Kentucky State University announced on Apr. 23 that it is preparing to celebrate its largest graduating class in recent history, with more than 400 students expected to receive degrees during the Commencement ceremony on May 9. The final number will be confirmed closer to the event, but officials say this year’s total will surpass last year’s record of 357 degrees awarded.
The growing size of the graduating class reflects a significant upward trend for the university. Four years ago, Kentucky State awarded just over 200 degrees; this year’s projected total represents a doubling of that figure.
Among those set to graduate are three students who completed their degree requirements in only three years, highlighting what university officials describe as “academic focus, determination, and an accelerated path to completion.” Additionally, thirty high school seniors are earning associate degrees through Kentucky State’s dual-credit program while also finishing high school. Of these students, twenty-eight attend Frankfort High School and one each come from Franklin County and Woodford County high schools. Eleven members of this group will be just seventeen years old at graduation; together they have completed nearly nineteen hundred credit hours.
This year’s commencement includes seventy-nine graduate-degree candidates across several disciplines: thirty-two in environmental studies, twenty-one in the Master of Business Administration program, and fifteen in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program. Graduates include Selena Orengo—who is earning her Doctor of Nursing Practice after previously completing both her associate and bachelor’s degrees at Kentucky State—and Nigel Cochran, a computer science graduate student who was named HBCU national champion in pole vault and serves as both a Graduate Assistant Resident Director and assistant track coach.
Other notable graduates include Nevaeh Jordan—a social work major recognized for leadership roles within student government—and Robert Dorsey from Columbus, Ohio. Dorsey serves as Mister Kentucky State University and has been active across multiple organizations while maintaining honors such as Dean’s List status and receiving the Congress of Future Medical Leaders Award of Excellence.
As graduates prepare for Commencement on May 9, university leaders say this milestone not only celebrates individual achievement but also demonstrates ongoing progress in degree attainment at Kentucky State University.
