NASCAR racer and STEM advocate Julia Landauer is the first speaker in 2019-20 Featured Speakers Series. A two-time champion NASCAR driver, Julia Landauer became the highest finishing female in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series’ 64-year history. A proponent of women’s empowerment, this Stanford University graduate also is an advocate for STEM education.  Landauer is the first presenter in this year’s Featured Speakers Series lineup. She will speak at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 1.  Now in its 29th year, the Featured Speakers Series is free and open to the public, but tickets are requ...

The community is invited to attend a number of free, cultural events at Kent State University at Stark. The campus will host dozens of activities, ranging from Guitar Weekend to the 50th commemoration of May 4, 1970, and the 2019-20 Featured Speakers Series. FEATURED SPEAKERS SERIES Showcasing a diverse lineup of notables, the 2019-20 Featured Speakers Series will kick off with NASCAR racer Julia Landauer on Oct. 1. A two-time champion NASCAR driver, Landauer became the highest finishing female in the NASCAR K&N Pro Series’ 64-year history. A proponent of women’s empowerment, th...

Dear students and campus community, Hello! I am so happy to begin this new academic year with all of you. For some, today is a “welcome back.” For others, it’s a “welcome home.” We greet you, Class of 2023, with open arms. You will discover that Kent State University at Stark is a special place. From our stellar faculty to our supportive staff, we are working together to make this year a game changer.  Now is the time for all of us to excel personally, academically, and professionally, because we have found a home at our hometown university. As your dean, you can count on my c...

Daylong seminar aims to equip young professionals with skills needed for workplace success. In an effort to better equip the region’s young professionals with skills needed for success in the workplace, Kent State University at Stark’s Corporate University is pleased to offer the 2019 Young Professionals Conference. The daylong session will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 16 at Kent State Stark’s Conference Center, 6000 Frank Ave. NW. Created by an advisory board of young professionals, the 2019 Young Professionals Conference is an ideal opportunity for participants to network w...

Campus leads county in undergraduate research and innovation. Carefully watering the garden, Kristy Doering knew what was just beneath the soil would take some time to grow. Seeds she once held in the palm of her hand would yield 50 pounds of fresh produce to feed Stark County’s food insecure.   While she always could imagine with certainty the plants producing vegetables, she was encouraged to take a chance on researching how a local, small-scale campus gardening project could make a big impact.   “There’s a lot of need in this region that I think people are unaware of,” said...

It is the best decision you’ll ever make. And here’s why: You will have the hometown advantage at Kent State University at Stark, your ticket to a world-class education. Close-to-home and close-knit, your professors care about your individual success. A regional campus tuition rate means you will get a Kent State degree without accumulating the debt your parents did.  Did we mention that you’ll have lots of opportunities to participate in research – if that’s your thing. Or, study abroad – if that’s your thing. At Kent State Stark, you’ll find what makes you uniquely YOU....

PhD candidate Dexter Zirkle and Dr. C. Owen Lovejoy have examined the development of the human hip joint, and report that its growth is uniquely determined by a special mechanism that is shared only by humans and our direct ancestors (i.e., hominids). Their study is out this week in PNAS.  No other primate has this mechanism. When anatomical characters are found to be unique in an ancestor-descendant lineage (or “clade”) they are termed “synapomorphies.” A recent study* found five hominid synapomorphies since the last common ancestor we shared with chimpanzees. Three are found in the base...

We’ve known for some time that heart disease is prevalent in captive gorilla populations and is a leading cause of death. This is why, in 2010, the Great Ape Heart Project based at Zoo Atlanta (www.greatapeheartproject.org) was formed. The project provides a network of clinical, pathologic and research strategies to aid in the understanding and treating of cardiac disease in all the ape species, with the ultimate goal of reducing cardiovascular-related mortalities and improving the health and welfare of great apes in human care. “Gorilla heart disease is similar to, but different from, what w...