The Kent State University Board of Trustees approved the establishment of four new majors during its regular quarterly meeting held March 6 on the Kent Campus. The new majors provide a pathway to a degree for media students who have amassed credits but have not completed their current program, offer continuing education opportunities for high school teachers who are responsible for teaching and advising an array of student media content, and help meet the growing need for biostatisticians and epidemiologists.
Completing Media Degrees and Training Journalism Educators
With the Board’s approval, the College of Communication and Information will establish the Applied Media major within the Bachelor of Arts degree and the Journalism Education major within the Master of Arts degree, effective fall 2024, pending approval of the Ohio Department of Higher Education.
The Applied Media major will be tailored for students who have amassed many credits in a degree program in the college but either have left the university without a degree or cannot continue in their current program. Offered online and in person on the Kent Campus, the program has been crafted as a completer program in order to provide these students a pathway to a degree. The Applied Media major prepares students for jobs in all sectors of the media and for positions in a range of jobs that hire dedicated media professionals, including entertainment, sports, travel, government, health and education.
Kent State’s School of Media and Journalism within the College of Communication and Information has offered a journalism education graduate program as a concentration since 2007, which has consistently yielded steady enrollment. Students of the new Journalism Education major will learn foundational knowledge in media and journalism as well as pedagogical practices that can be applied to secondary and postsecondary teaching environments. The program’s curriculum aligns with the standards of the Journalism Education Association, which will allow program graduates to apply for certification and be designated as a “certified journalism educator.”
Preparing In-Demand Biostatisticians and Epidemiologists
The Board approved the College of Public Health establishing the Biostatistics major and the Epidemiology major, both within the Master of Public Health degree, effective fall 2024, pending approval of the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Kent State has offered a biostatistics concentration and an epidemiology concentration since 2010 that have yielded consistent enrollment. Health commissioners, researchers and research directors at Northeast Ohio hospitals have indicated a need for graduates trained in biostatistics and epidemiology methods.
Students in the new Biostatistics major will learn advanced methods of public health data analysis and understand disease prevention, development, prognosis and treatment. Students who complete this degree will work in practice at hospitals, public health departments, pharmaceutical companies and other settings or continue their education to pursue a research or professional doctorate. Biostatisticians fall under the occupation classifications of medical scientists, natural science managers, biological scientists and statisticians. In the past 10 years, jobs in these classifications have grown nearly 36%, with more than 35,000 annual job openings across the country. The occupation outlook is expected to continue to grow at a rate of 15% for the next 10 years.
The curriculum of the new Epidemiology major prepares students to analyze the distribution and determinants of disease, disabilities and death in populations. Graduates of the program will have diverse career opportunities, including research positions in universities, medical schools and pharmaceutical companies; disease prevention specialists in hospitals; and surveillance managers in state and local health departments; or they may choose to continue their education to pursue a research or professional doctorate. In the past 10 years, epidemiology jobs have grown 95%, with more than 14,000 annual job openings across the country. The occupation outlook is expected to continue to grow at a rate of 28% for the next 10 years.
Board Approves Recommended Actions for East Main Street Project
East Main Street is a primary corridor and gateway for accessing the university’s Kent Campus, buildings, parking and primary activity centers along the northern boundary of campus. On March 4, 2020, the Kent State Board adopted Resolution 2020-25 approving a memorandum of understanding and project authorization for East Main Street improvements in partnership with the city of Kent and the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA). The project will provide a better experience for both motorists and pedestrians by calming the vehicular traffic along East Main Street and improving pedestrian safety and transit movements along the corridor.
Total funding for the estimated $26.04 million capital improvement project has been secured through state and federal transportation funds with the required local match of $4.9 million to be equally shared by Kent State and the city of Kent (each to provide $2.45 million). To keep the project moving toward the planned start of construction in November 2025, the Board approved the following actions:
- The university will enter into an ongoing maintenance agreement with the city of Kent and PARTA that assigns to Kent State the maintenance of sidewalks, ramps, electric vehicle charging stations, driveways, side streets owned by Kent State (Hilltop Drive, Midway Drive, Theatre Drive and Loop Road), lawns, pedestrian lighting, water quality and water quantity ponds within the property frontage of East Main Street as well as specified items within the right of way, including median lawns and landscaping, wayfinding signs, pedestrian lighting, branding items including signs and walls, Kent State street name signs, thermoplastic markings specific to Kent State and banners as provided for on the approved project plans.
- The university will enter into a transfer of jurisdiction agreement for 1.5372 acres along East Main Street from Haymaker Parkway to Horning Road with the Department of Administrative Services and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to allow ODOT to maintain and control the property.
- The university will enter into an agreement to grant the city of Kent a nonexclusive temporary easement commencing Oct. 1, 2025, for a period of four years or until completion of the East Main Street Project, whichever is sooner. The temporary easement permits the installation, construction, reconstruction and improvements associated with the project.
Board Approves Naming Action
The Board approved naming a classroom in Crawford Hall the Rollie and Frances Layfield Classroom. Rollie Layfield earned a Bachelor of Business Administration from Kent State in 1964. He and his wife, Frances, are successful entrepreneurs and generous supporters of communities and causes throughout Northeast Ohio.
