Anti-Racism Council works with "Directors and unit taskforces to get their units trained in diversity education."
  • The Division for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion offers anti-racism training which "consists of a series of sessions that include anti-racism workshops, Cultural Competency Basics & Awareness, Understanding Unconscious Bias, Leadership, Mindset & Care, Learning How to Be an Ally, and various additional topics on equity, inclusion, microaggressions and diversity."
Curriculum Changes and Requirements
  • As part of its 2022-2023 DEI Strategic Plan, the College of Arts would '[i]ncrease in delivering diverse, equitable, and inclusive programming/education and curriculum."
  • The 2023-2024 Kent State University Requirement document states the following: "As part of the requirements for a bachelor’s degree at Kent State, students must satisfy the diversity requirement, consisting of one course addressing domestic (U.S.) issues and one course addressing global issues."
  • As part of Kent State's 2023-2024 University Catalog, the Diversity Course Requirement is described as follows: "The diversity requirement is part of the university’s broader efforts to encourage, both at the university and beyond, the development of communities in which all members and their contributions are recognized and valued. Diversity courses provide opportunities for students to learn about such matters as the history, culture, values and notable achievements of people other than those of their own national origin, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, age, gender, physical and mental ability, and social class. Diversity courses also provide opportunities to examine problems and issues that may arise from differences, and opportunities to learn how to deal constructively with them."
Disciplinary Measures
  • Student Code of Conduct will be reviewed. Platform for notifying students, faculty, and staff of hate speech/acts may be created.
Political Actions and Support for Anti-Racism
  • Regarding its anti-racism efforts, Kent State stated the following: "Students at Kent State University expect our university to focus on Anti-Black racism efforts. Kent State University is committed to doing this and have begun to engage in trainings, learning and transformative experiences to incorporate the ideology into the culture of the institution."
Program and Research Funding
  • The university's Board of Trustees approved the establishment of the "Anti-Racism and Equity Institute," which "will create an important interdisciplinary hub for faculty, students, staff and community members engaged in race and anti-racism scholarship, activism and education."
  • The Anti-Racism and Equity Institute is committed to, among other things, "An honest account of the connections between the historic nature of racism, its contemporary manifestations, and the associated inequities that are systemic in our institution and society."
  • In August of 2023, two Kent College of Education Professors held a workshop titled "Become a Brave Teacher," which was made possible by a "$25,000 grant from the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation." The workshop would "[p]repare participants to cover issues within their specific content areas, such as race and racism, and matters facing students who identify as part of the LBGTQ+ community." (The workshop was designed in part to give teachers confidence to teach Critical Race Theory in a time where teaching CRT has been banned in several states.)
  • As part of its anti-racism efforts, the College of Education, Health and Human Services established the "BRIDGES program, which is designed for and offered to incoming first-year students from historically under-represented and first-generation groups looking to pursue a degree in the College of Education, Health and Human Services."
Re-Imagining Policing
  • University will be reviewing its on-campus and off-campus relationship with law enforcement.
Resources
  • Anti-Bias training will be provided for faculty, staff, and students. It will be required for new employees and incentivized for faculty.
  • On November 10, 2021, Kent State held a town hall event "to discuss Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality." The event was "provided by Kent State's Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI), in collaboration with the College of Arts and Sciences...."
  • The school’s College of Public Health has several recorded presentations on health equity.
  • On December 8, 2023, a news article reported that Kent State University has rebranded its DEI offices by “creating a new Division of People, Culture and Belonging” and focusing the projects around the same concepts as previously used.
Symbolic Actions
  • Rock on campus may be removed after multiple incidents of hurtful messages
  • University President started an “anti-racism committee.”
  • University will install cameras, lighting near its iconic rock, implement procedures for painting the rock, and create a website for the university’s anti-racist statements/actions.
Last updated August 2nd, 2024
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