On a November afternoon in Merrill Hall, six women walk into a Kent State University classroom. They're not guest lecturers with advanced degrees. They're currently incarcerated at the Northeast Reintegration Center (NERC) in downtown Cleveland. And for the next couple hours, they'll share their stories—unfiltered, unflinching and deeply human—with students who are beginning to imagine careers in law, corrections, social work and justice reform. It's the kind of learning experience you can't get from a textbook. And for Professor Susan Kunkle, Ph.D., who spent 35 years working insid...

  Alex Newnes is a sophomore with junior credit who was able to make her dream of attending the Olympic Games a reality while studying at Kent State University Florence Center this spring.  Newnes will be studying abroad for the entire semester while also working as a mentor for Kent State's Exploratory Program, so she will be in Florence to welcome Kent State students participating in the Florence spring break program. Six of the nine students traveling to Italy this spring are either current or former Exploratory students.   Since Milan is just a two-hour t...