According to the American Cancer Society, there will be an estimated 1,688,780 new cancer cases diagnosed and 600,920 cancer deaths in the U.S. in 2017.

These numbers are stark and sobering, and worse yet, we still do not know exactly why cancer develops in its victims or how to stop it.

An online publication in Nature Nanotechnology this week by Kent State University researchers and their colleagues at Kyoto University in Japan, however, may offer new understanding about what turns good cells bad.

Hanbin Mao, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and biochemistry in Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences, co-authored a paper with his graduate students, Prakash Shrestha and Sagun Jonchhe, along with four Kyoto University colleagues, titled “Confined Space Facilitates G-quadruplex Formation,” which was published March 27 on the esteemed journal’s website. The article discusses the genetic factors that influence formation of cancer cells.

“Traditionally, DNA has a two-strand shape — the double helix — and its purpose is to code the proteins that form life,” Mao said. “But recently, people have discovered that some DNA has four strands, and we call this the G-quadruplex. This is associated with the inhibition of cancer cells.”

However, while most G-quadruplex DNA is beneficial, Mao said some strands go bad and such mutations actually will enable cancer cell growth. To understand why this happens, scientists first had to learn why DNA sometimes develops into four-strand structures.

All DNA is generated by enzymes and operates like an assembly line. However, Mao said, there comes a point where DNA makes a decision to form a double helix or a quadruplex. He said most DNA takes the two-strand route simply because it is the easiest path. 

Mao said nanometer-sized (one billionth of meter; 25,400,000 nanometers = 1 inch) spaces inside the enzymes are where these formations occur. The inability to mimic these spaces in laboratory settings has prohibited deeper study of the G-quadruplex formation. That is, until now.

With help from chemists and engineers at Kyoto University in Japan, Kent State’s Mao and graduate students Shrestha and Jonchhe used “DNA origami” to create a “nano cage.” They accomplished this through single-molecule mechanochemical sensing — a technology Mao’s lab developed in 2014. Over the past few years, he has published several studies involving the use of “laser tweezers,” a tool that provides the ability to hold micrometer- and nanometer-sized biological materials in place.

That technology allowed Mao to create 6-by-6 nanometer-sized cages, then observe how DNA folded into different shapes inside the space.

“It’s easier for the DNA to fold inside the cage,” he said. “It folds to adapt to the small space, and here DNA naturally folds into the G-quadruplex.”

He said the process occurs two to three orders of magnitude faster inside the cage than out, folding 100,000 per second — a speed that makes forming G-quadruplex as fast and easy as forming a double helix.

“With that observation, we may follow the fate of the cell to be cancerous or healthy,” he said. “So we can perhaps learn how to introduce molecules or chemicals to interfere with that process.”

He said scientists can use ligands — bonded molecules — to facilitate this effect with greater potency, thereby reducing the likelihood that cancer cells will form.

“We can prevent or better treat cancer by stabilizing G-quadruplex structures,” Mao said.

For more information about Kent State’s Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, visit www.kent.edu/chemistry.

For more information about research at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/research.

# # #

Photo Caption:
Hanbin Mao, Ph.D., professor of chemistry and biochemistry at Kent State University, co-authored a paper with two of his graduate students, along with four Kyoto University colleagues, on Nature Nanotechnology’s website that discusses the genetic factors that influence formation of cancer cells.

Media Contacts:
Dan Pompili, dpompili@kent.edu, 330-672-0731
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595 

Many people take their work home, but few turn work into their home. Christopher Dum, Ph.D., assistant sociology professor from Kent State University’s College of Arts and Sciences, did just that. For a year, Dum moved into a residential motel to better understand the dangerous living conditions and vulnerable residents who have nowhere else to go.

Dum compiled their stories into a book Exiled in America: Life on the Margins in a Residential Motel 
The book documents the lives of struggling addicts, registered sex offenders, released prisoners and the recently homeless in order to bring attention to the issues they face.

“The goal in writing this was to show people as three dimensional,” Dum said. “In the instant that you start labeling people or start viewing them just as the result of one thing they’ve done or one vice that they might engage in and have a hard time kicking, then it becomes really easy to devalue people and to label them as others and do really horrible things to them.”

In “Exiled in America,” where names of people and places are pseudonyms to protect everyone’s privacy, Dum sheds light on the conditions the “Boardwalk Motel’s” residents are forced to accept out of desperation. Years before Dum stayed at the motel, the building was audited and code violations such as structural damage, faulty alarm systems, exposed wiring, mold and bug infestation were found in every room. Nothing had changed when Dum arrived in 2012, five years after the inspection. The motel was eventually shut down in 2014 because of code violations.

