On weekday mornings, you can watch him on TV from 4:30 to 10. However, on Saturday, October 6, you can catch Wayne Dawson leading a parade down the streets of Kent as KSU’s 2018 Homecoming Parade Grand Marshal.

The morning news anchor is a Cleveland native who graduated from KSU in 1979 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. According to his biography, he worked at WNIR Radio in Kent two years prior to joining the Fox 8 team.

As a student, he was involved in the student-run news station, TV2, and became a member of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity.

Currently, Dawson is a member of the NAACP, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Broadcasters Hall of Fame.

He was also inducted into the NATAS Silver Circle in 2014 and has held the titles “Outstanding Young Men of America” by Jaycees, “Outstanding TV News Reporter” by the Professional Women’s Business Association and “Man of the Year” By Delta Sigma Theta.

“We are excited to have Wayne Dawson return to his alma mater and serve as this year’s Homecoming Parade Grand Marshal,” said Emily Vincent, director of University Media Relations. “He is proud to be a Golden Flash, and he often speaks about his time at Kent State on ‘Fox 8 News in the Morning.’ Wayne is looking forward to being back on campus, seeing how the campus has changed, connecting with old friends and making new ones.”

The parade kicks off at 10 a.m. on October 6. Later that evening Dawson is also set to guest host at the Diversity and Scholarship Celebration at the Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center.

For more information on the Diversity and Scholarship Celebration, visit www.kent.edu/ksudsc. For more information about homecoming events, visit www.kent.edu/homecoming.

Krista Renaldo is the Homecoming, Alumni Affairs and Fundraising reporter. Contact her at [email protected].