various causes. On May 1, 2009, Kenneth Cole delivered Northeastern University's keynote address at the Commencement ceremony. In 2020, Kenneth Cole founded the Mental Health Coalition, a group of the most passionate and influential organizations, brands, and individual who have joined forces to end the stigma surrounding mental health and to change the way people talk about, and care for, mental illness. Awards In 1998, People Magazine voted Cole as "Sexiest Businessman of the Year." On May 14, 2009, The Legal Aid Society of New York City honored Kenneth Cole with its inaugural Theodore Roosevelt Corporate Award at the Waldorf Astoria during its Servant of Justice Award Dinner. Proceeds will go to benefit struggling New Yorkers who live in poverty. In November 2011, Cole was honored by the Ride of Fame and a double decker tour bus was dedicated to him in New York City. In 2016, Cole received the UNAIDS International Goodwill Ambassador award. In 2017, Cole received the CFDA Swarovski Award for Positive Change. In 2011 and 2019, Footwear News named Cole Icon for Social Impact. In 2020, Cole received Person of the Year Award from the American Apparel and Footwear Association as well as the Visionary Change Maker Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Child Mind. In 2022, Cole received the Suicide Prevention Champion Award from the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Child Mind. Controversy On February 3, 2011, Kenneth Cole posted an update on Twitter that referenced the 2011 Egyptian protests. The tweet, which indicated that Cole himself wrote the entry, said: "Millions are in uproar in #Cairo. Rumor is they heard our new spring collection is now available online at (website address) -KC". After outrage and much parody on the microblogging site and on the web in general, Cole deleted the entry and posted a personal apology on Facebook. In April 2012, the designer started a campaign portraying the national debate over education as one that pits "Teachers’ Rights vs. Students' Rights". On the West Side Highway southbound entering New York City, a billboard punned to southbound commuters, ”Shouldn’t Everyone Be Well Red?” On Salon, David Sirota wrote: "Cole’s campaign is thinly veiled ideological propaganda, and it comes with myriad problems, not the least of which is the simple fact that almost nobody believes “underperforming teachers” should be protected. That includes the nation’s biggest teachers’ unions, which have been outspoken in backing “accountability”