A. Bathi Kasturiarachi, Ph.D., has been named Kent State University at Stark’s new assistant dean of academic affairs. Serving as interim assistant dean since August 2013, Kasturiarachi accepted the permanent position on February 27, 2015. “Dr. Kasturiarachi is a well-respected researcher and educator,” says Denise A. Seachrist, Ph.D., interim dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State Stark. “His strong administrative talents make him the ideal person for this position.” In addition to assisting Dean Seachrist, Kasturiarachi is charged with directing and recruiting campus faculty, ...

Kent State researchers recently completed a pioneering office-based hand-hygiene improvement intervention which reduced common communicable illness by close to a third.  This was the first U.S. pilot randomized cluster trial of its kind, and findings were published in the prominent Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.    “The workplace is considered a key location to reach the public in slowing the spread of disease, since employees spend more than half their waking hours at work, in close proximity and sharing equipment,” explains Maggie Stedman-Smith, as...

Creative teams across Kent State University were honored with one gold and five silver awards at the Akron chapter of the 2015 American Advertising Federation’s 2015 ADDY Awards ceremony.  Kent State’s University Communications and Marketing team; IdeaBase, a student-run integrated marketing communications agency of the College of Communication and Information in downtown Kent; and Glyphix, a student-run design agency within the School of Visual Communication Design, took home awards. Kent State’s University Communications and Marketing department won one gold and two silver ADDYs f...

Gemma Casadesus Smith describes herself as a scientist who likes to investigate ideas that run counter to prevailing thought. Her research on Alzheimer’s disease has looked at the effects on the brain of oxidative stress, hormone treatments and the regulation of metabolism.  When a new avenue for a therapy appears possible, her approach is, “Let’s see if this works,” she said. Smith, an associate professor of biology in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University, is one of the featured speakers at Kent State’s third Neuroscience Symposium on April 9–10. The symposium, cal...

The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) has elected Alfreda Brown, Kent State University’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion, to serve a three-year term on its board of directors beginning March 17.  NADOHE serves as a leading organization for diversity officers in higher education. Its vision is to lead higher education toward inclusive excellence through institutional transformation. NAHODE currently has 198 institutional members and 201 individual members.  “It is an honor to join the ranks of esteemed diversity professionals ...

The spring 2015 Bowman Breakfast will take place at Kent State University in the Kent Student Center Ballroom on Wednesday, April 1. Doors open at 7 a.m., breakfast begins at 7:30 a.m., and the program will follow at 8 a.m. Four speakers will discuss the topic “Kent Businesses … Their Local and Global Impact 2.0” at the event. The featured speakers are Tom Myers, president of Davey Drill; Gary Niehaus, Ph.D., chief scientist at Crystal Diagnostics and professor of physiology and pharmacology at Northeast Ohio Medical University; Bob Oborn, president of Kent Elastomer Products; and Joe Zeno,...

The safety of our university community remains the top priority when making decisions during unusually cold weather, like we have recently experienced. University leaders evaluate many variables when determining whether to keep our campus open, to delay classes or even to close. Every year in late fall, we communicate our winter weather guidelines to students, faculty and staff so that they may be prepared for days when we have extreme cold and/or snow.  The subzero temperatures of late require us all to take the necessary precautions to protect ourselves from the cold. These precautio...

Thanks to a new $150,000 grant, students attending Kent State University at Stark can gain workplace experience through paid internships that will put their career goals within reach.   According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ 2014 Internship and Co-op Survey, 65 percent of employers made full-time offers to their interns. With most internships being unpaid, many students cannot afford to accept these valuable opportunities that will pave their career paths.   To provide an employment advantage to their students, Kent State Stark applied for and was approv...