A Kent State University student whose darkest day was seen around the world on the cover of Life magazine has died. John Cleary, 74, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, passed away Oct. 25 at his home surrounded by his loving family.

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IN A FLASH: 'A Nightmare On PR Street'

Any public relations professional may have to handle a "nightmare scenario" in crisis communications. The Kent State chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America explored these challenges in their annual Halloween social.

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  • It was a childhood fascination with aviation that led alumna Linell Homentosky to choose Kent State University when it came time to pick the ideal college program for her. As she tells it, the interest was first sparked by her aunt, Judy, who was a flight attendant.

  • Tax season is an extremely busy time of the year for Kent State University alumnus Mark Lloyd, who works as a tax manager at RSM US LLP tax, advisory and consulting firm in downtown Cleveland. Lloyd prepared for his career in accounting by earning a Bachelor of Business Administration with a double major in accounting and finance from Kent State’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship in 2018.

  • Jaime Shuster, Ph.D., blends psychology, public health and research to improve patient care at Cleveland Clinic.

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Fueling Ohio's Healthcare Workforce | Kent State Works

Rocking Homecoming Celebration at Kent State!

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Research

  • Launching seed balls, learning about plants and insects, engaging with interactive games and coloring were just some of the events that the Kent State University Child Development Center’s preschool and kindergarten classes participated in for Pollinator Day on Sept. 5.

  • Jennifer Mapes, an assistant professor of geography at Kent State University, developed an interactive mapping project that reimagines how people connect with the places they live. 

  • Kent State's Spacecraft Design Lab is the location where a group of 35 Kent State undergraduates and nine graduate students in the AstroFlashes space exploration club are designing, building, and testing satellites and spacecraft components, and competing in space engineering challenges.

Profiles

  • In July 2016, Jill Cofojohn became the first radiation therapist in Ohio to use proton therapy to treat a cancer patient. Nine years later, Cofojohn – a Kent State Salem graduate – helped introduce this technology in Columbus where she now serves as the lead proton therapist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.

  • While most people his age were settled in their careers, 50-year-old Ron Sonedecker was learning to direct, winning awards and swapping computer code for camera shots. Enrolling at Kent State in 2023, the junior digital media production major has taken a long journey to get where he feels he belongs. 

  • Meet Liberty Prosser, a graduate student furthering her studies in criminology and criminal justice after having graduated from Kent State in 2025, with dual Bachelor of Arts degrees – one in sociology with a concentration in social problems, deviance and crime, and another degree in criminology and justice studies with a minor in forensic anthropology.

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