Dear Members of the University Community,I write to share a leadership transition that will take place this summer.Vice President Valoree Vargo has announced her decision to retire from university service on July 3, 2026. She joined Kent State in 2010 and has provided outstanding leadership as vice president for philanthropy and alumni engagement and chief executive officer of the Kent State University Foundation since August 2021.I am appointing Leigh Greenfelder, senior associate vice president and chief operating officer for philanthropy and alumni engagement, to serve as interim vice ...

Benefits Freshservice is Open NowDear Colleagues,As of today, the Employee Benefits Office is officially using Freshservice to manage all benefits inquiries, and we could not be more excited to bring this level of service to our campus community.The fastest and most convenient way to reach us is now through the Freshservice portal, where you can submit a request and track its progress from start to finish. You can also still email benefits@kent.edu or call 330-672-3107 and your inquiry will automatically be turned into a ticket. However you choose to reach us, you will receive a confirmation r...

The Designer Behind the Vision:Sophia Macro, a fashion design major with a minor in entrepreneurship for the arts, is  preparing to graduate in the upcoming weeks.  During her time at Kent over the past four years, she has become an active player on the women’s rugby team and a member of Kent State’s SURVIVOR student organization, while also  working for Kent State Student Media in analytics. In her rising career in fashion, she has completed a study abroad experience and is currently writing a Senior Honors Thesis/Project, covering some of the real-life implicati...

Kent State East Liverpool Observing Earth Day The 2026 Kent State East Liverpool Earth Day observance will be held April 25, from 9 a.m. to noon in Purinton Hall, located at 400 E. Fourth St. The free event is open to the public. This year’s theme is Our Power, Our Planet. Featured speakers are Zihan Lin Ph.D. from Cleveland State University and Kelli Pastore, parks director with the Salem Parks and Recreation Department.Lin is an assistant professor in Cleveland State’s Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences. The topic of her presentation is “Urban Green Spa...