Throughout his freshman and sophomore years, Kent State University finance major and Honors College student Dylan Mace honed his leadership skills by serving as president of both the university Interfraternity Council and Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. He also served as an officer of the Kent State Financial Management Association and a member of the Business Professionals’ Roundtable. These leadership roles served as preparation for Mace's service on the Kent State Board of Trustees when Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed him as a student trustee in July 2020. Mace’s two-year term, in which he s...

Arla Dee McPherson was a beloved member of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry here at Kent State University for almost 30 years, having retired in 2012. She served as Senior Secretary to the Assistant Chair, and is remembered as a wonderful colleague and trusted friend. So many of our students have fond recollections of Arla Dee as a caring, helpful person who assisted them during their educational endeavors. Arla Dee passed away in 2019 after a courageous battle. As a tribute to her life and work, the Department would like to name a commemorative park bench in her memory. The ben...

The School of Theatre and Dance congratulates faculty member Dr. Yuko Kurahashi as a recipient of Kent State University's 2021-2022 President's Faculty Excellence Award!  About Dr. Yuko Kurahashi Dr. Yuko Kurahashi is a professor of theatre in the School of Theatre and Dance at Kent State University. Her areas of specialty include multicultural theatre, community-based theatre, and intercultural theatre. She is the author of Asian American Culture on Stage: The History of the East West Players (Garland, 1999) Multicultural Theatre (Kendal...

For decades, Michael and Kendra Pacifico have put their hearts and souls into making the annual May 4 Candlelight Walk and Vigil a special remembrance of the four students killed and nine injured during the Kent State University shootings in 1970, as well as participating in organizing the annual commemoration events from May 1-4. As key supporters and organizers of the vigil along with the May 4 Task Force student organization, the Pacificos have prepared the site before the vigil, purchased votive candles and holders for participants and maintained the four stained glass candle holders th...

The central component of the Grind2Energy systems at Kent State University are larger versions of the in-sink garbage disposals found in many homes. The difference is that at Kent State, these units aren’t disposing of food waste, but processing it with a purpose - as the first part of a highly sustainable innovation that creates energy and high-grade fertilizer. There are currently two Grind2Energy systems on the Kent Campus. One that was built into the Design Innovation Hub as it was being constructed, and another that was more recently added to the Eastway Dining Facility through a grant...

From beginning the thesis process, to starting research, to the final oral defense and end results, students take approximately three semesters to complete a thesis in its entirety for the Senior Honors Thesis/Project. To have their project finalized and submitted to both the Honors College and OhioLINK, they must conduct an oral defense of their work and then submit printed copies. In their final steps for the oral defense process, Moira Armstrong (They/Them) shares their experience of the entire thesis project, from selecting the topic, to defending their work. Moira successfully defend...

Born from inside Kent State University’s Wick Poetry Center, “Dear Vaccine” gives citizens a chance to process the pandemic through poetry. The poetry center collaborated with the University of Arizona to expand on poet Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Dear Vaccine.” The poem became a catalyst for respondents around the world to share their own poems. PBS NewsHour recently featured Nye and the work of “Dear Vaccine.” The poems cover respondents’ thoughts about the COVID-19 vaccine and how the pandemic has affected their lives.  “I thought of it instantly as, ‘this will be a chorus of com...

This article is part two of a three-part series, each focusing on a student in the process of navigating their Senior Honors Thesis/Project. Once students have established their topic, who their faculty advisor will be, and what they hope to research, phase two of the thesis process begins. Alena Miskinis (She/Her) tells about her experience through the process and where she is headed. As an Honors College senior, Alena is pursuing three majors in English, Piano Performance, and Psychology, and will be attending Kent State for a fifth year to graduate in the spring of 2023. She hopes to a...

An opportunity that the Honors College at Kent State offers students is to create and present a thesis project. During the last year and a half of their undergraduate career, all Honors and non-Honors students have the opportunity to create a thesis/project from the ground up. With the assistance of a faculty member of their choice, hundreds of past and current students have successfully completed or are in the midst of completing the written and oral defense of their work. Individuals may do projects that are research-based, creative, or an applied project. Any student is eligible to do ...

Student research projects were showcased during the Student Research Colloquium held on April 11 at Kent State University at Tuscarawas. Every fall semester, Kent State Tuscarawas students are given the opportunity to submit a research proposal to the Student Affairs Committee which reviews and funds the proposals. Once selected, students work with a faculty mentor on rigorous and meaningful undergraduate research. This year’s colloquium showcased the research of seven students with three projects. Four faculty mentors partnered with the students on their projects, including: Dr. Dhruba ...