“We need to ask ourselves, what are the minimum standards that we are willing to accept in terms of where people can live,” Dum said.

He emphasizes this as an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed and points to the recent Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people late last year.

“Just because you’re poor, coming out of prison or need a home, it doesn’t mean that you should accept a dangerous home,” Dum said. “I don’t mean that we should give people luxurious apartments or anything like that, but you should live in a place where things work, where things aren’t going to kill you or get you sick. That’s just a basic standard of human decency that we should demand for people.”

Dum recalls the polarity he witnessed within the community between those who were concerned over the residents’ well-being and those who simply didn’t care. While the motel did close down because of code violations, Dum cites a deeper issue.

“What people at the motel saw was a society that didn’t care enough about them to make sure that they get it right,” Dum said.

Aside from documenting the daily lives of his subjects, Dum also touched on suggestions to improve and make policy changes to address the issues that make people have to move into motels in the first place. Dum hopes “Exiled in America” will encourage readers to step out of their comfort zones to engage those who might be different from them.

“There are a lot of people in the book who I met who were really caring and really tried to help those around them,” Dum said. “I would just hope that if someone picked up this book, they would give it chance, and when I say ‘give it a chance’ I really mean give the people in the book a chance to show who they are.” 

Dum also shared his experiences with Marketplace.

Many people take their work home, but few turn work into their home. Christopher Dum, Ph.D., assistant sociology professor from Kent State University’s College of Arts and Sciences, did just that. For a year, Dum moved into a residential motel to better understand the dangerous living conditions and vulnerable residents who have nowhere else to go.

Dum compiled their stories into a book Exiled in America: Life on the Margins in a Residential Motel 
The book documents the lives of struggling addicts, registered sex offenders, released prisoners and the recently homeless in order to bring attention to the issues they face.

“The goal in writing this was to show people as three dimensional,” Dum said. “In the instant that you start labeling people or start viewing them just as the result of one thing they’ve done or one vice that they might engage in and have a hard time kicking, then it becomes really easy to devalue people and to label them as others and do really horrible things to them.”

In “Exiled in America,” where names of people and places are pseudonyms to protect everyone’s privacy, Dum sheds light on the conditions the “Boardwalk Motel’s” residents are forced to accept out of desperation. Years before Dum stayed at the motel, the building was audited and code violations such as structural damage, faulty alarm systems, exposed wiring, mold and bug infestation were found in every room. Nothing had changed when Dum arrived in 2012, five years after the inspection. The motel was eventually shut down in 2014 because of code violations.

“We need to ask ourselves, what are the minimum standards that we are willing to accept in terms of where people can live,” Dum said.

He emphasizes this as an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed and points to the recent Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people late last year.

“Just because you’re poor, coming out of prison or need a home, it doesn’t mean that you should accept a dangerous home,” Dum said. “I don’t mean that we should give people luxurious apartments or anything like that, but you should live in a place where things work, where things aren’t going to kill you or get you sick. That’s just a basic standard of human decency that we should demand for people.”

Dum recalls the polarity he witnessed within the community between those who were concerned over the residents’ well-being and those who simply didn’t care. While the motel did close down because of code violations, Dum cites a deeper issue.

“What people at the motel saw was a society that didn’t care enough about them to make sure that they get it right,” Dum said.

Aside from documenting the daily lives of his subjects, Dum also touched on suggestions to improve and make policy changes to address the issues that make people have to move into motels in the first place. Dum hopes “Exiled in America” will encourage readers to step out of their comfort zones to engage those who might be different from them.

“There are a lot of people in the book who I met who were really caring and really tried to help those around them,” Dum said. “I would just hope that if someone picked up this book, they would give it chance, and when I say ‘give it a chance’ I really mean give the people in the book a chance to show who they are.” 

Dum also shared his experiences with Marketplace.

Many people take their work home, but few turn work into their home. Christopher Dum, Ph.D., assistant sociology professor from Kent State University’s College of Arts and Sciences, did just that. For a year, Dum moved into a residential motel to better understand the dangerous living conditions and vulnerable residents who have nowhere else to go.

Dum compiled their stories into a book Exiled in America: Life on the Margins in a Residential Motel 
The book documents the lives of struggling addicts, registered sex offenders, released prisoners and the recently homeless in order to bring attention to the issues they face.

