The ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø alumni family grew by nearly 1,300 new graduates as the university held its summer commencement. The accomplishments of the Summer Class of 2021 were recognized with in-person, outdoor commencement ceremonies and a virtual commencement ceremony for all colleges and degrees on Aug. 21. All of the commencement ceremonies were livestreamed at www.kent.edu/commencement.
In total, 1,280 degrees were conferred this summer, consisting of 188 associate degrees, 675 bachelor’s degrees, 355 master’s degrees, 61 doctoral degrees and one educational specialist degree.
More than 500 of the graduating students confirmed their participation in the in-person commencement ceremonies.
During the in-person and virtual commencement ceremonies, graduating students heard from ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø President Todd Diacon and Senior Vice President and Provost Melody Tankersley. Graduating students also received individual name recognition and participated in the conferral of degrees and tassel turning ceremony.
The outdoor ceremonies for all colleges and degrees on the Kent Campus were held at Manchester Field, which is the large green space between the Kent Student Center and Eastway Center.
To participate in the in-person commencement, graduating students had to complete their ceremony RSVP by mid-July. Each graduating student registered for commencement had tickets for their commencement ceremony guests to attend. Graduating students were seated with their guests for the ceremony.
Celebrating the Class of 2020
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø has invited its Class of 2020 to return to campus for a historic in-person commencement ceremony dedicated to the class during Homecoming at 1 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, at Manchester Field. Class of 2020 graduates can RSVP to attend the ceremony in until Sept. 1. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual commencement ceremonies were held for the Class of 2020 with a promise to the graduating students that they would be invited back to campus for commencement when it was deemed safe to do so.
Additional Information About Summer Commencement
For more information about the in-person and virtual summer commencement ceremonies, including a schedule of the ceremonies, visit www.kent.edu/commencement.
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Media Contacts:
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595