I want to thank the Kent State University community for your positive support during the recent Ebola concerns that swept through Northeast Ohio and involved our Kent Campus. Through the competent and caring expertise of our medical staff and faculty in the College of Public Health, we were able to respond immediately with the latest information and an explanation of potential risks and the precautions we should take as individuals and as a collective community. I am especially grateful for the support and expertise of Dr. Angela DeJulius and Dr. Chris Woolverton, and I know the university is indeed fortunate that we have such competent experts to help guide us in times of medical alerts.
I am grateful to the Division of University Relations for providing timely and open information to the public that enabled our campus to continue running efficiently without disrupting the learning process.
Our students were remarkable in their calm and resolute approach to the challenging news and understood, with the health department guidance, that they were not at risk. Our faculty members were the backbone of the support network through the caring guidance and concern that they extended to everyone across campus and within the community.
We appreciate the offer of support and resources from our local leaders and the ongoing support that these leaders have provided to our university community as we navigated the information and media reports.
Our hotlines gave parents a direct line to the campus and enabled us to respond to questions and concerns. I am most grateful to Dr. Shay Little and the team of staff members who managed the hotline calls.
This is the kind of solid, effective teamwork that I knew was the fabric of our Kent State community, and I could not be more proud of the people who make Kent State a great place to learn, work and live.
We continue to send prayers and support to our Kent State colleagues whose relative is recovering, and we stand stronger as a university family having faced this together. Our first priority is the safety and well-being of our community, and we will continue to keep you informed.
For everyone who played a part in this success, I am deeply grateful.
Sincerely,
Beverly Warren
President
Kent State University