“The goal in writing this was to show people as three dimensional,” Dum said. “In the instant that you start labeling people or start viewing them just as the result of one thing they’ve done or one vice that they might engage in and have a hard time kicking, then it becomes really easy to devalue people and to label them as others and do really horrible things to them.”

In “Exiled in America,” where names of people and places are pseudonyms to protect everyone’s privacy, Dum sheds light on the conditions the “Boardwalk Motel’s” residents are forced to accept out of desperation. Years before Dum stayed at the motel, the building was audited and code violations such as structural damage, faulty alarm systems, exposed wiring, mold and bug infestation were found in every room. Nothing had changed when Dum arrived in 2012, five years after the inspection. The motel was eventually shut down in 2014 because of code violations.

“We need to ask ourselves, what are the minimum standards that we are willing to accept in terms of where people can live,” Dum said.

He emphasizes this as an ongoing issue that needs to be addressed and points to the recent Oakland warehouse fire that killed 36 people late last year.

“Just because you’re poor, coming out of prison or need a home, it doesn’t mean that you should accept a dangerous home,” Dum said. “I don’t mean that we should give people luxurious apartments or anything like that, but you should live in a place where things work, where things aren’t going to kill you or get you sick. That’s just a basic standard of human decency that we should demand for people.”

Dum recalls the polarity he witnessed within the community between those who were concerned over the residents’ well-being and those who simply didn’t care. While the motel did close down because of code violations, Dum cites a deeper issue.

“What people at the motel saw was a society that didn’t care enough about them to make sure that they get it right,” Dum said.

Aside from documenting the daily lives of his subjects, Dum also touched on suggestions to improve and make policy changes to address the issues that make people have to move into motels in the first place. Dum hopes “Exiled in America” will encourage readers to step out of their comfort zones to engage those who might be different from them.

“There are a lot of people in the book who I met who were really caring and really tried to help those around them,” Dum said. “I would just hope that if someone picked up this book, they would give it chance, and when I say ‘give it a chance’ I really mean give the people in the book a chance to show who they are.” 

Dum also shared his experiences with Marketplace.

For more than 100 years, the National Park Service has preserved and cared for our national parks and shared their stories with more than 275 million visitors every year. As the service enters its second century, it is striving to tell a more inclusive and diverse story of American history. One of those stories now includes the Kent State University May 4 Site, which the U.S. Secretary of the Interior announced has reached the designation as a National Historic Landmark on January 11, 2017.

“I am pleased that the federal government made this designation,” said Dean Kahler, survivor of the May 4, 1970, events. “It means that what happened in 1970 was of national importance and will never be forgotten from this day forward.”

On May 4, 1970, Kahler was paralyzed from the waist down by a bullet when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War. Guardsmen killed four students and wounded nine others during the shooting.

In efforts to honor those who lost their lives, embrace the survivors, and protect the area where it all happened, a group of Kent State professors, graduates and historians came together to form a powerful group that is passionate about sharing the May 4 story and connecting new generations of Americans to a significant place in history.

In 2010, their hard work and dedication resulted in getting the site placed on the National Register of Historic Places. They also established the Kent State May 4 Visitors Center, dedicated in 2013 and created an audio-guided walking tour of the May 4 historic site, dedicated during the 40th anniversary. The efforts over the years laid the ground work for the group’s most labor-intensive effort, which centered around pushing for National Historic Landmark Status. With the help of historic preservationists from the State Historic Preservation Office, the group submitted its 200-page application to the National Park Service. The process usually takes three to four years to get passed. However, the group pushed to get the designation in half that time, striving for distinctive status in time for the 50th anniversary of the shooting in 2020.

“It was personally very gratifying,” said Mark Seeman, Ph.D., emeritus professor from Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences. “I taught at Kent State and saw the importance while I walked across the site for so many years. I wanted to see it done, and it merited the attention. I’m happy for the designation personally, for the university, community and the families and survivors.”

For many touched by the events of May 4, 1970, and diligently pushed to seek landmark status, the designation brings mixed emotions as well as a purpose for current and future visitors to the site.

“It recognizes the depth of the tragedy, and we should be reminded of the sacrifice of the four slain students and the nine wounded students,” said Jerry Lewis, Ph.D., emeritus professor from Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences.  “The May 4 Site is a key part of the Vietnam War story that faced America over decades, so it’s good for history that it’s now registered as a National Historic Landmark.”

