eInside Briefs

May 4 Commemoration Events Announced

As a way for individuals to remember the events of May 4, 1970, Kent State will host four activities to reflect on its 41st anniversary of that historic day.

The May 4 Walking Tour documentary and the May 4 film for First-Year Experience course are new to this year's commemoration. Individuals will also have the opportunity to experience the Symposium on Democracy and the May 4 Commemoration Ceremony, where they can pay their respects and remember the events of May 4, 1970, from noon to 2 p.m.

Laura Davis, Kent State University professor of English and faculty coordinator for May 4 initiatives, says the May 4 commemoration events represents multiple meanings to the community and the country.

 "In telling the May 4 story, we honor the loss of Kent State students Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder," Davis says. "We also serve the present and the future by providing a place for reflection on the enduring meaning of May 4, 1970 — its place in history and its continuing relation to human experience."

In addition to the Commemoration Ceremony, other event details are as follows:

May 4 Walking Tour Documentary                         

Beginning on April 29, visitors will have the chance to follow in the steps of history through the new May 4 Walking Tour Documentary: May 4, 1970: Someone to Tell the Story. The documentary will give individuals a look inside May 4, 1970, by presenting 500 archival photographs to illustrate the historical day. The documentary is narrated by notable civil rights leader Julian Bond, and the chapters of the documentary are focused around the seven Walking Tour trail markers.

To view the film, visitors may go to the circulation desk inside the Kent State University Library entrance and then check out an iPod on which the documentary is loaded. Visitors are encouraged to bring along their own headphones to use with the iPod as they follow the outdoor walking tour.

Visitors may also access the soundtrack for the film with their own cell phones by calling 330-672-MAY4 (6294).

Symposium on Democracy: Democracy and Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

From April 27-29 in Ritchie Hall, the departments of History, Pan-African Studies and Women's Studies will sponsor the Symposium on Democracy: Democracy and Violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The conference will bring national and international experts to Kent State to examine the critical issues of war-related sexual violence, the representation of women, extractive industries and existing and potential democratic grassroots efforts in the conflict zones. 

This conference provides individuals with the opportunity to learn about the most lethal conflict since World War II and also understand the ways in which our own demands for high-tech gadgets have helped to prolong the conflict.

May 4 First-Year Experience Film: Fire in the Heartland 

During last year's Commemoration events, the executive board of Black United Students attended a film viewing of Fire in the Heartland. The film was created by Daniel Miller, a Kent State student who was present and highly involved in the events surrounding May 4, 1970.

Due to the impact ofthe film, the student organization's executive board members decided the film would be a powerful way to illustrate the events of May 4, 1970, to students during Kent State's First-Year Experience Course for freshmen.  After several months of meetings and collaboration, Fire in the Heartland became the new May 4, 1970, video for incoming freshmen to watch. Black United Students secretary Jamilia Bush said the film contains a better connection to today's students.

"The film showed more of a student's prospective and how it correlates to being students now," Bush says. "The film is also longer and, therefore, gives more detail compared to the 50-minute film, The Day the War Came Home (previous film)."

 For more information about this year's May 4 Commemoration events, visit www.kent.edu/may4  or http://www.kent.edu/about/history/may4/newsroom/ .

By Erin Orsini

Parking Permit Renewals Underway

All current permit holders who are full - or part-time employees of Kent State University will be eligible to renew their current parking permit online beginning April 18. The last day for online renewals with the payroll deduction option is May 20. After May 20, permits must be acquired from the Parking Services office in the Schwartz Center.

Renew your faculty/staff parking permit here:

http://solutions.kent.edu/parkingservices/Login.aspx?LoginType=STAF
Departmental Service permits can be ordered online beginning May 2, 2011. Order your department permits here :

http://solutions.kent.edu/parkingservices/Login.aspx?LoginType=SERV.

Mammograms to be Offered May 5 and 6

The Women’s Center will offer screening mammograms to qualified Kent State employees, spouses and students on May 5 and 6.  Mammograms take approximately 12 minutes and will be conveniently provided in Tiffany Breast Care’s mobile mammography unit. The van will be located on the Kent Campus in front of the Women’s Center.  Each participant's health insurance will be billed or participants may self-pay. Registration is required by May 2, and appointments fill quickly. 

