In the summer of 2021, as the Taliban took over Afghanistan, many Afghans fled the country. Some landed in Akron, which has one of the largest refugee resettlement programs in Ohio. A network of volunteers and government, nonprofit and educational organizations were waiting. They help new arrivals fleeing war or persecution find not just a haven, but a home in Akron. The refugee resettlement process can take years. Those who aren’t in the community themselves may have no idea a refugee is working the register at their gas station, handling their orders at the Amazon fulfillment center or pa...
My name is Jennifer Johnstone and I am a musician and researcher in ethnomusicology at Kent State University. I am looking to learn more about how Welsh identity is perceived in North Wales today. This research follows previous work I conducted both in North Wales and later among descendants of Welsh immigrants in the USA.
Talk about wearing many hats! When Felix Kumah-Abiwu, Ph.D., associate professor of Africana Studies at Kent State University, is not making final preparations for taking students to South Africa (later this month), teaching courses and advising students, he’s writing books and co-authoring an opinion piece on Vice President Kamala Harris' recent visit to Africa in late March of this year. Kumah-Abiwu recently co-authored the article with York College History Professor Nicholas Githuku. Their article was mentioned in Foreign Policy Magazine, one of the leading policy journals in the Uni...
For 19 years, Kent State University student-athletes have always been able to count on one fan to be there to cheer them on at every event. That fan is Heather Strittmatter. Strittmatter is known for attending athletic events hosted at Kent State and for her loud, encouraging nature. As everyone who knows her says, “You hear her before you see her.” Her dedication to Kent State athletics has even earned her the title of Super Fan over the many years. All of the coaches, athletes and fans know Strittmatter and love her embodiment of what it means to be a Golden Flashes supporter, so m...
Stream the Ceremony LIVE Kent State University at Ashtabula will host its first on-campus graduation ceremony in over three years when it honors the spring graduating class and holds the 76th commencement exercises on Thursday, May 11, 2023 beginning at 7 p.m. in the Main Hall gymnasium. After two virtual graduations at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the previous four ceremonies were held at SPIRE in Geneva. The last on-campus graduation ceremony was in December of 2019. “Commencement is a major milestone in the lives of our students,” said Interim D...
A commemorative beam signing event was held in April for Crawford Hall, the new home for the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship. The beam was signed by university leadership, the college’s National Advisory Board and building project donors. This will be the final beam used to complete the building’s framework and will be placed in June during a special ceremony. The Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship and Crawford Hall were named in honor of Ambassador Edward F. Crawford and his family, who provided the largest single philanthropic gift in...