“I think it’s going to further elevate the status of the entire May 4 Site and May 4 Visitor Center, that’s important because American’s are forward thinking and quick to forget the past,” said Tom Grace, Ph.D., May 4, 1970, survivor and American history instructor. “The designation helps to ensure that Kent State will have its proper place in history. And I hope that the designation brings visitors to the site that would not have visited without it.”

“Landmark Status forever recognizes the significance of the misunderstood 1970 Kent State tragedy despite the attempts of others who seek to minimize or conceal these events and their historical impact upon the government and the Vietnam War,” said Alan Canfora, May 4, 1970, survivor.

“Thousands of people visit Kent State every year to reflect upon this great tragedy and keep their memory alive,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan. “I am proud to have had the opportunity to help support this initiative and finally give Kent State University the National Historic Landmark status it deserves.”

“I’m pleased that Kent State University has been designated to receive National Historic Landmark status commemorating the May 4 Site,” said U.S. Sen. Rob Portman. “It is important that we continue to honor the lives lost as we reflect on the impact and learn from the events of that tragic day in our history.”

The events of May 4, 1970, may not resonate with the same emotional impact as they do for the survivors and their families, but Seeman says he hopes the message of that day will.

“I hope this gives younger generations a sense to stand up for what they believe in,” he said. “Things can go awry, but we can’t let that deter them. We have the right to peaceful protests and if we don’t exercise it, we run the risk of losing those rights.”

For more than 100 years, the National Park Service has preserved and cared for our national parks and shared their stories with more than 275 million visitors every year. As the service enters its second century, it is striving to tell a more inclusive and diverse story of American history. One of those stories now includes the Kent State University May 4 Site, which the U.S. Secretary of the Interior announced has reached the designation as a National Historic Landmark on January 11, 2017.

“I am pleased that the federal government made this designation,” said Dean Kahler, survivor of the May 4, 1970, events. “It means that what happened in 1970 was of national importance and will never be forgotten from this day forward.”

On May 4, 1970, Kahler was paralyzed from the waist down by a bullet when the Ohio National Guard opened fire on students protesting the Vietnam War. Guardsmen killed four students and wounded nine others during the shooting.

In efforts to honor those who lost their lives, embrace the survivors, and protect the area where it all happened, a group of Kent State professors, graduates and historians came together to form a powerful group that is passionate about sharing the May 4 story and connecting new generations of Americans to a significant place in history.

In 2010, their hard work and dedication resulted in getting the site placed on the National Register of Historic Places. They also established the Kent State May 4 Visitors Center, dedicated in 2013 and created an audio-guided walking tour of the May 4 historic site, dedicated during the 40th anniversary. The efforts over the years laid the ground work for the group’s most labor-intensive effort, which centered around pushing for National Historic Landmark Status. With the help of historic preservationists from the State Historic Preservation Office, the group submitted its 200-page application to the National Park Service. The process usually takes three to four years to get passed. However, the group pushed to get the designation in half that time, striving for distinctive status in time for the 50th anniversary of the shooting in 2020.

“It was personally very gratifying,” said Mark Seeman, Ph.D., emeritus professor from Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences. “I taught at Kent State and saw the importance while I walked across the site for so many years. I wanted to see it done, and it merited the attention. I’m happy for the designation personally, for the university, community and the families and survivors.”

For many touched by the events of May 4, 1970, and diligently pushed to seek landmark status, the designation brings mixed emotions as well as a purpose for current and future visitors to the site.

“It recognizes the depth of the tragedy, and we should be reminded of the sacrifice of the four slain students and the nine wounded students,” said Jerry Lewis, Ph.D., emeritus professor from Kent State’s College of Arts and Sciences.  “The May 4 Site is a key part of the Vietnam War story that faced America over decades, so it’s good for history that it’s now registered as a National Historic Landmark.”

“I think it’s going to further elevate the status of the entire May 4 Site and May 4 Visitor Center, that’s important because American’s are forward thinking and quick to forget the past,” said Tom Grace, Ph.D., May 4, 1970, survivor and American history instructor. “The designation helps to ensure that Kent State will have its proper place in history. And I hope that the designation brings visitors to the site that would not have visited without it.”

“Landmark Status forever recognizes the significance of the misunderstood 1970 Kent State tragedy despite the attempts of others who seek to minimize or conceal these events and their historical impact upon the government and the Vietnam War,” said Alan Canfora, May 4, 1970, survivor.

