News Flash

University news and events update for Fall 2007

Diehl to direct Urban Design Collaborative

The College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Kent State announced the appointment of Christopher Diehl as the new director of the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative (CUDC). Diehl will lead the collaborative in its evolving role as a vital forum for architecture and design in Northeast Ohio.

As director of design at URS Cleveland, Diehl has been responsible for several award-winning projects including Tri-C’s Corporate College East, Simmons Hall at the University of Akron and the Idea Center historic renovation in Playhouse Square, Cleveland.

Diehl has been an active and creative force in the Cleveland cultural community, where he has authored projects on public art and has been a strong voice in supporting urban revitalization. Diehl has taught architecture at the Pennsylvania State University, Ohio State University and Miami University. He received a bachelor’s degree from Miami University and his master’s degree in architecture from the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University. He also has studied film and architecture at the Stadelschule Art Academy in Frankfurt-Am-Main, Germany.

Music school receives All-Steinway status

The name Steinway & Sons is synonymous with excellence in the music world. In March 2007, the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music announced a fund-raising campaign to become an All-Steinway School. The designation “demonstrates a university’s commitment to excellence by providing students and faculties with the best equipment possible for the study of music,” according to Steinway & Sons, which boasts 150 years of crafting “the world’s finest pianos.” The designation signifies that the school is working toward using only Steinway-designed pianos in its practice rooms and recital halls.

“Pianos affect everything we do in the School of Music,” says Dr. Josef Knott, director of the School of Music. “Whether a student is performing choral, opera or orchestra music, or is studying voice, strings, brass, wind, percussion, or even music theory, composition or history, the common foundation in these disciplines is the piano. No student can go through this school without directly or indirectly benefiting from a piano.”

Kent State’s School of Music is one of 55 universities worldwide including the United States, China and Asia that have received the All-Steinway designation. The Steinway pianos are “gradually arriving” says Knott, since the first shipment was delivered in March.

Fashion School honors Oscar de la Renta

Kent State’s School of Fashion Design and Merchandising inducted iconic fashion designer Oscar de la Renta into its Fashion Hall of Fame at this year’s Portfolio show in April. The annual event showcases the designs
of Kent State’s junior and senior-level fashion
students.

Dr. Elizabeth A. Rhodes, director of the Shannon Rodgers and Jerry Silverman School of Fashion Design and Merchandising, says de la Renta has contributed many garments to the Kent State University Museum, which students use for study. An exhibition of his work —“Oscar de la Renta: American Elegance” — is currently featured at the museum through Sept. 2.

Portfolio 2007 also featured the dedication of the Burton D. and Margaret C. Morgan Fashion Design Wing in Rockwell Hall, and honored Helen Dix, ’38, who celebrated her 90th birthday.

New Research Park to feature unique high-tech collaboration

Kent State University has launched a new era in focused, 21st-century research and economic development, unveiling a leading-edge research park in the former bus garage on the Kent Campus.

“The Kent State Centennial Research Park is an important part of my vision for the university as it enters its second century, by cultivating and capitalizing on intellectual property,” says Kent State President Lester A. Lefton. “This innovative research initiative fits our mission as a major public research university to promote academic excellence, to provide regional development opportunities and to push the boundaries of discovery for the good of the public.”

The Research Park will provide space and support for specialized companies to thrive and grow near the university and its other partners. Kent State students will have opportunities for research, internships and employment; faculty researchers from the Liquid Crystal Institute and other disciplines will be available for collaborative projects; and the university has entrepreneurial assets available to aid business growth through its centers that specialize in technology transfer, small business development, business innovation and minority-owned businesses.

The anchor tenant of Kent State’s Centennial Research Park will be the FLEXMatters Accelerator, a broad, public-private high-technology collaboration, designed to produce a new generation of advanced materials and promote regional economic development.

The FLEXMatters Accelerator will work with local companies to develop and produce devices that are typically rigid on flexible polymer substrates. This collaboration will lead to production of liquid crystal-based flexible displays, eye wear, electronics and other devices. FLEXMatters Accelerator, a model for further expansion within the Centennial Research Park, arose from a partnership between Kent State and NorTech, a technology-based economic development organization for Northeast Ohio that has been a catalyst in building high-tech regional collaboration.

Kent State ranks fifth in the world and second nationwide among universities in the number of start-up companies formed per $1 million in research expenditures.

Centennial Research Park is located at the corner of St. Rtes. 59 and 261, in the Fiala Building, the former home of Kent State’s student-operated campus bus service.