Class of 2026 totals 428 degrees and credentials across summer, fall, and spring graduates

FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky State University celebrated the Class of 2026 on Saturday, May 9, recognizing 346 spring degrees and credentials during two Commencement ceremonies held at the William H. Exum Center.

The class is the University’s largest graduating class in recent history. Because of its size, Kentucky State held separate morning and afternoon ceremonies to recognize graduates. The 10 a.m. ceremony celebrated the College of Arts and Sciences, while the 2 p.m. ceremony celebrated the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources and the College of Business, Engineering, and Technology.

Across the full Class of 2026 cycle, Kentucky State awarded 428 degrees and credentials: 19 in summer 2025, 63 in fall 2025, and 346 in spring 2026. The academic-year total represents a 28 percent increase over last year and a 112 percent increase from the 202 degrees and credentials awarded four years ago.

Dr. Michael D. Dailey, provost and vice president of academic and student affairs, presided over both ceremonies. Dr. Patrese Nesbitt, president of the Faculty Senate, offered the Summons to Commencement.

Following the opening moments of the ceremony, President Koffi C. Akakpo welcomed graduates and their families with a message centered on perseverance and pride in Kentucky State.

“Graduates, today belongs to you,” Dr. Akakpo said. “Class of 2026, you have earned this moment.”

Dr. Akakpo encouraged graduates to carry forward the strength, purpose, and sense of family they developed at Kentucky State.

“The world needs what you have to offer,” Dr. Akakpo said. “As you move forward, do so with the strength of your family, the love of your Thorobred Family, and the pride of Kentucky State University.”

Dr. Akakpo also led a moment of silence in memory of Dr. Mary Evans Sias, former president of Kentucky State University, who passed away earlier in the week. Sias led the University from 2004 to 2014 and left a legacy of student-centered leadership, institutional growth, and public service, including the establishment of Kentucky State’s Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, the University’s first doctoral degree.

The Class of 2026 includes recipients of associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees, along with certificate recipients. Half of this year’s graduates are from Kentucky, up from 36 percent last year, while the full class represents 26 states and nine countries, including The Bahamas, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Nepal, Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uganda.

Top degree areas reflected Kentucky State’s strength across graduate and undergraduate programs. At the graduate level, major areas included Environmental Studies, Business Administration, and Nursing. At the undergraduate level, top areas included Nursing, Business Administration, Biology, Psychology, Agriculture, Computer Science, and Exercise Science.

This year’s graduates also reflect the many pathways students take to a Kentucky State degree. Three members of the Class of 2026 completed their degrees in just three years. Thirty high school seniors earned associate degrees through Kentucky State’s dual-credit program while also completing high school, including 28 students from Frankfort High School and one each from Franklin County and Woodford County high schools.

The average age of all degree and certificate recipients is 27. Bachelor’s degree recipients average 25 years old, while master’s degree recipients average 31. Eleven dual-credit students are 17 years old, including Alana Romero Lozano, the youngest member of the Class of 2026, who earned an associate degree. The two oldest graduates are 61 years old, underscoring the many stages of life represented across this year’s class.

Bachelor’s degree recipients in the Class of 2026 also received more than $10.1 million in institutional, state, external, and federal grants and scholarships to support their Kentucky State education.

Kentucky State University’s 2025-2026 Student Government Association President Cheyenne Rushing addressed graduates during both ceremonies, reflecting on the shared experiences that shaped the Class of 2026.

“Today is not just a ceremony, it is a celebration of a journey,” Rushing said. “A journey that began with questions, with hope, with nerves, with dreams bigger than what we could fully explain.”

Rushing said the University’s strength is rooted in its sense of family and the bonds students build with one another.

“We did not just attend Kentucky State University,” Rushing said. “We became it. We lived it. We shaped it. We survived it. And we are leaving it better than we found it in our own way.”

Zhakeya Hawkins, the 2026 valedictorian, also addressed the class. Hawkins is a first-generation student, 1890 Scholar, scholar-athlete, and East St. Louis, Illinois, native. A runner, she used an image from track to describe her educational journey and the support systems that help students reach graduation.

“I don’t see education as a race; I see it as a relay,” Hawkins said. “I wasn’t just crossing those stages for myself; I was carrying the baton for my family.”

Hawkins said her next step is pursuing a Ph.D. in data science, with the goal of using machine learning and geospatial technologies to address agricultural equity.

“Class of 2026, I challenge you: Define success for yourself,” Hawkins said. “Don’t just aim for a paycheck; aim for a legacy.”

Kentucky State also recognized Keon Henderson, the 2026 salutatorian. Henderson, a native of Detroit, earned a degree in business administration with a minor in marketing. A two-year captain and starter on the men’s basketball team, Henderson was recognized for academic and athletic achievement and plans to pursue professional basketball while building his athlete consulting and media solutions company.

As part of this year’s ceremony, the University also conferred honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degrees upon Frank Taylor and Richard Rosen.

Taylor, the 2026 Commencement speaker, is a 1980 Kentucky State graduate and former Thorobred football player who earned his bachelor’s degree in criminal justice before building a life centered on service, agriculture, and community leadership. A fifth-generation tree farmer from Louisville, Mississippi, Taylor manages 585 acres of family land and timber. His life and work reflect values at the heart of Kentucky State’s land-grant mission: stewardship, service, and a commitment to strengthening communities across generations.

Taylor reminded graduates to celebrate but also see beyond this important milestone. He challenged them to use the knowledge, discipline, and resilience they developed at Kentucky State to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others, while staying encouraged if the path is not always smooth.

“Setbacks and disappointment,” he said, “are part of the journey, but they do not have to define the outcome.”

Drawing on the discipline he learned as a Thorobred football player, Taylor emphasized that success is built through daily effort, preparation, and the willingness to keep working when circumstances are difficult.

“In order to succeed, you need to be active every day and put in the extra time,” Taylor said. “When challenges come, always get up and go back to work.”

Rosen was honored in absentia during the afternoon ceremony. Together, Richard and Anna Marie Rosen established the Richard and Anna Marie Rosen Nursing Scholarship through a $400,000 gift to Kentucky State. The scholarship supports students in the University’s Associate of Applied Science in Nursing and Bachelor of Science in Nursing programs, helping reduce financial barriers for aspiring nurses while strengthening the healthcare workforce close to home.

Barry C. Johnson Jr., president of the Kentucky State University National Alumni Association, welcomed the Class of 2026 into the University’s alumni family.

“Welcome home,” Johnson told graduates, reminding them that their relationship with Kentucky State continues beyond Commencement.

Johnson encouraged the newest alumni to remain connected to one another and to the University as they enter their next chapters.

“Go lead. Go serve. Go innovate,” Johnson said. “Go make this world look up and say — now where did they come from? And you smile and you say — Kentucky State University.”

The 2026 Commencement ceremonies capped a week of celebrations for Kentucky State graduates, including the Baccalaureate Assembly and Nursing Pinning ceremony on Thursday, May 7, and the Graduate Hooding ceremony on Friday, May 8.

View the 10 a.m. Commencement ceremony for the College of Arts and Sciences.

View the 2 p.m. Commencement ceremony for the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources and the College of Business, Engineering, and Technology.