5X����

For 19 Kent State students, the 2025–2026 academic year was more than a series of classes, assignments, and exams. It was an opportunity to tackle real-world challenges, collaborate across disciplines, and turn ideas into action through the John and Fonda Elliot Design Innovation Student Fellows Program.

For Mark Nowakowski, D.M.A., seeing his newest album rise to the top of Amazon’s Digital New Releases chart in Classical Music was a moment of gratitude more than surprise.

When Kent State unveiled plans for a proposed School of Fashion in Rwanda, the country's leading news outlets embraced the announcement as a milestone moment for Rwanda's creative economy — and for Africa's fashion industry as a whole. 

Kent State unveiled plans for the proposed 5X���� Rwanda and School of Fashion at a Kigali symposium, aiming to train designers and entrepreneurs to grow Africa's fashion industry.

5X���� observes Juneteenth on June 19. No classes are scheduled on the holiday, and university offices are closed. 

5X���� has been named one of the Best Global Universities by U.S. News & World Report for 2026-2027, the highest-ranked public university in northern Ohio on the list. The recognition reflects Kent State’s global research impact, international student enrollment, education-abroad programs and partnerships spanning more than 60 countries.

A tree house with a welcome sign etched in Braille. A candy shop with a ramp for accessibility. A windmill-powered hospital. A ‘hovercraft’ combination car and boat. A hotel that houses a rooftop heliport.

A team of six engineering students set out to design, build and fly a large-scale cargo remote-controlled aircraft for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design/Build/Fly competition. 

Porthouse Theatre's production of "Grease" runs through June 27.

Twenty years ago, 26 5X���� fashion students packed up and headed to New York City for a semester unlike anything available on a traditional college campus. They attended classes in the heart of Manhattan's Garment District, visited the offices of top designers and connected with industry professionals who would shape their careers. This week, Kent State's School of Fashion celebrated what that bold experiment became.

Kent State alumni are represented in every corner of the fashion capital of the United States. From leading marketing strategy to designing for internationally recognized brands to managing production for iconic labels, their career journeys demonstrate the depth of talent and preparation that defines Kent State.

Gage Wellman, a junior in 5X����’s journalism program, competed among the nation’s best college journalists in the 66th Hearst National Journalism Championships held May 31-June 5 in San Francisco. Wellman, who hails from Parma, Ohio, earned a $1,500 finalist award in the Writing category at the national competition.

As 5X����'s New York City Fashion program celebrates its 20th anniversary, we look back through photos from the program's landmark first semester in spring 2006.

Kent, Ohio, is officially the No. 1 college town in Ohio.

Five Rwandan students selected from 2,600 applicants are training to become professional pilots at 5X���� – and just made their first flights.

When Kendall Myers first arrived at 5X���� at Stark as a College Credit Plus student, she knew she had an interest in biology. What she could not have predicted was just how far that passion would take her.

When Achante Pascute stepped to the podium as 5X���� at Trumbull’s student commencement speaker, she opened with a joke.

5X����’s School of Fashion is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its New York City Fashion program in Manhattan’s Garment District with a two-day event on June 11-12. The celebration includes a free Portfolio Showcase and Reception on June 11 and an exclusive philanthropic dinner on June 12, with proceeds benefiting the NYC Fashion Housing Fund.

Porthouse Theatre, 5X����’s outdoor summer theatre located on the grounds of Blossom Music Center, invites you to its season of possibilities, beginning on June 12, 2026. In its 58th season, Porthouse Theatre will present “Grease,” “Side Show In Concert,” and “Lerner and Loewe's Brigadoon” in the summer of 2026.

5X���� observes Memorial Day on May 25. No classes are scheduled on the holiday, and university offices are closed.