eInside Briefs
News Briefs
- WKSU Names Andrew Meyer News Director
- High School Students Excel in Kent State’s Young Business Scholars Program
- Kent State President Speaks at Women’s Equality Day Event
- Varsity "K" Hall of Fame to Induct Seven Members on Sept. 6
WKSU Names Andrew Meyer News Director
Veteran journalist Andrew Meyer is
news director for WKSU.
WKSU has named veteran journalist Andrew Meyer as the station’s news director. His roles include managing WKSU reporters and working with senior staff to set coverage priorities and build relationships within the Northeast Ohio community. The WKSU news staff currently comprises seven full-time reporter/producers stationed in the station’s main broadcast facility in Kent and satellite studios in Cleveland, the Cultural Center in Canton and downtown Akron.
Meyer comes to WKSU from public radio station WBGO in Newark, New Jersey, where he was assistant news director. Along with his management duties at WBGO, he also anchored afternoon newscasts, reported on local and regional stories and hosted a monthly call-in program with then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker and other newsmakers. Before he became a full-time staff member at WBGO, Meyer worked as a freelance reporter/producer for stations in the New York City metropolitan area, such as WNYC and 1010 WINS. He also was a stringer for a number of networks, including NPR.
During his time at WBGO, Meyer was recognized with a number of awards, including nationally from the Public Radio News Directors Inc. (PRNDI) and in the New Jersey/New York area from the New Jersey Associated Press Broadcasters Association, the New Jersey Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and others. He served twice as president of the New Jersey Associated Press Broadcasters Association.
Meyer was born in Louisville, Kentucky, and holds the commission of Colonel in the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels. He and his family will live in Hudson, Ohio.
“I am very pleased that Andrew will be joining our staff,” says Dan Skinner, WKSU executive director and general manager. “His wealth of experience in management and journalism will help the WKSU newsroom do its best to serve the Northeast Ohio community in a time when our region is drawing increased national attention.”
WKSU is an award-winning public radio station and service of Kent State University that broadcasts to 22 counties in Northeast Ohio from the station’s primary signal at 89.7. WKSU content can also be heard over WKRW 89.3 (Wooster), WKRJ 91.5 (Dover/New Philadelphia), WKSV 89.1 (Thompson), WNRK 90.7 (Norwalk) and W239AZ 95.7 (Ashland). The station adds WKSU-2 Folk Alley, WKSU-3 The Classical Channel and WKSU-4 The News Channel over HD Radio and as streaming audio at www.wksu.org.
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High School Students Excel in Kent State’s Young Business Scholars Program
High school students participate in the Kent State
University College of Business Administration's Young
Business Scholars Summer Program. The program is for
high school seniors interested in pursuing a business
degree.
Five high school seniors received $1,000 scholarships each to attend Kent State University’s College of Business Administration in fall 2015 after winning a competition during the college’s Young Business Scholars Program.
Jennifer Guerriero of Archbishop Hoban High School, Zachary Hughes of Solon High School, Noah McDonald of Marysville High School, Jessica Tang of Padua Franciscan High School and Jillian Tischer of Mason High School made up the winning team along with coach Chad Fruitg, an MBA student, for the business plan they created as part of the program.
The Young Business Scholars Summer Program is a business-focused program for high school seniors interested in pursuing a business degree.
“The Young Business Scholars program provides high school seniors the opportunity to study the different areas of business, while experiencing college life and living on campus for the week,” says Nicole Kotlan, director of Kent State’s undergraduate programs office in the College of Business Administration.
Throughout the week, students explored the different areas of business while working in teams to develop a business plan. Using the business strategies and techniques they learned throughout the week, teams presented their final business plan to a panel of judges.
Michael Gaffney, president of Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio, served as one of the judges for the competition and says he was impressed with the presentations.
“All of the students were so impressive,” Gaffney says. “Every one of these students is going to be a success, no matter what they do. It was neat to see them in the beginning of what I believe will be a long and fruitful career.”
Click here to watch winners of the Young Business Scholars program speak about the program.
For more information about Kent State’s College of Business Administration, visit www.kent.edu/business.
