Acknowledging that all undergraduate students are required to take science courses as part of their Kent State University education, and that Kent State’s faculty conduct world-class scientific research that advances knowledge and contributes to Ohio’s economic development, the university’s Board of Trustees on Dec. 3 approved a $94.75-million investment in science facilities that will benefit virtually every member of the university community. The Board approved construction of a $37.55-million Integrated Sciences Building for the College of Arts and Sciences, and in a separate action, the Board approved $57.2 million in renovations to the existing science facilities on the Kent Campus Science Mall.

The new Integrated Sciences Building will address research and teaching needs in chemistry, biology and physics. The building, which will be constructed to meet the criteria for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification, will comprise 57,000 gross square feet with an additional 13,500 square feet of unfinished basement space. The building will wrap around and connect to the existing Williams Hall, facing the Student Green. The project is being funded by $5 million in state capital funding, $30.5 million in bond revenue funds and $2 million from the university contingency reserve for campus facilities.

The Board’s approval of renovations to multiple science buildings will allow the university to modernize select laboratory and classroom spaces in Cunningham, Williams and Smith halls, which were built in the late 1960s. The renovations will address a range of deferred-maintenance needs — from the replacement of the failing heating, ventilation and air-conditioning system in Smith Hall to the installation of automatic fire-protection systems to renovations that make restrooms compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Of the $57.2 million that has been allocated to address major deferred maintenance and academic program needs in the three buildings, $7.2 million was previously approved by the Board for critical work that has been completed or is underway; $29.5 million has been received from the state of Ohio as part of two, separate state capital appropriations; and $20.5 million in bond-revenue funds has been allocated to modernize and repair the three existing science buildings. The work will begin at varying times in 2015, with all projects scheduled for completion in 2017.

Kent State Finalizes Plans for New College of Architecture and Environmental Design Building

The Board authorized the university to move full-speed ahead with the first phase of construction for the distinctive, new building that will house Kent State’s nationally respected College of Architecture and Environmental Design, which offers Northeast Ohio’s only architecture degree program. The design plans for the 107,000 gross square-foot, “green” facility on the high-profile Lefton Esplanade are complete and an overall budget of $47.9 million, including $3.8 million in private donations and pledges from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, has been endorsed by the university’s Joint Project Oversight Committee.

The new building is part of Kent State’s historic “Foundations of Excellence: Building the Future” campus modernization initiative that is underway and will continue through 2017. With the Board’s authorization today of a new, Integrated Sciences Building for the College of Arts and Sciences and numerous renovations to existing science facilities, all of the major Foundations of Excellence projects have now been formally approved.

Kent State Establishes Policy to Support Service Members and Veterans

G.I. Jobs has included Kent State on its roster of Military Friendly Schools for 2015, the sixth consecutive year that the university has been recognized by the magazine. In keeping with that status, and in compliance with House Bill 488, the Kent State Board of Trustees established a university policy focused on providing support and assistance for students who are current members of the military or who are military veterans.

The new policy includes a range of services and programs, including a student services office and provisions for a student-led organization for service members and veterans. The policy also promotes collaborative relationships among service members, veterans and Kent State alumni, and promotes opportunities for internships and employment for service members and veterans through existing career-services programs.

Kent State Creates Online Respiratory Care Degree Program

To help meet a growing demand for respiratory care professionals and to open new doors of opportunity for current respiratory therapists, the Kent State Board of Trustees established a respiratory care major within the Bachelor of Science degree, effective Fall Semester 2015. The new degree program, which was developed in close consultation with regional health professionals, will be offered at Kent State University at Ashtabula as a fully online, two-year completer bachelor’s degree, offering certified and registered respiratory therapists opportunities to grow professionally in the areas of management, leadership, education, research, disease management and advanced clinical practice.

Respiratory therapists are employed in many areas of healthcare, including children’s and adult hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, long-term acute care facilities, home care, sleep labs, pulmonary function labs, physicians’ offices and freestanding emergency rooms. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of respiratory therapists is projected to grow by 28 percent from 2012 to 2020. Ohio is the nation’s fifth-largest employer of respiratory therapists.

Kent State Ashtabula has offered an accredited Associate of Applied Science degree in respiratory therapy technology since 2008. The new major will provide seamless articulation for those associate-degree holders and for those with other associate degrees in respiratory therapy in Ohio and nationwide.

To read more about these and other Board actions, visit www.kent.edu/kent/news/kent-state-makes-historic-9475-million-investment-science-education-and-research.