“Thousands of people visit Kent State every year to reflect upon this great tragedy and keep their memory alive,” said U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan. “I am proud to have had the opportunity to help support this initiative and finally give Kent State University the National Historic Landmark status it deserves.”

“I’m pleased that Kent State University has been designated to receive National Historic Landmark status commemorating the May 4 Site,” said U.S. Sen. Rob Portman. “It is important that we continue to honor the lives lost as we reflect on the impact and learn from the events of that tragic day in our history.”

The events of May 4, 1970, may not resonate with the same emotional impact as they do for the survivors and their families, but Seeman says he hopes the message of that day will.

“I hope this gives younger generations a sense to stand up for what they believe in,” he said. “Things can go awry, but we can’t let that deter them. We have the right to peaceful protests and if we don’t exercise it, we run the risk of losing those rights.”

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced the designation of the Kent State University May 4 Site as a National Historic Landmark. The site joins more than 2,500 historic places that bear the national distinction.

“As we approach the 50^th anniversary of May 4, 1970, this recognition compels us to fully claim our status as a global resource and convener of the world’s most critical conversations on peace and conflict resolution,” said Kent State President Beverly Warren.  “We are indebted to the team whose tireless commitment resulted in a successful National Historic Landmark application, ensuring the story and lessons of May 4 are regarded and remembered in perpetuity.”

In 1970, student unrest was considered the major social problem in the United States. On May 4, 1970, Kent State was placed in an international spotlight after a student protest against the Vietnam War and the presence of the Ohio National Guard on campus ended in tragedy. Guardsmen shot and killed four students and wounded nine others.

The site covers 17.4 acres of the Kent State campus, comprising the Commons, Blanket Hill, the Prentice Hall parking lot and the Practice Field. The site is an area within which the soldiers, student protestors and an active audience of observers and/or sympathizers moved across a central portion of the campus beginning around 11 a.m. and ending more than two hours later.

The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 as a property associated with events that made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of U.S. history and as a property achieving exceptional significance within the last 50 years.

More than 90,000 properties are on the national register. Only 2 to 3 percent of those properties are awarded the distinction of being named a historic landmark.

"The shootings at Kent State on May 4, 1970, were a singular, unexpected, event,” said Laura Davis, Kent State professor emerita of English and founding director of Kent State’s May 4 Visitors Center. “At the same time, they are part of a fabric that includes the Boston Massacre, Wounded Knee, and Edmund Pettus Bridge. The Department of the Interior recognizes such enduring places as National Historic Landmarks so that people can make meaning during their own times of the broad patterns in US history."

Davis was a freshman on campus during the 1970 events. Working with university and community members, she co-led the creation of the May 4 Visitors Center, dedicated in 2013, as well as an audio-guided walking tour of the May 4 historic site,  dedicated during the 40th anniversary. The Center is now lead by historian Mindy Farmer. 

While historic sites are not typically granted National Historic Landmark status until they reach at least 50 years old, the Kent State Board of Trustees requested that its nomination be considered in time for the 50th commemoration of the shooting in 2020.

To learn more about the Kent State May 4 Visitors Center, visit www.kent.edu/may4.

To download a video about the May 4 Visitors Center, visit https://youtu.be/TvbYjmApqS0.

###

Photo Caption: Students gather at the site where one of four students was killed on May 4, 1970, during a student protest of the Vietnam War. On January 11, 2017, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the designation of the Kent State University May 4 Site as a National Historical Landmark.

Media Contacts:
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797
Kristin Anderson, kander63@kent.edu, 330-672-7907

U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell today announced the designation of the Kent State University May 4 Site as a National Historic Landmark. The site joins more than 2,500 historic places that bear the national distinction.

“As we approach the 50^th anniversary of May 4, 1970, this recognition compels us to fully claim our status as a global resource and convener of the world’s most critical conversations on peace and conflict resolution,” said Kent State President Beverly Warren.  “We are indebted to the team whose tireless commitment resulted in a successful National Historic Landmark application, ensuring the story and lessons of May 4 are regarded and remembered in perpetuity.”

In 1970, student unrest was considered the major social problem in the United States. On May 4, 1970, Kent State was placed in an international spotlight after a student protest against the Vietnam War and the presence of the Ohio National Guard on campus ended in tragedy. Guardsmen shot and killed four students and wounded nine others.

The site covers 17.4 acres of the Kent State campus, comprising the Commons, Blanket Hill, the Prentice Hall parking lot and the Practice Field. The site is an area within which the soldiers, student protestors and an active audience of observers and/or sympathizers moved across a central portion of the campus beginning around 11 a.m. and ending more than two hours later.

