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Kent State Stark Interim Dean Wins Celebrity Spelling Bee
Posted Sept. 14, 2015 | Austin Bennett
Denise A. Seachrist, Ph.D., interim dean and chief
administrative officer of Kent State University at Stark,
won The Repository’s first Celebrity Spelling Bee on
Sept. 3. Proceeds from the event helped raise money for
the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank.
(Photo credit: CantonRep.com/ Bob Rossiter)
Denise A. Seachrist, Ph.D., interim dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State University at Stark, won The Repository’s first Celebrity Spelling Bee on Sept. 3.
After five rounds of back-and-forth battling, Seachrist was crowned champion by correctly spelling beneficence.
“It was a little nerve-wracking, but we did have a lot of fun for a good cause,” Seachrist says.
She admitted to having flashbacks to her fifth grade spelling bee, when she went out in the second round.
“I was so flattered to be asked,” Seachrist says. “I never considered myself to be a celebrity.”
Proceeds from the event helped raise enough money for the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank to provide 10,000 meals to those in need. The foodbank provides food and other essential items to member agencies in Carroll, Holmes, Medina, Portage, Stark, Summit, Tuscarawas and Wayne counties. Those agencies operate 500 food pantries, hot meal suites, shelters and other hunger-relief programs in the neighborhoods and communities where people need food.
Seachrist previously served as the director of Kent State's Hugh A. Glauser School of Music, as interim associate provost, interim dean for Academic and Student Services, Regional Campuses, and as interim assistant dean of Kent State University at Trumbull. She received her Ph.D. in musicology-ethnomusicology from Kent State and a master of music in vocal performance from Youngstown State University. She earned her bachelor’s degree in music from Heidelberg College.
The Spelling Bee competition featured several local celebrities competing for charity, including percussionist Elec Simon, Canton Palace Theatre organist Jay Spencer, singer-songwriter Ryan Humbert, The Repository columnists Gary Brown and Charita Goshay, and Mix 94.1 personality Kayleigh Kriss.
For more information about Kent State Stark, visit www.kent.edu/stark.
For more information about the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank, visit www.akroncantonfoodbank.org.