Douglas Taurel is a powerful storyteller. Through his one-man show, The American Soldier, Taurel delivers a moving, nostalgic and dynamic performance that is based on real letters and stories written by veterans and their families from the American Revolution to the current conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. “The goal of the show is to honor vets and thank the families for their immense sacrifice for our country,” said Taurel. “The show strives to show why it is so difficult for vets to come back into society once they return home.” While Taurel explained that the show is not politica...

Doreen Larson To Leave Edison State Doreen Larson, president of Edison State Community College, will be retiring in June 2023 after serving the college for almost seven years. Larson received her Ph.D. in Special Education from Kent State University, a Master’s of Arts in Education from John Carroll University, and a bachelor’s in Special Education from Cleveland State University, where she graduated Summa Cum Laude. At Edison State, Larson helped implement multiple programs that aid individuals from a variety of backgrounds with enrolling and continuing their...

The Coffee and Careers chat hosted jointly by Career Exploration and Development (CED) and Student Accessibility Services (SAS), is a new drop-in career advising opportunity for Kent State students with disabilities. The workshop was launched on Oct. 27 and will continue to be held in the SAS office on the first floor of the University Library every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Free coffee and donuts are also available to those who attend. As a leading Career Peer for students with disabilities, Josie Vano programmed these drop-in hours to provide specialized service to this communit...

Cynthia Osborn, Ph.D., lifespan development and educational sciences professor, is building confidence through stress balls. Well, stress balls and innovative teaching techniques she has honed for nearly 26 years. This process and enthusiasm has earned this professor of counselor education and supervision the Distinguished Teaching Award (DTA). The award is sponsored by the Kent State University Alumni Association and is the highest teaching award a tenured or tenure-track professor can receive. “It's still kind of surreal, but it's certainly very meaningful, particularly knowing that the nom...

More than 65 members of the Kent State community came together for a Celebration of Native American Heritage and Veterans on Saturday Nov. 12, 2022, at the E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center.   The celebration was hosted by the E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center, in collaboration with the Center for Adult and Veteran Services.  “The goal of this event was to honor our Native American students, faculty, staff, and community members while also honoring our Veterans,” said Michael Daniels, Ph.D., director of the E. Timothy Moore Student Multicultural Center....

Coffee chats, local dinners and cheering on the Kent State football team are just some of the things a student who is paired with a mentor can expect from the International Friendship Program. The International Friendship Program pairs international students and scholars with Kent State faculty, staff and their families for the purpose of exchanging culture in a unique and fulfilling way, according to the Office of International Student Affairs. This program allows faculty and international students to converse and learn from each other, and it creates a welcoming environment for those who ...

Honors College student Jordan Gilkison has a drive for success - both in the classroom and on the golf course. As a sophomore business analytics major, he balances his time between keeping up with school and serving as a core member of the Kent State University Men’s Golf team. The life of a student-athlete is very competitive. To perform well in tournaments and on tests, the pressure is on Jordan to bring his A-game. While this means a packed schedule, Jordan says that Kent State student-athletes make up their own community. He described it as feeling like a “fraternity.” He has met a ...

Ten years ago, if someone had asked Brandi Neloms, ‘09, where she’d be in 2022, she would have responded that she was on her way to sitting next to journalist/anchor Romona Robinson in a Cleveland newsroom.   Neloms attended the 2008 Robert G. McGruder Distinguished Lecture and Awards Program which celebrates media diversity, where Robinson was honored, and was inspired by her accomplishments. For three years, the public relations alumna was a senior business development manager in Amazon’s Special Projects organization. She says her position gives her the “privi...