Feb. 3, 2023 – A date that forever changed lives of residents and businesses in East Palestine, Ohio. A Norfolk Southern freight train derailed and caught fire. Of the 38 cars that derailed, 11 contained toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride, a known carcinogen, butyl acrylate, and other chemicals. First responders, most of which were volunteer fire departments, were immediately called into action. On Feb. 7, 2024, Dr. Wesley Vins, DPA, REHS, health commissioner for the Columbiana County Health District, visited Kent State University’s College of Public Health to share with...
Despite living in the same residence hall on the Kent Campus, Andrew “Andy” Wyatt, ’16, had to travel nearly 4,500 miles to get to know the love of his life. Andy and Abby Steger, ’16, began their love story as undergraduate students in the Kent State Florence education-abroad program.“I’d seen her around a few times on campus, and we both lived in the Honors College dorms, but we didn’t really talk,” said Andy.The two were part of the same study abroad cohort in Florence, Italy, in 2014. Andy studied English literature while Abby majored in fashion design. After receiving encouragement f...
{"preview_thumbnail":"/s3fs-root/s3fs-public/styles/video_embed_wysiwyg_preview/public/video_thumbnails/912741207.jpg?VersionId=Ur1odotHaI_6GdswO8B7Js7R3ZuLNE0Q&itok=EBDk6ajM","video_url":"https://vimeo.com/912741207","settings":{"responsive":true,"width":"854","height":"480","autoplay":false},"settings_summary":["Embedded Video (Responsive)."]}Puppy love was in the air Tuesday, Feb. 13, on the second floor of the Kent Student Center where Paws for a Cause hosted its annual puppy kissing booth. Five furry friends excitedly waited as Kent State University students and faculty came to ...
By Mialie Szymanski, Administrative Assistant to the DeanFebruary may feature Valentine’s Day and separately boast the title of “American Heart Month,” but before the winter holiday break in December, Kent State Trumbull students, faculty and staff shared the love from our campus community to several organizations in our local communities as well. Forming a Forest of Flash Fellowship, multiple blue and gold trees sprouted up in the various buildings, encouraging visitors to branch out and extend a hand (or paw) to assist The Animal Welfare League sponsored by our Vet Tech program in the T...
College of Communication & Information
Two Media and Journalism students and Associate Professor David Foster are bringing a fresh perspective to a late 1960s photo collection focused on Black student life at Kent State University. Lafayette Tolliver, a 1971 alumnus who pursued a degree in photojournalism, was an active photographer for Black student organizations during his university years. In 2014, he generously donated more than a thousand photographs to Kent State.The same year, Tolliver invited Foster, who specializes in multimedia and photojournalism, to an exhibit showcasing his work. Since then, Foster says he has co...
Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center is collaborating on a new global poem to pay tribute to the liquid that sustains life.“Dear Body of Water,” Wick’s newest collaboration with the University of Arizona’s Poetry Center, invites writers to speak to the bodies of water that have shaped their lives.Share your voiceDavid Hassler, the Bob and Walt Wick executive director of the Wick Center, said the project began with environmental writer and poet Gretchen Ernster Henderson, a senior lecturer at the University of Texas at Austin.Henderson sought collaboration with Arizona’s Poetry Center, wh...
College of Communication & Information
Kent State alumna Portia Booker '16, also known as "Portia the Producer," has navigated the world of broadcast journalism and emerged as a multimedia producer, podcaster and author. Both of her parents have died since she began navigating life as a young professional, and the transformative experience of losing them became a driving force behind her mission to reshape perceptions of grief."When my mom transitioned, I recognized that there was no manual,” Booker said. “There was nothing available to me to say, 'It's okay you're feeling this way, and it's okay to see your grief in a different li...