eInside Briefs

Crawford Promoted to Associate Vice President

Fashaad Crawford, Ph.D., has been
promoted to associate vice president,
Strategic Planning, Diversity Assessment
and Research Management for Kent State’s
Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.

Fashaad Crawford, Ph.D., has been promoted to associate vice president, Strategic Planning, Diversity Assessment and Research Management for Kent State University’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, effective Jan. 1.

Crawford joined Kent State as the assistant vice president, Strategic Planning, Diversity Assessment and Research Management in August 2011. He will continue to report directly to Alfreda Brown, Ph.D., vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion.

“Dr. Crawford has been instrumental in working throughout the university on diversity-related grant proposals and assessment initiatives,” Brown says. “His assessment expertise is a great asset, not only for the division, but for entire eight-campus system at Kent State. We are happy to have him on our team.”

In addition to supporting strategic planning and assessment for diversity, his new responsibilities include developing divisionwide objectives and return-on-investment outcomes for diversity; compiling assessment and research reports that align with university and division mission, goals and objectives; and developing policy and programming related to rational and empirical decision-making.

“Diversity at Kent State touches every aspect of campus, including faculty, staff, students and the surrounding communities,” Crawford says. “I have enjoyed working with each facet and I look forward to the continued development of the division, as well as continued work toward the attainment of the university's goals.”

Before joining Kent State, Crawford held a position at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. Prior to that, Crawford held various positions in higher education in admissions, financial aid, athletic academic services, College of Education, diversity, retention research management, and for the provost of undergraduate affairs.

Crawford received his undergraduate degree in history at South Carolina State University. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees in educational leadership and organizational development at the University of Louisville. His concentrations were in higher education administration, policy assessment and K-20 student achievement.

For more information about the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, visit www.kent.edu/diversity/index.cfm.

Said Sewell Joins Kent State as University’s New Dean of Undergraduate Studies

Said Sewell, Ph.D., is the new dean of
Undergraduate Studies at Kent State.

Kent State University has named Said Sewell, Ph.D., as its new dean of Undergraduate Studies. Sewell joins Kent State from Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga., where he has served as executive director of the Academic Success Center and associate professor of political science since December 2009. He will begin his position at Kent State on April 15. Sewell succeeds Gary Padak who retired in November 2010.

As dean of Undergraduate Studies, Sewell will administer and provide leadership for programs that are deemed central to undergraduate student success. This includes pre-college preparation, transition to college, academic advising, student retention issues and undecided/undeclared students. He will oversee the Exploratory Advising Center, Academic Success Center, Student Success Programs and Dual Enrollment/PSEOP, including academic advising and monitoring academic progress for exploratory majors.

“This year, I’ve asked the university community to focus on retention, persistence and timely graduation, and Dr. Sewell will be a key driver of this effort,” says Kent State President Lester A. Lefton. “Dr. Sewell will provide strategic leadership for developing and implementing universitywide programs to enhance student success and persistence.”

“I am most excited and humbled to be joining Kent State as its newest dean,” Sewell says. “Because Kent State is a great and highly ranked public university with a distinguished faculty, stellar staff, exceptional students, nationally known programs and dedicated administration, I could not resist joining this awesome team. I come to Kent State because I believe in the mission and vision of the university. I share the institution’s values toward education and its commitment to moving our students to higher heights. I am committed to leading the college in a very collaborative, energetic and strategic manner.”

Prior to working at Fort Valley State University, Sewell was an associate professor of political science and planning at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga., from 2000 to 2009. He was promoted to the rank of associate professor in his fourth year and tenured the following year. While there, he served as the interim chair of the department. Sewell, in addition, was the founding executive director of the Center for African American Males: Research, Success and Leadership in Atlanta from 2004 to 2009. The center, which is the first of its kind is Georgia, has a mission of addressing the challenges faced by African-American men in the academy by focusing on three main areas: research, modeling and training and programming.

He has taught in the public administration and political science department at Albany State University and Georgia Institute of Technology, in the social science department at Georgia Perimeter College and Dekalb College, and in the political science department at Clark Atlanta University and Morehouse College.

Sewell has authored several articles on faith-based initiatives, community and economic development, religion and politics and juvenile issues. He is currently completing work on two forthcoming books titled Empowering Black Male Students to Greatness and Let Us Make Man: A Conversation With Black Men on Saving Black Boys. He is co-author of Georgia State Politics and the editor of two American Government readers: Conflicting Democracy: A Critical Analysis of America’s Political Process and We the People: Reflections on American Politics.

