Faculty/Staff News Now: Mietek Jaroniec Ranks High Among Chemists; Holiday Peace Basket Project; Chemistry Professor Among World's Most Cited; Arts Faculty Curate Exhibit at the Western Reserve; Employee Wellness Questionnaire; Mindful Monday Dec. 13

Chemistry Professor Continues Streak of Being Named Among the Most Highly Cited Scholars

A Kent State University professor in the College of Arts and Sciences is once again on Clarivate's list of Highly Cited Researchers in the world.

Mietek Jaroniec, Ph.D., professor in Kent State’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and a member of the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, is again ranked in the top one percent of chemists and materials scientists, based on citations in Clarivate’s Web of Science database. His area of research expertise is in adsorption, chemical separations, and chemistry of nanomaterials, which he describes as an "exciting and important research field, especially design and synthesis of well-defined nanostructures with tailored porosity, surface properties and morphology for energy-related and environmental applications."

As early as 2001, he was listed among the world’s top 100 materials scientists. He was listed on the Clarivate report in 2015 and 2016 for citations in chemistry, and each year since 2017 for both chemistry and materials science.

Overall, Jaroniec’s 1,042 papers have been cited more than 89,460 times and he has an h-index of 130. An h-index is a metric frequently used within the scientific field to determine the productivity and impact of someone’s work based on their various publications over a certain period of time. Read the full story.


24th Annual Kent State Peace Basket Project Commences

Members of the Kent State University community invites faculty, staff and students to join them in creating Holiday Peace Baskets on Saturday, December 11, 2021, between 9 and 11:30 a.m. at the King Kennedy Center, 6660 Garfield Road in Ravenna. If you cannot make it at 9 a.m., please come when you can.

In 2019, this activity created more than 100 gift baskets for needy families in the area. COVID interrupted the program last year, but last summer a “Christmas in July” was held for the participants of the Jake’s Kids program.

Donations such as kitchen and personal grooming items, school supplies and small stocking stuffers for children will be assembled into decorated baskets, bags and boxes, and will be distributed to the residents serviced by the King Kennedy Center during the Christmas party.

The following Holiday Helpers are needed:

  • As a Prep Elf:  Volunteers are needed on Friday, December 10, from 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. at the King Kennedy Community Center to prepare for the basket assembly day. 
  • As an Elf:  Join in a continental breakfast and help to assemble baskets and boxes of needed items on Saturday, December 11, at the King Kennedy Community Center. Breakfast and decorating materials will be provided. 
  • As an Absentee Angel: Donate funds for the purchase of gift bags and containers, ribbons and bows.
  • As Santa’s Shopper: Donate items to fill the baskets, such as toiletries, personal grooming products, small stocking stuffers (socks, jewelry, nail polish, stuffed animals, small toys, books, or other children’s items), kitchen and school supplies. For men: cologne, socks, caps and hats, games for teenagers and other young men's items. Shoe boxes wrapped with holiday paper and other items can be taken to the drop-off points listed below.
  • As a Holiday Knitter: Hand-knitted or crocheted scarves and caps for kids are accepted.

To make the December 11, activities go smoothly, all donated items should be donated dropped off at the following locations:

  • Information Technology, Stewart Hall receptionist desk (Barb Boltz, 330-672-1306)
  • Schwartz Center, Suite 208, Office 206G (Shelly Casto, 330-672-0733)

You may also contact Barb Boltz to arrange for a pickup at your location. For more information about the Peace Basket Project, contact Barb Boltz at 330-672-1306, or email bboltz@kent.edu.


School of Art Profs Curate Exhibition at Artists Archives of the Western Reserve

Davin Ebanks, professor and head of glass, and Peter Christian Johnson, professor and head of ceramics and interim director for the School of Art, curated a regional group exhibition called “Kindred Objects: Ceramics & Glass Art from the Western Reserve.”

The exhibition features more than 20 established and emerging artists and is on view at the Artists Archives of the Western Reserve in Cleveland from November 4, through December 18, 2021. Read the full story.


Complete the Annual Employee Wellness Questionnaire by December 3, for a Chance to Win! 

The Division of Human Resources’ Employee Wellness team seeks your feedback regarding current employee health and wellness at Kent State via a brief questionnaire, which will take you less than five minutes to complete if you have not done so already (originally distributed via an Employee Wellness email on 11/17/21).   

All employees who complete this questionnaire by December 3, 2021, will be entered into a drawing for a $50 gift card to Target, Grubhub, Panera, or 'dinner and a movie' (winner's choice). You could be one of multiple winners selected!  

Complete the questionnaire 

For questions regarding health and wellness offerings for faculty and staff, please contact Employee Wellness at wellness@kent.edu or 330-672-0392.


Next Mindful Monday Session is December 13 

Join one of the most skillful and down to earth mindfulness coaches, Daron Larson, for Mindful Monday on December 13, from 8:30 – 9 a.m., as he shares doable, challenging, and liberating ways to practice mindfulness. Daron will help you develop attentional skills that lead to feeling more at home in the messiness of real life – to savor pleasant moments more and fight less with the unpleasant ones.  

This session is open to all full- and part-time staff and faculty. Visit the Mindful Mondays web page to learn more and access related resources, including Daron's FAQs with tips for practicing on your own between sessions. 

To schedule a one-on-one mindfulness session, call Impact Solutions at 800-227-6007. With questions regarding health and wellness offerings for faculty and staff, please contact Employee Wellness at wellness@kent.edu or 330-672-0392.

POSTED: Monday, November 22, 2021 08:11 AM
Updated: Tuesday, November 23, 2021 12:51 PM