eInside Briefs

Kent State Economics Professor’s Research Referred to by White House

Justin Barnette, Ph.D., assistant professor at Kent State University’s College of Business Administration, was referenced for his research in the White House report, “Addressing the Negative Cycle of Longterm Unemployment.”

The report was published by the Executive Office of the President after President Barack Obama’s call to action to give the long-term unemployed a fair shot during the State of the Union Address in January of this year.  The references to Barnette’s research can be found on pages four and 15 of the report.

“My research shows that when you lose your job and then are re-hired, you will more than likely be paid less than you had previously made,” says Barnette. “That goes hand-in-hand with the White House’s report on the negative effects of long-term unemployment.”

“I believe Professor Barnette’s research being referred to in a White House report is just one more example of the important and significant work being done by faculty members in the Department of Economics,” says Richard Kent, Ph.D., chair of Kent State's Department of Economics. “This is noteworthy not just for Professor Barnette, but also for the Department of Economics, the College of Business Administration and Kent State University.”

Barnette began research for the working paper, “Wage Scars from Job Loss,” with co-author Amanda Michaud while studying at the University of Minnesota. As stated in the working paper, “Using a panel survey of workers from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, we estimate the decrease in wages due to involuntary job loss. We find that this decrease leaves a lasting scar of more than 20 years, costing average displaced workers 11.6 percent of their predicted hourly wages every year after re-employment. These losses vary: laid-off workers lose 14.4 percent and workers displaced from company closings lose 5.7 percent.”

Currently, Barnette is researching the cause and effect of inequality in the macroeconomy.

For more information about Kent State’s Department of Economics, visit www.kent.edu/business/economics.

Kent State Goes Above and Beyond Supplier Diversity Goals

Veronica Cook-Euell is supplier
diversity program manager at Kent State
University.

Kent State University's strong relationship with many of its diverse vendors has enabled the success of its supplier diversity program.Vendor involvement and feedback have led to the program’s success and an enhanced vendor database at Kent State.

The most recent benefit of this collaboration is that Kent State surpassed its minority business enterprise goal of 15 percent twice. The first quarter of Kent State’s fiscal year ended with a total of 15.11 percent minority vendors, and the second quarter increased to 21.19 percent. This is fresh off the heels of a November 2013 nomination for the Northern Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council’s Corporation of the Year award.

The combined efforts of Kent State and its vendors have resulted in recent accomplishments and long-term success. The SMART diverse vendor database has raised awareness on all eight of Kent State’s campuses, bringing accessible and important information to buyers, purchase-card holders and architects using the new paperless database available to them. The online database creates an internal capability statement outlining minority- and women-owned companies.

“We need to make sure we have good data, and the supplier diversity database was designed to do just that — there is none other like it,” says Veronica Cook-Euell, supplier diversity program manager at Kent State and creator of the SMART database. “The data we collect gives us significant information to help our buyers, end users and project managers make a decision to take a closer look. Often times, that closer look can and has resulted in a contract opportunity.”

Outreach efforts across Northeast Ohio also have led to Kent State’s resounding success. Cook-Euell has taken active roles in the community with major inclusion programming. Kent State has promoted minority inclusion through events such as the Global Business Connection, the Commission on Economic Inclusion and the State of Ohio Reverse Trade Fair.

Kent State has brought opportunities directly to campus by hosting several matchmaker events. These events bring together vendors and contractors with Kent State’s purchasers and project managers, resulting in the creation of business relationships and opening the door to possible contract opportunities.

“We at Kent State value supplier diversity and are committed to inclusion of diverse businesses,” Cook-Euell says. “We want that perfect world where our supplies are just as diverse as the products and services they provide.”

That world may soon be realized as Kent State continues outreach efforts with vendors around Ohio and adds to its growing list of diversity accomplishments.

For more information about supplier diversity at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/procurement/diversity/index.cfm.

Panhellenic Council of Kent State Wins Three Awards at AFLV Conference

The Panhellenic Council of Kent State University won three
awards at the Association of Fraternal Leadership and
Values Central Conference.

