A Message from Dean John Crawford-Spinelli, Ed.D.
 

Hate has no home at Kent State University.

Hate has no home in the College of the Arts.

The College of the Arts condemns the ongoing incidents of hate, racism, xenophobia, and violence against the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander community. In the past year, there were more than 3,800 hate incidents against persons of Asian descent in the United States and on Tuesday, eight people, including six Asian women, were murdered in the Atlanta metro area. This bigotry and violence must stop.

Kent State University's Thai Ensemble, one of only three in the United States academic system, has continued to learn and practice Thai classical music through the COVID-19 pandemic. Housed in Kent State's Glauser School of Music and led by Assistant Professor Priwan Nanongkham, Ph.D., the ensemble was recently featured in a piece by VOA (Voice of America) News, which serves an estimated 280 million people weekly.

Kent State University's Black Theatre Association is celebrating Black History Month throughout February with two different projects, currently being shared through the organization's Instagram account (@BTAKentState).

The first project, "Black Excellence Spotlight," will feature profiles celebrating black excellence and accomplishments. Curated by first year theatre students Noah Brock and Kia Render, new installments of "Black Excellence Spotlight" will be posted every Monady and Friday.

Ten Kent State University School of Art faculty and alumni have been awarded the Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Excellence Awards for 2021. Full-time faculty members Peter Christian Johnson, Taryn McMahon, Andrea Myers, and Shawn Powell were selected for the award. Four School of Art alumni including Tom Bartel (B.F.A. ‘93), Sarah McMahon (M.F.A. ‘18), Marc Ross (M.F.A.’80), and Priscilla Roggenkamp (M.F.A. ‘99) were also included on the list, as well as part-time faculty in Foundations, Sharon Koelblinger and Professor Emeritus Paul O’Keeffe. 

Davin Ebanks, assistant professor of glass, has a solo exhibition at the Sculpture Center in Cleveland on view Jan. 29 through Mar. 13, 2021. “Nowhere is Blue” includes new glass sculptures created by Ebanks that serve as metaphors for the subjective nature of identity and personal narrative.

Congratulations to professor Yuko Kurahashi, Ph.D. on her receipt of Kent State University's 2020 Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award for her exceptional contribution to theatre scholarship and research.