The Diversity Trailblazer Award will be given out during the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration on Thursday, Jan. 26. This award is distributed every year to one faculty member who has gone out of their way to increase diversity efforts in Kent State’s community.

Students and staff of Kent State nominated candidates to be reviewed by a committee. This year, the award will be given to Suzy D’Enbeau, a communications professor.

“Dr. D’Enbeau was chosen because of her various contributions to progressive change in the areas of teaching and service,” wrote Diversity & Inclusion Leadership Director Shana Lee in an email. “Specifically, the committee felt her work impacts the greater university and community through multiple levels and serves as a blue print on how to better understand the complexities of diversity and diversity work.”

Carmen Daniel, Chairman of the MLK celebration, saw the Trailblazer award as a highlight of the event. Daniel described how Trailblazer nominees went “outside their normal job duty to increase diversity efforts at the university.”

“When you reflect upon the people that it has been, you can see and feel their contributions to the university,” Daniel said. “I think the Trailblazer is part of the MLK celebration, but it’s so much bigger because the impact is lasting on the university.”

Dr. D’Enbeau, like other Trailblazer winners in past years, has pushed diversity efforts on campus forward. The Trailblazer is simply a way to reward her for her efforts and to highlight her contributions to the community.