The Center for Student Involvement is proud to announce that the Panhellenic Council of Kent State University won three awards at the Association of Fraternal Leadership and Values (AFLV) Central Conference that was recently held in Indianapolis. This conference is one of the largest events that the AFLV sponsors. The programming that occurs at this event includes position-specific information for governing Greek councils, chapters, advisors and graduate students.

Another component of the conference is applying for awards that are presented during the closing banquet on the last night of the conference. Councils across the central division can submit an awards and assessment application to receive recognition within their designated division, and an assessment report that shows how their achievement compares to other institutions in their division. Kent State is in Division II with other institutions that have a range of five to seven chapters on their campus. The prestigious awards that the council won were for programming excellence in the concentrations of council management, leadership and educational development, and membership recruitment.

Judges were impressed with the Panhellenic Council’s overall growth in 2014, increasing Panhellenic membership from just under 750 students to more than 1,000 members. Judges also highlighted the council’s high expectation for member organizations and plan of action requirements for continual improvement as the main reasons Kent State was given a council management award.

The awards were presented to the Panhellenic Council at the closing banquet of the AFLV Central Conference on Feb. 8. Kristy Diesner, president of the Panhellenic Council, accepted the awards on behalf of the council.

Sibs in Space (Lil' Sibs Weekend) Registration is Open

Lil’ Sibs Weekend, titled Sibs in Space this year, will be
held from April 25-27. The event is open to little siblings
(or cousins or family friends) of students, as well as children
of Kent State University faculty and staff members. 

Lil’ Sibs Weekend, titled Sibs in Space, will be held from Friday, April 25, through Sunday, April 27. It is open to little siblings (or cousins or family friends) of students, as well as children of Kent State University faculty and staff members.

Most of the events are free – but registration is required. Note that some events are only open to the lil' sibs of residence hall students.

To register for the event, visit http://tinyurl.com/kentlilsibs2014. You must be logged into your kent.edu email to register.

To purchase the event T-shirt for you and/or your siblings, visit https://commerce.cashnet.com/kic. T-Shirts can be preordered until Sunday, March 30, for $7 each. After March 30, they can be purchased at Lil' Sibs Weekend for $10 each.

For more information and a tentative schedule for Lil’ Sibs Weekend, visit http://kic.kent.edu/home/lil-sibs-weekend.

Questions regarding the weekend can be directed to ksulilsibs@gmail.com.

Kent State Theatre and Dance Students Take Home Top Honors at Conference for Second Consecutive Year

Students Margaret Peebles and Cyndi Hoffman place in SETC lighting design competition

The Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) once again recognized two Kent State University School of Theatre and Dance students for excellence in lighting design at this year’s SETC convention held in Mobile, Ala., from March 5-9. This is the second consecutive year that a Kent State student has won first place in the lighting design competition.

Senior B.F.A. student Margaret Peebles won first place in the undergraduate competition for her lighting design for the school’s February 2014 production of Legally Blonde. Last year, Peebles took home third place for her work on 2012’s Big Love. M.F.A. Lighting Design student Cyndi Hoffman won third place in the graduate lighting design competition for her lighting design of April 2013’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Peebles and Hoffman will be recognized in Southern Theatre Magazine for their achievements. Each of them also won a cash prize. Electronic Theatre Controls, Inc. sponsored the lighting design competition.

Several other students also competed and presented during the SETC convention. B.F.A. student David Ruggles competed in the undergraduate lighting design competition, Ben Williams and Ryan Patterson in the graduate scenic design competition, and Susan Williams in the graduate costume design competition. Williams and Patterson also presented a workshop on the use of computer drafting and design applications in scenic renderings.

School of Theatre and Dance faculty members Amy Fritsche and Jakyung Seo also presented during the SETC convention. Fritsche presented two classes on the use of character in auditions and musical theatre dance. Seo presented a workshop on international theatre festivals.

The Southeastern Theatre Conference holds the nation’s largest annual theatre convention. More than 4,000 theatre practitioners attend each year.