The American Cancer Society recommends that women receive an annual mammogram beginning at age 40. According to the American Cancer Society, mammography is a low-dose x-ray procedure that allows visualization of the internal structure of the breast. On average, mammography will detect about 80 to 90 percent of breast cancers in women without symptoms. The single greatest magnifier of the risk of contracting breast cancer is age. At age 25, chances of being diagnosed with breast cancer are one in 19,608. At age 50, chances are one in 50. At age 65, chances are one in 24.  The overall lifetime risk of a breast cancer diagnosis is one in eight.

Participants are invited to stop in the Women’s Center to speak with medical staff from University Health Services and receive a free blood pressure check. Physicians and nurse practitioners will be available to answer questions and provide information about health services available at the DeWeese Health Center.

The Women’s Center will also host a free 10-minute, fully clothed, no-oil, chair massage for stress reduction and relaxation for those women scheduled for a mammogram. The massage will be provided by Kristin Driscoll, licensed massotherapist and owner of Songs of the Sidhe Day Spa.

For additional information or to register, call the Women's Center at 330-672-9230, Monday through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tom Batiuk to Talk at Kent State, April 28

Kent State University graduate, artist and author Tom Batiuk is giving a talk and book-signing in the Read Room on the 10th floor of the Kent State University Library on Thursday, April 28, at 3 p.m. The event, which is free and open to the public, is part of the University Libraries' "Kent Reads" program.

Batiuk will be discussing his book Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe, based on the life of Lisa Moore, a character in his comic strip, Funky Winkerbean. The book tells the story of Lisa and her family's struggles with breast cancer. The event is co-hosted by Kent State University Libraries and the Kent State University Press. Books will be available for purchase and signing by the author.

Batiuk's Funky Winkerbean and Crankshaft comic strips are carried in more than 700 newspapers throughout the United States. Batiuk was honored in 2006 by the American Cancer Society and presented its Cancer Care Hall of Fame Award for his sympathetic work in highlighting the experiences of those with cancer. He is responsible for the establishment of University Hospitals'Lisa's Legacy Fund.

For more information on Lisa's Story: The Other Shoe,http://www.kentstateuniversitypress.com/2010/lisas-story/.

Kent State University at Stark Announces 2011 Staff Excellence Award Recipients

Dean Walter Wagor, center, with Stephanie Tarver, left
and Kristi Yerian

Each year, Kent State University at Stark recognizes outstanding staff members who have been nominated by their peers. One award is given to an outstanding member of the support staff and one award is given to an outstanding administrator. On Friday, April 8, members of the faculty, staff and administrators gathered in the Kent State Stark's Main Hall auditorium to recognize the 2011 Staff and Administrator Excellence Award recipients.

Dean Walter Wagor presented Stephanie Tarver, an administrative clerk in Student Services, with the Staff Excellence Award and Kristi Yerian, student activities coordinator, with the Administrator Excellence Award.

Several weeks prior to the ceremony, the campus community was asked to nominate employees with written recommendations supporting the people they believed were deserving of the recognition.

Wagor read a highlight from one of Tarver's nominations, stating, "Whether she's speaking to a stressed student or parent on the phone, simultaneously serving three students at the front desk, clearing yet another copier jam, training a co-worker, or attempting to complete data entry for the seventh time on the same file; Stephanie does it all wearing a smile, projecting a genuine tone of concern in her voice and emitting a warm, contagious laugh."

One of Yerian's nominations read by Wagor says, "The attitude displayed by Kristi in her day-in and day-out interactions with students, faculty, staff and community members is nothing short of amazing. She always maintains a courteous, professional demeanor no matter which constituency she is working with. Kristi continues to make herself available anytime, anywhere. Whether helping a student with a personal issue, working a late night or weekend program or following up with work from home, Kristi is available 24/7/365."

Each recipient was awarded with a commemorative clock and a cash prize in recognition of the excellence they display in their jobs on a daily basis.

College of Education, Health and Human Services Seeks Hall of Fame Applications

The 2010 award ceremony

The College of Education, Health and Human Services seeks applications for its second annual Hall of Fame Award Ceremony. Applicants must be College of Education, Health and Human Services alumni who have committed their lives to serving others to make the world a better place.

