Kent State Today will follow a group of six Golden Flashes for the 2024-25 academic year chronicling their efforts and successes during the fall and spring semesters. The group of students are at various places in their Kent State University academic careers and will share their experiences throughout the year as they take part in our distinctive programs, research and global experiences.Rebecca Stratton, a senior chemistry and math major, does not shy away from a challenge.Stratton spent the summer of 2024 in Kent State’s Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE), in which she part...

Though ta few weeks later than originally intended, Kent State University at Ashtabula honored the fall graduating class at the campus’s 79th commencement exercises on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, in the Susan J. Stocker Hall gymnasium.“Commencement is a major milestone in the lives of our students,” said Dean and Chief Administrative Officer R. William (Bill) Ayres IV, Ph.D. “It’s such a special night to celebrate the accomplishments and achievements of these graduates here on campus and in the familiar and intimate environment the event deserves. “While we had to adjust our original plans, we rema...

 Architectural Studies graduate Emily Stood (BA ARCS 2023), a native of the Chicago suburbs, joins the Urban Design and Preservation Division of the American Planning Association as the 2024-2025 Historic Preservation Scholar. Stood says part of her work with the APA involves communication with a diverse array of groups and populations, and of summarizing historical documents, which she says “ARCS gave me the language and technical reading ability to do.” She also points out that the writing skills she learned as an ARCS student prepared her for her current employment. “My focus at t...