Kent State launches data-driven campaign to counter Ohio consolidation push
President Todd Diacon released a multimedia series arguing that public funding, not rising costs, drives tuition increases at state universities.
By Jasmine Carter ·
Kent State University president Todd Diacon released a new multimedia series designed to counter growing skepticism about the value of public higher education in Ohio. The digital project, available at kent.edu/worthit, features a detailed conversation between Diacon and Bryan Alexander, a Georgetown University professor. Kent State officials stated they did not pay Alexander for his participation in the discussion.
The release comes roughly seven months after Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy proposed consolidating some of the state’s 14 public universities in March 2026. Ramaswamy cited declining enrollment as a primary factor for the plan. Diacon issued a public invite to the candidate shortly after those proposals were introduced, though he did not mention Ramaswamy by name in the new materials.
The series covers seven topics, including the impact of artificial intelligence and the demographic decline of 18-year-olds in the state. It presents specific data points to support Diacon's arguments. The materials note that Kent State enrollment peaked in 2012 with 42,513 students. They also state that nearly 40% of graduates leave with no student loan debt. The university claims the economic return on every state dollar invested is approximately $10.
A key section of the content addresses budget history. University officials say state funding covered about two-thirds of the Kent State budget in the 1970s. That share has dropped to about 22% in recent years. The series argues that public universities did not become expensive on their own, but rather that their public funding declined. "When people ask why tuition costs what it costs, this is the answer no one talks about: Public universities didn’t get expensive; their public funding declined," the materials state.
Diacon said the target audience includes current and potential students, families, alumni, and elected officials. He described the effort as a way to correct misunderstandings about university performance. "I’m just talking about our numbers, our performance, and gently trying to correct any misunderstandings or misstatements," Diacon said. He emphasized that the initiative is not an attempt to enter political debates.
The president noted that higher education often becomes a talking point during election cycles. "In any year when you have campaigns for office, if higher ed becomes a talking point, then it thrusts you more into the public eye," he said. Diacon hopes the data-driven approach will influence future policy discussions. "We will always do what’s best for the state of Ohio. But I would just want any future conversations about higher ed and public higher ed in Ohio to be driven by data and by facts more than by politics," he added.
The university is sharing the series across its social media channels. The content allows users to toggle between short video clips, written text, and data visualizations. Diacon said the goal is to ensure the state's higher education sector is evaluated based on concrete performance metrics rather than political narratives.