•          Centennial Alumni Award
•          Distinguished Alumni Award
•          Recent Alumni Award
•          Diversity Alumni Award
•          International Alumni Award
•          Distinguished Service to the College of Education, Health and Human Services
•          Alumni Leadership Award

The college will accept nominations online at www.kent.edu/ehhs/hof beginning March 1 through April 30. You may nominate yourself, an alumnus or a colleague for an award. An awards committee, composed of the College of Education, Health and Human Services faculty, administrators and advisory board members will review the nominations and select the recipients, who will receive their awards at the Hall of Fame Award Ceremony.

The event will be held during Homecoming weekend on Friday, Oct. 14, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.

Last year, the following alumni were inducted into the Hall of Fame: Dr. Fay Biles, '56; Dr. William Herbert , '67,'71,'79; Dr. Thomas Hohenshil, '65,'68,'71; Dave Herpy, '01; The Rev. Dr. Ron Fowler, '59; Dr. Issaou Gado, '04; Rae Mandel, '56; and Dr. Judy Genshaft, '73.

For more information about the College of Education, Health and Human Services Hall of Fame, contact Hope Magnus at hmagnus@kent.edu or call 330-672-2008. 

Incomplete Grading Default Deadline Approaching

Effective Spring 2011, the Office of the University Registrar will no longer allow a one-week grace period for the finalization of incomplete grades before those grades default. From now on, those grades will default at the end of the grading window, as part of the end-of-term processing conducted by the Office of the University Registrar. The change is being made in order to provide academic departments and colleges with more complete and accurate information to be used in the evaluation of students who may be subject to academic probation or dismissal.

All grade changes are to be completed through the Grade Change workflow, found on the "Faculty and Advisor Tools" tab of FlashLine. Please remember that the grade change process includes multiple approval levels before reaching the Office of the University Registrar for processing. Therefore, we ask that all changes to incomplete grades be initiated within the workflow by April 29, when the grading window opens for spring semester courses.

Incomplete grades default on the following schedule:

• Undergraduate courses — incompletes assigned for spring and summer term courses default at the end of the fall semester. Incompletes assigned for fall semester default at the end of the spring semester.
• Graduate courses — incompletes default at the end of the corresponding term one year later.

Once an incomplete grade has defaulted, no requests for late changes to this grade will be honored without proof of significant extenuating circumstances.

For additional information, contact the Office of the University Registrar.

Student Success Programs Announces 2011 Summer Reading Book

The summer reading selection

The Office of Student Success Programs and the Summer Reading Advisory Board have chosen this year's Summer Reading book: This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman.

This best-selling book is comprised of 80 essays written by both famous and previously unknown Americans and is based on the 1950s National Public Radio show by Edward R. Murrow of the same name. The authors of the essays express and discuss the core beliefs that guide their daily lives. For more information about the book, please visit thisibelieve.org.

Kent State University is committed to advancing student success. This year's summer reading book selection will:

• Inspire knowledge by exposing students to diverse experiences, beliefs and values. Through the summer reading discussion, students will be able to learn about themselves, peers and discussion leaders and begin to make a stronger connection to the university community. 
• Provoke insight by encouraging students to develop respect for beliefs different from their own and help them realize that their voices and views have value.
• Encourage responsibility by allowing the student to practice writing and communication skills, which are skills that Kent State faculty and future employer's desire.
• Ignite engagement by immersing students in a simulated classroom discussion that will foster success for their future Kent State academic career and lifelong love of learning.  

The summer reading program is designed to help welcome and connect incoming students to the Kent State academic community. It is our hope that reading the book will provide common ground for our new students to share with their peers.

The objectives of the program are:

•         To help students get acclimated to the academic life of the university;
•         To provide students with an understanding of the university values, principles and standards; and
•         To build and maintain relationships that foster success with peers, faculty, staff, administrators and community members.

All new students will discuss the book with faculty, staff or community members on August 26, 2011 during Destination Kent State: Welcome Weekend. The program as a whole will build a supportive and encouraging atmosphere that will ease the transition to university life. The book is now available for students at the University Bookstore or DuBois Bookstore for $10.50.

For additional information, contact the Office of Student Success Programs at 330-672-8700.