Community & Society

Senior guard CJ Williamson of the Kent State University men’s basketball team drives to the basket past a University of Akron player.

Fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes looking to follow their favorite players on the court will have to look for their jersey numbers and not their names at a special men’s basketball game later this week. Players will be wearing student-designed uniforms with the space on the back that is usually designated for their names instead displaying the phrase “1 in 59” to promote autism awareness and education.

Alan Canfora (far right), who was shot on May 4, 1970, leads a guided tour of the historic May 4 site.

Kent State University invites educators of students in grades 6-12 to apply by March 1 for its Landmarks of American History and Culture workshop, “Making Meaning of May 4: The 1970 Kent State Shootings in U.S. History.” Co-directors Laura Davis, Ph.D., Professor Emerita of English and former founding director of the May 4 Visitors Center, and Todd Hawley, Ph.D., associate professor of social studies teacher education, were awarded $170,000 in funding by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to create this workshop.

Senior guard CJ Williamson of the Kent State University men’s basketball team drives to the basket past a University of Akron player.

Fans of the Kent State University Golden Flashes looking to follow their favorite players on the court will have to look for their jersey numbers and not their names at a special men’s basketball game later this week. Players will be wearing student-designed uniforms with the space on the back that is usually designated for their names instead displaying the phrase “1 in 59” to promote autism awareness and education.

N.J. Akbar and his advisor at commencement

It was a defining moment for 35-year-old N.J. Akbar, Ph.D., on the day the Detroit native turned Akron resident was publicly recognized for earning his doctoral degree. A moment that almost didn’t happen, he tells WKYC.

Eric Deggans Will Discuss Media's Coverage of Race, Gender, Culture and Politics

The David and Janet Dix Lecture in Media Ethics returns for its second year and will host National Public Radio's Eric Deggans. He will be delivering a talk entitled "Building Bridges, Not Walls: Decoding Media's Confusing Coverage of Race, Gender, Culture and Politics," at 7:00 p.m. on the evening of Tuesday, February 11, 2020.

Wick Poetry Center Call for Poems

Rachael Lang, Whiteaker Middle School eighth-grader, was one of the three winners of the national Call for Poems about Peace and Conflict Resolution contest at Kent State’s Wick Poetry Center to commemorate the 50th anniversary of May 4, 1970.

Joseph Napier Co-Founder of Youngstown Creative Collective

Joseph Napier co-founded a local non-profit organization called the Youngstown Creative Collective that helps raise awareness for small businesses in the inner city of Youngstown.

Record-Breaking Attendance at the 2019 Ohio Latino Education Summit

The 2019 Ohio Latino Education Summit broke the record for registration numbers when Kent State University hosted it for the first time in November. The Ohio Latino Education Summit is an annual event that brings students, educators and congressional leaders together to discuss issues that impact the education of Latinos in Ohio.

Dean Kahler speaks at the memorial service for slain students, Sept. 28, 1970.

Dean Kahler was one of the nine students wounded in the May 4, 1970, shootings at Kent State University that also claimed the lives of four students during protests of the Vietnam War. Kahler’s long-time friend, Paul Keane, recently told the story to Cleveland.com of their friendship and what Kahler has been up to since that fateful day.

Dean Tondiglia (right), Kent State University police chief and director of public safety, goes through the PulsePoint Respond app on his phone while Kent Fire Chief John Tosko (left) looks on with an automated external defibrillator (AED) in front of him.

Sudden cardiac arrest, when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating, is the leading cause of natural death in the United States. To help people survive from sudden cardiac arrest, the city of Kent has partnered with Kent State University and University Hospitals Portage Medical Center to offer PulsePoint Respond.