Sewell is active in several professional, civic and social organizations. He is a life member and the former national chairman of Leadership Development Institute for his fraternity – the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. and a member of the 100 Black Men of America.

A native of Houston, Texas, Sewell entered Morehouse College at the age of 16 in 1988. Sewell excelled academically, graduating from Morehouse in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He has been mentioned as one America’s rising young leaders for the 21st Century. He received his Master of Public Administration in public policy from Texas Southern University at the age of 21, becoming the youngest person in the program’s history to complete all the requirements for the degree in a year and a half. He continued his academic pursuits in Georgia by earning a Ph.D. in political science from Clark Atlanta University in 2001. Sewell also has completed post-graduate work at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and School of Divinity.

For more information about Kent State’s Undergraduate Studies, visit www.kent.edu/undergradstudies. 

Spring 2012 Provost Fellow Announced

Associate Professor of Fashion Design
Sherry Schofield-Tomschin has been
appointed the Provost Fellow for the
Spring 2012 Semester.

Associate Professor of Fashion Design Sherry Schofield-Tomschin has been appointed the Provost Fellow for the Spring 2012 Semester.

The Kent State University’s Provost’s Fellowship is designed to develop faculty leaders by providing opportunities for mid-career and senior faculty to serve half time in an administrative role in the Office of the Provost.

The purposes of the Provost’s Fellowship are to provide faculty members who have an interest in academic administration the chance to develop knowledge, skills and experience as an administrator, to increase the understanding of faculty about the practices and procedures in academic administration, to extend and strengthen the administrative resources of the university, to assist in development and implementation of projects in current key areas, and to provide ongoing faculty involvement and input into the activities of the Office of the Provost.

Schofield-Tomschin has a doctorate degree from Iowa State University in textiles and apparel, with a minor in gerontology.  Her master’s and bachelor’s degrees were completed at North Dakota State University, both in textiles and clothing. Schofield-Tomschin is in her sixth year at Kent State, having taught previously at Virginia Tech.

For more information about the Provost Fellowship, contact Randi Schneider at 330-672-8613.

Mail Services Offers Webinars

Mail Services will be offering two webinars this spring. Mailology 101 will be offered on Wednesday, Feb. 15, at 10 a.m. In this one-hour webinar you will learn money-saving tips and easy processing methods related to the different mail classes, delivery standards and sizes. There will also be information on how to handle change of address mail and an explanation of the new postage rates. 

The second course, Mailology 102, will be offered on Tuesday, March 13, at 10 a.m. and will provide an overview of what Mail Services can provide for your department. This will include information about presorted mail, automated mail, barcodes, business reply mail and using USPS for package shipping.

You can register for the February webinar by clicking on this link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/172546698

Registration for the second webinar in March may be completed at this link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/932020770
 
For additional information, contact Steve Finley, manager, Mail Services at 330-672-8703 or sfinley7@kent.edu.

Proper Mailing Addresses for Procurement and Accounts Payable Departments

The Procurement Department is now located at 330
Harbourt Hall on 615 Loop Rd.

The Procurement Department recently relocated from 229 Schwartz Center to 330 Harbourt Hall on 615 Loop Rd.

All Procurement Department mail should be properly addressed and sent to the new address listed above. In addition, all Accounts Payable (payments) information, including invoices and check requests, should be sent directly to the Accounts Payable Department at 237 Schwartz Center.

Please take note of these changes for all future mailings in order to prevent any delays. 

Feb. 12 is Last Day to Nominate a Faculty Member for the 2012 Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award

You are invited to nominate a Kent State faculty member for the 2012 Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award, formerly known as the Distinguished Scholar Award. Sponsored by the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs and the University Research Council, this award is intended to honor Kent State’s finest outstanding researchers and scholars. The awardees will be selected based on the quality of research and scholarship and its impact on society. 

Who can be nominated? 
Any Kent State faculty member can be nominated, except those who have previously received the Distinguished Scholar Award.
Click here to see previous winners.

Who can nominate? 
Any member of the Kent State community, including faculty, emeriti, staff, students and alumni. To nominate, you must submit a letter outlining the specific research and/or scholarly achievements of the nominee. Please send an email to research@kent.edu and attach your letter of support.

Nomination Deadline: Sunday, Feb. 12, at 11:59 p.m. Recipients will be announced on the Kent State homepage on March 15.