Community & Society

Akron head coach John Groce and Kent State head men's basketball coach Rob Senderoff

Rivals Unite for Social Change

Two archrival men's basketball teams worked together to produce a powerful video supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and encouraging everyone to register to vote in the 2020 election.

Tags: Community & Society, Student Life

Kent State Today

Three Kent State University students.

Changing Families and Futures: Kent State Receives Five-Year Grant Renewal for TRIO Student Support Services Program

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Kent State University a $2.6 million, five-year TRIO Student Support Services program grant. The program serves students from first-generation and low-income backgrounds and students with diverse learning and physical abilities.

Tags: University News, Community & Society, University College, Student Success Programs, TRIO, Featured Story, Success Story

Kent Campus

image of a volunteer organizing donated food

Kent State Holds Flashes Fight Hunger Contactless Food Drive on Aug. 26

Among the festivities marking the beginning of this unconventional semester, one Kent State University office is partnering with Portage County social service agencies to host a contactless food drive to collect items that will support members of campus and local communities. The Flashes Fighting Hunger Contactless Food Drive, organized by Kent State’s Community Engaged Learning, will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 26, from 4-8 p.m.

Tags: Community & Society, Community Engaged Learning, University College, COVID-19 HUB

Kent Campus

A student uses a computer.

Kent State’s College of Public Health Hosts Virtual Public Health Academy for High School Students

We all know the world has changed, perhaps forever. The overall lesson of the COVID- 19 pandemic is that we need a public health workforce, prepared at all levels, to monitor the world for emerging infectious diseases, to prevent the spread of highly contagious diseases, to develop new treatments and vaccines, and to invent novel approaches never seen before. Kent State University’s College of Public Health is addressing this workforce challenge, in part, by hosting the 2020 Virtual Public Health Academy.

Tags: Health, Community & Society, College of Public Health, COVID-19 HUB

Kent Campus

Melanie Knowles, Kent State University’s manager of sustainability, stands in front of her favorite building on campus, The John Elliott for Architecture and Environmental Design.

10 Questions With Melanie Knowles, Manager of Sustainability

Melanie Knowles is the manager of sustainability at Kent State University. In this role, she works with people all over campus to make cost-effective, better practices for the environment. Learn more about Knowles as she answers these 10 questions.

Tags: Community & Society

Kent State Today

A person working at a computer taking down information.

Public Health Students Have Boots on the Ground in COVID-19 Fight

When the Ohio Department of Health sought help this summer for work on the COVID-19 pandemic response, more than 110 students from Kent State University’s College of Public Health raised their hands to volunteer.

Tags: Health, Student Life, Community & Society, COVID-19 HUB

Kent State Today

Photo of the members of the Kent State Police Department

Public Hearing for Kent State Police Department’s Reaccreditation to Be Held July 27

The Kent State University Police Department is scheduled for a virtual assessment as part of a program to achieve international reaccreditation. Administered by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies Inc. (CALEA), the program requires agencies to meet state-of-the-art standards in four basic areas: policy and procedures, administration, operations and support services.

Tags: Community & Society, Kent State Police Services, Department of Public Safety, Division of Finance and Administration

Kent Campus

Protesters in Cleveland, Ohio following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo courtesy of Sylvia Lorson)

History Professor’s Essay on Racial Equality Is Featured in Washington Post

Kent State University Associate Professor Elizabeth M. Smith-Pryor has authored a perspective piece on racial equality that is featured in the July 15 Washington Post column, “Made by History.”

Tags: University News, Community & Society

Kent State Today

Volunteers Dave and Terri Cardy pack and weigh produce to hand out at the Campus Kitchen in Beall Hall. The food is mostly donated by Trader Joe’s locations in the Cleveland area.

Campus Kitchen Pivots Operations From Hot Meals to Food Pantry to Help Increasing Numbers of Food Insecure Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

The Campus Kitchen at Kent State University, a student-run organization that reclaims food to feed the needy in the Kent area, has had to swiftly switch gears from operating a hot food kitchen to an expanded food pantry.

Tags: Community & Society, COVID-19 HUB, Campus Kitchen, Success Story

Kent State Today

J.R. Campbell, executive director of Kent State University’s Design Innovation Initiative, tries on a face shield produced by the Kent State team.

Kent State’s Design Innovation Initiative Cultivates Creative Partnerships to Battle COVID-19

Members of Kent State University’s Design Innovation Initiative are forging creative collaborations with local and regional organizations and funders as they work toward the production of personal protective equipment (PPE) for first responders battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tags: Community & Society, Design Innovation, COVID-19 HUB, Success Story

Kent Campus