The site was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010 as a property associated with events that made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of U.S. history and as a property achieving exceptional significance within the last 50 years.

More than 90,000 properties are on the national register. Only 2 to 3 percent of those properties are awarded the distinction of being named a historic landmark.

"The shootings at Kent State on May 4, 1970, were a singular, unexpected, event,” said Laura Davis, Kent State professor emerita of English and founding director of Kent State’s May 4 Visitors Center. “At the same time, they are part of a fabric that includes the Boston Massacre, Wounded Knee, and Edmund Pettus Bridge. The Department of the Interior recognizes such enduring places as National Historic Landmarks so that people can make meaning during their own times of the broad patterns in US history."

Davis was a freshman on campus during the 1970 events. Working with university and community members, she co-led the creation of the May 4 Visitors Center, dedicated in 2013, as well as an audio-guided walking tour of the May 4 historic site,  dedicated during the 40th anniversary. The Center is now lead by historian Mindy Farmer. 

While historic sites are not typically granted National Historic Landmark status until they reach at least 50 years old, the Kent State Board of Trustees requested that its nomination be considered in time for the 50th commemoration of the shooting in 2020.

To learn more about the Kent State May 4 Visitors Center, visit www.kent.edu/may4.

To download a video about the May 4 Visitors Center, visit https://youtu.be/TvbYjmApqS0.

###

Photo Caption: Students gather at the site where one of four students was killed on May 4, 1970, during a student protest of the Vietnam War. On January 11, 2017, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced the designation of the Kent State University May 4 Site as a National Historical Landmark.

Media Contacts:
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797
Kristin Anderson, kander63@kent.edu, 330-672-7907

Kent State University professors Brian James Baer, Ph.D., and Theresa Minick of the Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies have been awarded two federal government STARTALK grants, totaling $225,000, to support the Regents Foreign Language Academy, a summer language immersion program for Ohio high school students and K-12 teachers. 

The four-week student program, housed in Kent State’s Honors College, targets new learners of Chinese and Russian from high schools across the state of Ohio. For 10 days, the academy hosts a professional development program for K-12 teachers of these languages who have the opportunity to observe and teach in the student program. 

The summer session of the student academy is followed by an academic-year component consisting of monthly on-site sessions supported by online instruction. Students receive five college credits upon successful completion of the program.

The student academy was founded in 2007 with a generous grant from the Ohio Board of Regents. Since 2008, the academy has been funded by the federal government’s STARTALK program. STARTALK is a presidential initiative that seeks to expand and improve the teaching of strategically important world languages that are not now widely taught in the United States. The Teacher Leadership Academy was founded in 2010.

Many alumni of the Foreign Language Academy have continued to study these languages in colleges and universities across the United States and to pursue a variety of careers requiring proficiency in a foreign language.

For more information about the Foreign Language Academy at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/mcls/fla. 

For more information about Kent State’s Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.kent.edu/mcls.

# # #

Media Contacts:
Brian Baer, bbaer@kent.edu, 330-672-2150
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595

Kent State University professors Brian James Baer, Ph.D., and Theresa Minick of the Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies have been awarded two federal government STARTALK grants, totaling $225,000, to support the Regents Foreign Language Academy, a summer language immersion program for Ohio high school students and K-12 teachers. 

The four-week student program, housed in Kent State’s Honors College, targets new learners of Chinese and Russian from high schools across the state of Ohio. For 10 days, the academy hosts a professional development program for K-12 teachers of these languages who have the opportunity to observe and teach in the student program. 

The summer session of the student academy is followed by an academic-year component consisting of monthly on-site sessions supported by online instruction. Students receive five college credits upon successful completion of the program.

The student academy was founded in 2007 with a generous grant from the Ohio Board of Regents. Since 2008, the academy has been funded by the federal government’s STARTALK program. STARTALK is a presidential initiative that seeks to expand and improve the teaching of strategically important world languages that are not now widely taught in the United States. The Teacher Leadership Academy was founded in 2010.

Many alumni of the Foreign Language Academy have continued to study these languages in colleges and universities across the United States and to pursue a variety of careers requiring proficiency in a foreign language.

For more information about the Foreign Language Academy at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/mcls/fla. 

For more information about Kent State’s Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, visit www.kent.edu/mcls.

# # #

Media Contacts:
Brian Baer, bbaer@kent.edu, 330-672-2150
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595