Community & Society

The circumstances are grim: Beloved Kent State University mascot Flash is stressed out and hasn’t been able to find the crucial student ID on exam day. You and your friends are the only ones who can help. Your group is frantically scrambling to find the lost ID, but time is running out before it becomes too late for Flash to take the exam. This scenario might sound like something out of a Kent State mystery movie, but it’s actually the situation in the new escape room called ESCAPE in a FLASH at Kent State’s East Liverpool Campus.

A clear intention to pursue social justice led Stuart Chen-Hayes, Ph.D. ’94, NCC, LCPC, to Kent State in 1990 to pursue a doctoral degree in counselor education. What he learned at the university – and what inspired him – significantly changed the course of his life, professionally and personally.

While Kent State’s cybersecurity experts won’t say exactly what Kent State is doing to secure itself from cyberattacks, for fear of giving away information criminals can exploit, they do say that the university has inserted controls both on the outer perimeter of the network and on individual devices.

When cities need help imagining new possibilities for their urban places and communities, they call Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC). Most recently, Kent State architecture students had the opportunity to put the skills they learn in the classroom to make an impact on local communities in Erie, Pennsylvania.

A makerspace is a “do-it-yourself” space where people can gather to create, invent, build and learn. Makerspaces can exist in many forms and be equipped with a variety of tools and equipment, but at Kent State, makerspaces go beyond making and encourage collaborating and sharing knowledge.

Kent State University will hold its annual Veterans Day Commemoration at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, in the Kent Student Center Kiva. This year’s guest speaker is Lt. Col. Colleen VanNatta. A graduate of Kent State’s Air Force ROTC detachment, VanNatta served as a media escort for joint information bureaus in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, during Operation Desert Storm.

In an era that has seen the number of podcasts grow exponentially, the debate over May 4 is well-suited for those who wish to share their views and memories, often uninterrupted via a longer format than traditional storytelling.

Organizers of the recent Voices for Change Educator’s Summit at Kent State University say the curriculum developed at the event can be used by teachers worldwide, so that the lessons of May 4, 1970, will continue to be shared. The summit, held in August, was one about 100 events planned for the 2019-20 academic year to support the 50th commemoration of May 4, 1970, the day when Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on Kent State students protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding nine.

This fall, more than 900 students transferred to Kent State University. National Transfer Student Week is Oct. 21-25, and the university is hosting events specifically designed for transfer students, creating opportunities for these students and the Kent State community to engage.

Minority, low-income and first-generation college students are often underrepresented in graduate schools. To change this and to help students realize their potential, the McNair Scholars Program at Kent State University provides assistance to underrepresented students who consider pursuing a doctoral degree.