Kent State conferred 1,455 degrees at the main campus’ Summer 2016 Commencement ceremony on Aug. 20.

The university awarded 917 bachelor’s degrees, 440 master’s degrees, 75 doctoral degrees and 23 educational specialist degrees to students in the MAC Center.

At last year’s commencement ceremony, 1,476 degrees were presented to graduates. These included 931 bachelor’s degrees, 453 master’s degrees, 76 doctoral degrees and 16 education specialist degrees.  

Across the university’s seven regional campuses 1,610 students graduated this summer—including those who have earned their associate degrees.

Last year’s total number of Kent State students graduating was 1,651

The keynote speaker of this year’s ceremony was Donald Brown, a Kent State alum.

Brown currently serves as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of FedEx Freight Corporation—the largest provider of less-than-truckload freight services in the nation—based in Memphis, Tennessee.

Brown graduated from Kent State in 1977, and played for the Flashes football team as a placekicker.

He was named as a Distinguished Athletic Alumnus by the university’s Athletic Department in 2014, has been a member of the Davey Tree Expert Company Board of Directors, and is on the advisory council for Kent State’s College of Business Administration

Contact Alex Delaney-Gesing at [email protected].