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Kent State President Speaks at Women’s Equality Day Event
Pictured from left to right are Heather Adams, director
of the Women’s Center at Kent State; Nancy Brown,
president of the League of Women Voters of Ohio;
Beverly Warren, Kent State president; Iris Meltzer,
president of the Kent League of Women Voters; and
Alfreda Brown, vice president of Kent State's Division
of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
(Photo credit: League of Women Voters of Kent)
The League of Women Voters (LWV) of Kent celebrated Women’s Equality Day on Aug. 26 with the establishment of the Helen Dix Scholarship for nontraditional students in the memory of a community leader who treasured education and her membership in the league. The first scholarship will be awarded for the 2015-2016 academic year to a nontraditional student attending Kent State University or Hiram College.
The gathering to kickoff fundraising included members of the LWV, Dix family members and friends from Dix’s long life, all of whom also came to hear Kent State University President Beverly Warren. More than a 100 community members were present at The Overlook in Twin Lakes for the event, which was co-sponsored by the Kent State Women’s Center. Nancy Brown, president of the League of Women Voters of Ohio, traveled from Columbus to attend.
Aug. 26 of each year is designated in the United States as Women's Equality Day. Instituted by U.S. Rep. Bella Abzug and first established in 1971, the date commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment, the Woman Suffrage Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which gave U.S. women full voting rights in 1920.
“The Kent league wanted to commemorate Women’s Equality Day with a special event to focus on the importance of voting and voter education, which were important to Helen Dix,” says Iris Meltzer, president of the Kent League of Women Voters, a nonpartisan political organization promoting voter registration and education that is open to men and women.
Dix died in October 2013 at the age of 96. She helped to found the Kent chapter of the League of Women Voters in 1953 and remained a member of the organization. Through her family’s ownership of the Record-Courier, she made it possible for the Kent LWV to compile and have printed the “Voter’s Guide” for the Portage County community. The tradition started in 1956 and continues today.
Dix’s son David, publisher of the Record-Courier, thanked the LWV for establishing the scholarship to help students who may be struggling financially. A mentor helped the young Helen Westcott find a job in Kent so she could enroll in college at Kent State in the early 1930s during the depths of the Great Depression. She became a journalist and eventually joined the staff of the Record-Courier where she met Robert Dix. They married in 1938.
“With this scholarship, I think maybe we can help another young Helen Dix out there,” her son says.
Warren, the new president of Kent State, started her talk by thanking the league for shining a light on Women’s Equality Day, stating that voting is a true privilege.
“One of the reasons we are here to celebrate is the idea of our progress as a country. Women before 1920 might not have imagined a woman seated on the Supreme Court; that we have women serving in Congress and many of the highest offices in the land; and a very competitive woman fighting for the chance to serve this country as president. It comes from this desire to work together to create a better world,” Warren says.
But the work never ends. She has chosen to stay in higher education because she sees the importance of making sure future generations fight for what is right and to also share with them responsibility, including the obligations that come with the right to vote.
Warren is optimistic about the future from the quality of student she sees at Kent State. She is energized by the commitment the community has for the university and its students because she feels it takes many people from different sectors of a community to achieve an educated and responsible electorate.
Warren acknowledges the work done by her predecessors but especially by Carol A. Cartwright, Ph.D., the first female university president in Ohio when she was at Kent State in the 1990s. Warren likened her to the pioneers and suffragettes who blazed a trail in new territory.
“When we think of the courage of those pioneers and we stand on their shoulders, it is important that we learn from them. We are only going forward because of those who have paved the way before us,” Warren says.
The staff of the Women’s Center, a program of Kent State’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, headed by Alfreda Brown, Ed.D., vice president and league board member, provided a presentation on the background of Women’s Equality Day. It was interrupted by the arrival of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a historical African-American female journalist and suffragette born in 1862 who helped to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Played by actor Cara White, Wells-Barnett challenged the audience think about how there are barriers beyond gender that stand in the way of voting rights.
The Kent LWV is the local chapter of the League of Women Voters of the United States. Established after passage of the 19th Amendment to educate voters, the LWV is a nonpartisan political organization, encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues and influences public policy through education and advocacy.
For more information about the League of Women Voters of Kent, call 330-678-5664.
For more information on donating to the Helen Dix Scholarship, call 330-678-9217.
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Varsity "K" Hall of Fame to Induct Seven Members on Sept. 6
DeAndre Haynes, now Kent State assistant coach,
dribbles the ball past an opponent during a basketball
game when he was a Golden Flashes athlete. Haynes is
one of seven people who will be inducted into the 2014
Varsity “K” Hall of Fame class on Sept. 6.
Kent State University’s Department of Intercollegiate Athletics has announced its 2014 Varsity “K” Hall of Fame class consisting of seven members who will be introduced as part of the 36th induction ceremony on Sept. 6.
