Global Reach

From April 5 to May 15, visitors to the Kent State University campus will encounter a new, outdoor public art exhibition that stretches along the Lefton Esplanade between downtown Kent and the University Library. “Import/Export” addresses the imbalances and inequalities of global import/export systems. Artists from around the world were chosen based on how their works reflect the impact of these systems on their local spaces.

One of Kent State University’s newest faculty members in the Department of Geology has already made her mark with the recent publication of her and her colleagues’ work to better understand the effects of global warming as it relates to the arctic ocean. Allyson Tessin, assistant professor, specializes in biochemistry, oceanography and sedimentary geology. She is currently studying the relationship between the chemistry of the ocean and climate change.

In 1996, Theodore Albrecht, professor of musicology, was diligently working on his original project of annotating, translating and studying approximately 430 letters written to Ludwig van Beethoven by his friends and family. Then a new opportunity presented itself. Albrecht found that his two projects worked together to add further understanding and context, giving him the opportunity to add depth and discover new details of Beethoven’s life.

Behind the scenes last spring, American Academy faculty and staff worked swiftly and efficiently to convert the program to remote learning.  

The Kent State University Museum has reopened to the public and is excited to announce its newest exhibition, “Stitched: Regional Dress Across Europe,” on display from February 2021 through December 2021. The exhibition features 75 pieces exclusive to the museum’s permanent collection, showcasing common features shared by regional costume across Western and Eastern Europe.

Kent State University is merging research with global connections in the Global Understanding Research Initiative (GURI). The recently displayed “We the People” and the upcoming “Import/Export” exhibition provide cultural kaleidoscopes with local and international reflectors.

Since 2015, Bournemouth University’s Center for Health and Media Research has conducted an election analysis, including rapid responses and contributions from several leading U.S. and international academics, which, this year, includes four from Kent State University.

While it's no secret that many college students drink alcohol, how COVID-19 affected these behaviors and patterns is the focus of recent research published in the journal Addictive Behaviors by the collaboration of William Lechner from the Department of Psychological Sciences and Deric Kenne from the College of Public Health. The pair sought to study the effects that a major stressor such as the pandemic could have on addictive behaviors and how vulnerabilities such as anxiety and depression played a part in the coping process of college students. 

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, MMPI, is a standardized psychometric test that was first published by the University of Minnesota Press in 1943 and quickly became the gold standard for assessing psychopathology. Kent State University has played a key role throughout the history of this test and a Kent State faculty member led the revision for the recently published and updated 2020 MMPI-3. 

A true milestone in the concept of international education, the American Academy celebrated its first Commencement in Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil, this year. The American Academy is a dual-enrollment program jointly operated by Kent State University and the Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná. Fourteen of the students who first enrolled in the program when it launched in July 2018 were the first to graduate.