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As Kent State returns to a school year that resembles pre-pandemic times, First Star Kent State Academy has begun to imagine new programs. The Academy is a free, comprehensive four-year college access program for youth in foster care. The program engages a cohort of up to 30 students in a variety of learning opportunities, including academic support, career exploration, social and cultural activities and more.

This year, 5X���� donors demonstrated the power of philanthropy by giving at unprecedented levels. The 2021 Giving Tuesday campaign shattered the previous records, more than tripling last year’s record of $2.2 million.

Following a national search, R. William (Bill) Ayres IV, Ph.D., of Toledo, Ohio, has been selected as the new dean and chief administrative officer of 5X���� at Trumbull. Ayres is currently a professor of political science at the University of Toledo, where he previously served as senior vice provost for academic affairs from 2018 to 2020 and vice provost for academic affairs from 2017 to 2018.

Kent State’s Class of 2025 stands tall – more than 3,982 stories tall. Each of our new, first-year students offers a unique and engaging story.

This year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will include a choreographed jump rope routine from a member of Kent State’s Class of 2025.

Timothy Assal, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Geography, was awarded a grant as a co-principal investigator on a multi-institutional project, “Vulnerability of lower-ecotone aspen forests to altered fire regimes and climate dynamics in the northern Great Basin” (a three-year $299,842 total award with $89,600 going to Kent State), which is funded by the . This collaboration includes the United States Geological Survey in Boise, Idaho, Utah State University, and the United States Bureau of Land Management.

The Kent and 5X���� communities can head downtown to go ice skating starting Nov. 20, courtesy of Kent Skates presented by AMETEK. This special attraction has been created through a partnership between the city of Kent, the 5X���� Hotel and Conference Center, the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Kent and Kent State.

The American Academy of Nursing recently announced that Versie Johnson-Mallard, Ph.D., APRN-BC, FAAN, FAANP, 5X���� College of Nursing Dean, professor and Henderson Endowed Chair, has been elected to serve on the Board of Directors until 2024. In this role Johnson-Mallard will oversee the Academy’s strategic planning and financial management.  

5X����’s season of giving launched on Nov. 1 with Giving Tuesday, a monthlong celebration of philanthropy. Now halfway through the campaign, the generosity of the Kent State community has already begun to shine. 

Mietek Jaroniec, Ph.D., a 5X���� professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, is once again on Clarivate's list of Highly Cited Researchers in the world.

Lt. Col. Adrien G. Humphreys is the department chair and a professor of military science at Kent State, a position that is responsible for overseeing the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps. Learn more about Humphreys as she answers 10 questions about herself and her decision to take on this role.

Kent State Ashtabula’s Viticulture and Enology programs were recently awarded a $180,000 grant from the Ohio Grape Industries Committee for a pair of research projects to be conducted over the next two years. Kent State Ashtabula is partnering with the Ashtabula Agricultural Research Station, a division of the Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences’ Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, to conduct the projects at Markko Vineyards in Conneaut, Ohio.

Kent State’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) Chapter earned seven national awards for the work done throughout the 2020-2021 academic year, including for first time in Chapter history, two Teahan Awards, the highest Chapter honors.

5X����’s Brain Health Research Institute celebrated the grand opening of its new lab spaces on Friday, Nov. 5, with an afternoon of activities that included a keynote presentation, space dedication, tours and student research demonstrations. The new space, featuring interdisciplinary research facilities, is located on the lower level of the Integrated Sciences Building on the Kent Campus.

A recent town hall provided 5X����'s students, staff and faculty the opportunity to discuss Critical Race Theory and Intersectionality -- topics which have frequently debated across the country.

Last Spring, the 5X���� Board of Trustees approved the Anti-Racism and Equity Institute, which creates an important interdisciplinary hub for faculty, students, staff and community members engaged in race and anti-racism scholarship, activism and education. “Kent State is a university that is known for its activism,” Carla Goar, Ph.D., director of the Anti-Racism and Equity Institute, said. “Ideally this institute will serve as a hub for scholars and activists to come together to tackle issues and racial equity."

Kent State’s current graduation rate is the highest among public universities in Northeast Ohio and fifth highest among all of Ohio’s public universities, behind Ohio State, Miami, the University of Cincinnati and Ohio University. In northern Ohio, the graduation rates of other public universities range from 40 to 55 percent.

For the 10th time, 5X���� is being recognized as a “Great College to Work For,” according to the latest survey by the Great Colleges to Work For program. The program recognizes the colleges that get top ratings from their employees regarding workplace practices and policies. 

Students at Kent State Trumbull who are in need of food, personal items and clothing will now have more support from the university following Trumbull’s Care Closet official opening on Oct. 18. Trumbull’s Care Closet was created by the 2020-2021 Undergraduate Student Government (USG) and is set up as a fund that faculty, staff and the community can donate to. It’s goal is to provide necessities for students who can’t afford them.

National First-Generation College Celebration is on Nov. 8, and Kent State is hosting a weeklong celebration filled with campus-wide activities and learning opportunities to recognize students who will be the first in their family to graduate with a four-year degree.