Joining the Kent State Varsity "K" Athletics Hall of Fame are Tara Delaney (women's golf, 2004-08), Kimberly Dimitroff (women's soccer, 2004-07), Bob Hallen (football, 1994-97), DeAndre Haynes (men's basketball, 2002-06), Mike Lude (administrator, 1970-76), Bill Swettenham (men's soccer, 1966-69) and Mindy Wirtz (women's track and field, 1993-96). In addition, the 1972 MAC Championship football team will receive the Team of Distinction honor and FedEx Freight CFO Don Brown, '77, will be recognized as the Distinguished Athletic Alumnus. Former track and field letter winner Glenn Peterson,'84, will be honored as the 2014 Varsity "K" Person of the Year, and Dave and Sherry Joy will be this year's Honorary Varsity "K" Members.
Delaney was named MAC Golfer of the Year in both 2006 and 2007. She earned All-MAC First Team honors in all four of her seasons at Kent State from 2005-08, helping the Golden Flashes to four straight conference championships. Delaney was co-medalist at the 2006 MAC Championships and won three career tournaments. She was the MAC Freshman of the Year in 2005 and earned All-American honorable mention from Golfweek in 2007. The Carlow, Ireland, native had 21 Top 10 career finishes.
Dimitroff becomes Kent State's first women's soccer player to be inducted into the Varsity "K" Hall of Fame. A four-time All-MAC selection, she earned first team all-conference honors in three seasons. She was named MAC Freshman of the Year in 2004, helping the Golden Flashes to a MAC regular season championship. The Oakville, Ontario, native still holds Kent State's single-season records for goals (16) and points (36), and held the career record for goals scored for seven years.
Hallen was a four-year starter on Kent State's offensive line and an All-MAC First Team selection in 1997. He also earned honorable mention on the College Sports News All-America Team. In 1998, Hallen became the first Kent State player selected to compete in the 49-year history of the Senior Bowl. Later that year, he was chosen in the second round of the 1998 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. The Mentor, Ohio, native played 10 seasons in the NFL with the Falcons, Chargers and Browns.
Haynes became Kent State's first MAC Player of the Year in the 39-year history of the award in 2006. That season, he led the Golden Flashes to MAC regular season and tournament titles. Haynes earned All-MAC honorable mention as a sophomore in 2004 and was named to the All-MAC Freshman Team in 2003. He helped the Golden Flashes to four straight 20-win seasons and three consecutive NIT appearances from 2003-05. The Detroit native is Kent State's career leader in both assists (625) and steals (229) and currently serves as an assistant coach.
Lude served as director of athletics from 1970-76. In 1971, he hired Hall of Fame coaches Don James and Ron Gray. A year later, Lude hired Tod Boyle, who led the Golden Flashes to four MAC swimming titles over the next five years. In 1975, Lude appointed Judy Devine as assistant athletic director for women's sports. His time at Kent State included the Golden Flashes' only outright MAC championship in football and a second place finish at the Men's NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Lude reorganized Kent State's booster clubs into one Blue and Gold Club and played a strong role in the MAC's expansion from six teams to 10. He later served as athletic director at the University of Washington for 15 years.
Swettenham played soccer from 1966-68, finishing as Kent State's career leader in both points and assists. In 1967, he scored 10 goals and added three assists. The following year, Swettenham totaled five goals and five assists. He was selected to both the All-Ohio Team and the All-Midwest Team. The Cleveland, Ohio, native was named Kent State's Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year.
Wirtz was a three-time All-American in discus, placing as high as second at the 1995 NCAA Championships. The following season, she was named MAC Track Athlete of the Year. Wirtz placed 10th at the NCAA Championships in shot put. Among shot put, discus and weight throw, she was a seven-time MAC champion with two second place finishes. The Medina, Ohio, native held the Kent State discus record for 19 years (1995-2014) and ranks seventh in shot put.
This year's group of seven inductees brings the membership of the Varsity "K" Athletics Hall of Fame to 291 since the original 13-member charter class of 1979. The induction ceremony will take place on Sept. 6 at 10 a.m. at the Kent State Hotel and Conference Center. The 2014 class and honorees will then be introduced at halftime of the football game against South Alabama.
To make a reservation for the event, visit https://commerce.cashnet.com/athleticevent or contact Alicia Gaffney at 330-672-8399 or alongst1@kent.edu for more information.
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