The city of Kent Fire Department conducted their annual burn on the protected prairie near Kent State's Beverly J. Warren Student Recreation and Wellness Center.  This prairie is an important element in Kent State's commitment to sustainability because it is a low-maintenance landscape saves Kent State from having to mow, fertilize and control weeds on 10 acres of university property.The burning of the prairie, which has been a yearly practice since 2004, allows for new growth during the summer season, controls the spread of invasive plants, puts nutrients back into the soil and enc...

 In honor of Earth Month at Kent State and sustainable practices, Employee Wellness is hosting a used clothing drive April 22-26. Catch us at Earth Fest on Apr. 22 to drop off clean, gently-worn clothing, or drop off your donations in the marked bins which will be located at Heer Hall, Kent Student Center or the Library. Donations will be distributed to local organizations....

Step right up! The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is proud to present Cirque du Chem. That’s right, the circus is coming to the Integrated Science Building and Williams Hall, Friday, April 19th from 6 to 8 pm.Starting at 6:00 pm come join our Master of Ceremonies as he and his troupe of performers welcome you to the night in their own special way… trust us, you don’t want to miss it.Following this the midway will open and you can test your luck at our games. From a ring toss to balloon darts if skills or luck are on your side, you can take home one ...

We’re making our way into the final quarter of the fiscal year, which means it’s Performance Evaluation season. Evaluations for classified and unclassified employees will be open from Apr. 1 through Jun. 14, 2024.Why do we have performance evaluations?Continual dialogue between an employee and their supervisor is a critical element in successful performance management and the annual performance evaluation is an opportunity for this dialogue to be impactful.Some of the key objectives of the performance evaluation process include: Align employee performance with unit, department, division a...

 The Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry is offering several events in celebration of Honors Week, and all are invited to participate!On Monday, April 15, 2024, the Student Affiliates of the American Chemical Society (SAACS) group will be hosting its 10th annual Honors Week Poster Session. Undergraduate and graduate students from chemistry and chemistry-related disciplines will be presenting scientific posters about their research projects, and competing for cash prizes! The session is open to the public, no registration required. The event will begin at 5:30pm in the Integrated Scie...

So, the eclipse happened. Now what to do with these blackout sunglasses?The next total solar eclipse that will be visible in Ohio will be in 2099. That’s a long time to hang onto a pair of paper sunglasses.They can’t be put into a regular recycling bin because they’re two-in-one mixed materials: paper and film.Kent State University and Main Street Kent are here to help solve this post-eclipse dilemma. After the eclipse, look for collection stations on campus and in downtown Kent to drop off your eclipse glasses.Kent State and Main Street Kent will then take the collected glasses to the Portage...

Online final grading for Spring 2024 (POT F2) began Thursday, Mar. 21, 2024, via FlashFAST. Grading is also now available for any Spring 2024 course section that was flexibly scheduled. The deadline for grading submission is 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, Apr. 2. Any final grades for Spring 2024 courses not reported in FlashFAST by the grades processing deadline will have to be submitted using the Grade Change Workflow. These Spring 2024 courses will be available in the Workflow on Thursday, Apr. 4, 2024.Submit Final grades using Final Grades rosterTo submit final grades via the Final Grades roster, l...

Kent Wired Article by Anthony Zacharyasz and Skyler EdingtonBy Anthony Zacharyasz and Skyler Edington  Skylar EdingtonMembers of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency traveled from Columbus to Kent Tuesday morning to acknowledge the university’s sustainability and environmental efforts, as both short and long term practices are implemented.Anne Vogel, the Ohio EPA’s director, awarded the university with a 2023 Encouraging Environmental Excellence Platinum Award (E3), which recognizes an organization or entity’s achievements in environmental incentives.“You’re talking about major d...

 Anne Vogel, director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, presented Kent State University with the state’s platinum-level award for Encouraging Environmental Excellence through its solar arrays, composting and food waste programs.The presentation, which was attended by faculty, staff, students and administration, was held on Tuesday at Harbourt Hall. After the short presentation, Vogel was accompanied on a facility tour as time allowed.Kent State is one of 48 schools, companies and organizations across the state honored by the Ohio EPA for taking exceptional measures to...

Kent Wired Article by Alton NorthrupBy Alton Northrup, Kent Wired When making an effort to recycle, not everyone does it right. “Sometimes, people do something that’s called ‘wishcycling,’” said Melanie Knowles, the sustainability manager for the university. “You look at this item, you say, ‘Oh, I wish this was recyclable.’ If you put it in the recycling, it’s going to be contaminated.”At Kent State, recycling is single stream, which means all recyclable materials go in one dumpster. Each week, Kimble Companies collects recycling from campus and takes it to its facility in Twins...