Update: School of Fashion Declared 'Center of Excellence' at Kent State

The already renowned School of Fashion Design and Merchandising at Kent State University can add another distinction to its reputation: Ohio Center of Excellence.

Ohio Chancellor Jim Petro — head of the state's higher education board — made the trip from Columbus to Kent this morning to bestow the honor upon the faculty, staff and students of the Shannon Rodgers and Jerry Silverman School of Fashion Design and Merchandising.

"What a great treasure this university has" Petro said of the fashion school. "It is one of the greatest in the country, as we know."

Petro made the announcement in the atrium of the .

The school joins about 40 others centers of excellence in Ohio and has the specific designation of Ohio Center of Excellence in Cultural and Societal Transformation. The general excellence distinction spotlights schools that excel in their study and research areas and are described as "important economic drivers for Ohio" on the Ohio Board of Regents website.

"There is nothing, nothing more important to Ohio’s economic prospects for the future than our higher education institutions, and Kent State has been a major anchor among those institutions," Petro said this morning.

In January, the fashion website Fashionista.com ranked Kent's fashion school and 13th in the world.

J.R. Campbell, director of the fashion school, pointed to the school's partnerships in New York City, Florence, Italy — 65 students are studying in Florence this semester — and Hong Kong as part of the reason for the school's new honor.

He also recognized those faculty who attended this morning's press conference and announcement as the driving forces behind the Center of Excellence designation.

"There are folks here who have worked very tirelessly," he said. "It's just unlike any other fashion school that I’ve experienced internationally, so I’m honored to be part of this and to be recognized with the school as a center of excellence."