The couple values Kent State’s role in the training and preparation of entrepreneurs and Army ROTC cadets. The classroom naming is in recognition of the generosity of the Layfields in providing new gifts totaling $175,000 to benefit the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship at Kent State. The Board, on behalf of the college and the Army ROTC program as well as the current and future students enrolled in these programs, expressed sincere appreciation to the Layfields for their generosity.
Among other Board actions:
- The Board passed a resolution of appreciation to Robin Kilbride. Appointed to the Board on April 18, 2016, Kilbride has given outstanding service as Board secretary, chair of the External Relations and Philanthropy Committee, and member of the Academic Excellence and Student Success Committee, Audit and Compliance Committee, and Investment Committee. The Board expressed its deep appreciation to Kilbride for her distinguished stewardship. Because of her deep commitment and contributions to the advancement of Kent State, the Board designated Kilbride as Trustee Emeritus of Kent State.
- The Board passed a resolution of appreciation to Haley Dees. Appointed to the Board on June 17, 2022, with a term that expires May 16, 2024, Dees has served as Undergraduate Student Trustee. Dees excels in her studies as an aerospace engineering major and applied mathematics minor, with her anticipated graduation in May 2025. The Board expressed sincere gratitude to Dees for her outstanding service and wished her the very best in her future pursuits.
- The Board approved the conferral of the honorary degrees upon Fonda and John Elliot. John Elliot is a Kent State alumnus who earned his Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 1970. The Elliots are entrepreneurs and major influencers in the worlds of healthcare, education and cultural life. The couple has shaped the field of modern healthcare design and supported student success through their transformational giving of more than $12 million to Kent State supporting the Elliot Professorship in Healthcare Design, the John and Fonda Elliot Endowed Visiting Professorship, the Elliot Studios for Design, the Elliot Scholars, the Elliot Family Foundation Architectural Scholarship, the John and Fonda Elliot Design Innovation Fellows, the John and Elliot Fonda Designer in Residence, the John and Fonda Elliot Family Student Travel Fund and other university needs. The Board approved that the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, be conferred upon both Fonda and John Elliot for their extraordinary contributions to the field of healthcare and to Kent State and wished them continued success and happiness.
- The Board approved the conferral of the honorary degree upon Willard Jenkins, a 1973 Kent State alumnus who earned his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology. Jenkins has made a tremendous impact on the jazz field as an artistic director, writer, broadcaster, educator, arts advocate and oral historian, distinguishing himself nationally over a career spanning more than five decades. Jenkins currently serves as artistic director for the DC Jazz Festival and as host of the Ancient/Future program on WPFW Radio in Washington, D.C. The Board approved that the degree of Doctor of Humane Letters, honoris causa, be conferred on Jenkins for his extraordinary contributions in promulgating jazz music and its importance to American culture and in advancing Kent State and wished him continued success and happiness.
- The Board confirmed the conferral of 2,175 degrees from fall 2023 on those Kent State students who have been officially recorded by the University Registrar as having completed the requirements of their respective programs of study during the period of Aug. 19, 2023, to Dec. 17, 2023.
- The Board approved the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship to inactivate the Business Administration-Executive major within the Master of Business Administration degree, effective fall 2024. The degree program, known as the Executive MBA, has had declining enrollment over the years. The college will continue to offer its Master of Business Administration degree fully online and in person as well as adapt its post-undergraduate offerings, all of which will meet the needs of students who may have selected the Executive MBA in the past.
- The Board approved the vendor selection for the collection, transfer, processing and disposal of solid waste and the processing of recyclable materials from the Kent Campus. In response to a request for proposal issued by Kent State, Kimble Recycling and Disposal Inc. provided the proposal with the best overall value. The estimated cost for recycling and refuse collection services for the Kent Campus is a three-year initial term of $531,536 per year, with a university option to renew up to two additional one-year periods at $531,536 each year, for a potential total contract duration of five years and a total value not to exceed $2.66 million.
- The Board approved the vendor selection for a roofing maintenance contract for the Kent Campus. The Kent Campus has approximately 150 buildings with about 2.6 million square feet of roofs. These roofs require a minimum of two inspections, assessment and maintenance each year to maintain current warranties as applicable and ensure the integrity of the roofing assemblies. In response to a request for proposal issued by Kent State, Building Management Consultants provided the best overall value. The maintenance contract will be for an initial three-year period, with two annual renewal options at the university’s discretion for a total term of up to five years and a total value not to exceed $1.3 million to be funded by the university facilities operating budget.
- The Board approved roof; heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC); and exterior envelope repairs for Centennial Courts A and B on the Kent Campus. The Centennial Court residence halls were constructed in the early 2000s. Centennial Courts A and B are the two oldest buildings in the group and opened to students in fall 2002. The two buildings have roof systems and rooftop equipment nearing the end of useful life and other deferred maintenance items requiring repair within the exterior envelope. The exterior repairs and rooftop equipment replacement will greatly extend the life of these buildings. The university has budgeted $3 million in local funds to address this project. The design phase will commence immediately. Some construction will be targeted for summer 2024 to coincide with already scheduled closures for domestic water repairs. Any remaining construction will be scheduled for summer 2025.
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Media Contacts:
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595