Big plans are underway to celebrate Kent State’s Florence program’s 50th anniversary. The Office of Global Education is planning a full week of events to take place the first week of October.

One of the many events is a gala dinner, which donors are invited to attend. The dinner will take place in Palazzo Vecchio, the town hall in Florence, which is a popular renaissance building located in the heart of the city.

The money made from the gala will go toward an endowment fund to support study abroad scholarships for Kent State students.

Marcello Fantoni, vice president of the Office of Global Education, works with creating and sustaining study abroad programs and international student relations on campus.

“The plan that our department of philanthropy and advancement in the Office of Global Education has is to create an endowment of $20 million in five years,” Fantoni said.

“That will generate a substantial amount to support hundreds of our students who can’t necessarily consider study abroad because they can’t make the means.”

Along with the gala, a week’s worth of events are planned for the guests to experience parts of the Florence program and explore the city.

“We have arranged an entire week of activities for the guests that will participate and they are all connected with what happens in Florence academically,” Fantoni said. “So they will attend classes, go on field trips, follow our faculty when they teach on-site. We want them to really experience the life of some of our students in Florence.”

The Florence program is an award-winning program that houses hundreds of students every semester. The program allows students to immerse themselves in a new culture and learn new perspectives of education in their majors.

Besides Florence, there are over 200 programs and 60 different countries that Kent State students can take part in.

There are study abroad scholarships available to students to aid financial costs, but not all students receive the financial aid they need to be able to take advantage of these study abroad opportunities.

“We want to make study abroad accessible to all students and with this endowment we will be able to do that,” Fantoni said.

Ashley Caudill is a reporter. Contact her at [email protected].