eInside Briefs

Foundation Grant Program Issues Request for Proposals

In the past, foundation funds have been used to renovate
classroom space.

The Kent State University Foundation Grant Program will award up to $100,000 this year as part of its annual request for proposals. Funding will be available to departments, schools, colleges, institutes and centers universitywide.

There are no restrictions on the awards, which will be made to projects that have an impact on the quality of education offered to students at Kent State. Requests may be made up to the full $100,000. A committee of the foundation will review all applications and make recommendations to the full board of directors for consideration.

Previous grants as part of this program have included support for the All-Steinway School initiative, the renovation of an organic chemistry laboratory, the purchase of equipment for various departments, for the STATE student research project, for renovations to the art classrooms and equipment for architecture.

Download the application by visiting:
www.kent.edu/advancement/ksufoundation/forms.cfm

Completed applications should be forwarded to:

Gene Finn
Kent State University Foundation
1061 Fraternity Circle
PO Box 5190
Kent, OH 44242-0001

All proposals must have the approval signature of the academic dean responsible for the program. Each recipient will be required to submit a report on the use of funds to the Kent State University Foundation board.

Applications must be received by Dec. 15, 2011.

Kent State Deans to Dye Heads Blue and Gold for United Way Campaign

Deans Douglas Steidl and James Bracken
will dye their heads blue and gold if Kent State
exceeds its United Way campaign goal by
Dec. 9.

Douglas Steidl, dean of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, and James Bracken, dean of the University Libraries, will both dye their heads blue and gold if Kent State exceeds its United Way campaign goal and raises more than $180,000 by Friday, Dec. 9.

Steidl and Bracken are co-chairs of Kent State’s 2011-2012 United Way campaign that has the theme “Shared Passion: Giving Where We Work and Live.”

As faculty and staff of the university, your donations can help Kent State achieve its goal and impact the lives of our neighbors in the community where we work and where many of us live.

A one dollar donation to the United Way provides a free winter coat and a free bag of clothing from the County Clothing Center. A two dollar donation will provide a hot, full-course meal to a hungry child or adult, and $50 will purchase groceries to feed a family of four for an entire week.

To support Kent State’s United Way campaign and help the university exceed its goal, log in to FlashLine and go to the My HR tab. Click on United Way E-give to make a donation. Payroll deduction is also available. Also, check with your United Way campus coordinator for other fundraising events and activities.

Let’s exceed the goal together and make the deans dye their heads. Join the campaign and give today.

For more information about Kent State’s United Way campaign, visit www.kent.edu/unitedway.

Deadline Extended to Submit Photos for Kent State’s May 4 Visitors Center Exhibit

The May 4 Visitors Center at Kent State will tell the May 4
story, set against the political and cultural changes of the
1960s.

The deadline to submit photos from the '60s for the development of the new May 4 Visitors Center has been extended to Dec. 21.

Kent State faculty, staff, alumni and community members can contribute to the development of the new center by uploading pictures that show what people looked like, what they experienced and what they cared about in the '60s.

The May 4 Visitors Center at Kent State will tell the May 4 story, set against the political and cultural changes of the 1960s. The center will be located in Taylor Hall, adjacent to the May 4 Memorial on the Kent Campus.

“Selected photos will be displayed in the May 4 Visitors Center’s first gallery, which sets the May 4 story in its time,” says Laura Davis, professor of English and faculty coordinator for May 4 initiatives. “We’re looking for home photos taken between 1950 and 1970. We’d like to show people from all walks of life, engaging in their everyday lives in the '60s.”

Photos will be reviewed weekly, and a prize will be awarded for the favorite photo of the week. The winner will receive a May 4 40th commemoration T-shirt, which was designed by a student.

For guidelines and to upload a picture, visit www.kent.edu/about/history/may4/virtualtour/photos/.
 

WKSU-FM’s Fall Fund Drive Exceeds Campaign Goal

Staff of WKSU-FM hold up awards won by the radio station.
WKSU-FM exceeded its fall fund campaign goal by more
than 13 percent.

WKSU-FM’s recent Fall Fund Drive was a rousing success. Despite the ongoing effects of the struggling economy, 2,170 station supporters called or made online pledges with the drive’s grand total exceeding the campaign’s goal by 13.5 percent. Thirty-nine percent of the pledges were from new or lapsed members. Nearly $50,000 of the income from the Fall Fund Drive came in as challenge grants. Those matching funds offer listeners the opportunity to make a pledge that can, in essence, do “double duty.”

The on-air fund drives are important connections between WKSU-FM and those in the community who use the public radio station’s award-winning mix of news, classical and folk music. Listeners who pledge more than $60 annually become station members and earn special benefits. The average gift for the fall campaign was $186.72.

WKSU-FM holds two 10-day pledge drives each year, generally in October and March, with another, much shorter drive held after Thanksgiving. The annual Hunger Challenge, which is scheduled for Dec. 1 and 2 this year, also raises money for regional food banks.

Along with ongoing support from Kent State University, the majority of WKSU-FM’s operating budget comes from individual donations from listeners coupled with corporate underwriting dollars. Thank you to all who participated in WKSU-FM’s October drive – as a donor or a volunteer answering pledge calls.

If you are interested in volunteering, please call Joyce Adams at 330-672-9161.

Professional Women of Kent State Peace Basket Project Needs Volunteers

The Professional Women of Kent State University invites faculty, staff and students to join them in creating Holiday Peace Baskets on Saturday, Dec. 10, between 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the King Kennedy Center, 6660 Garfield Rd., Ravenna.  Two shifts will run on that day, from 9 to 11 a.m., and from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

This activity, now in its 15th year, created more than 140 gift baskets for needy families in the area last year. Donations such as kitchen items, personal grooming items, school supplies and small stocking stuffers for children will be assembled into decorated baskets and boxes and will be distributed to the residents that the King Kennedy Center services during the center’s Christmas party.

The following Holiday Helpers are needed:

• As a Prep Elf:  Volunteers are needed on Friday, Dec. 9, noon to 3 p.m. at the King Kennedy Center to prepare for the basket assembly day. 

• As an Elf:  Join in a continental breakfast and help to assemble baskets and boxes of needed items on Saturday, Dec. 10, at the King Kennedy Center.  Breakfast and decorating materials will be provided. 
• As an Absentee Angel: Donate a $10 holiday helper fee to be used toward the purchase of shrink wrapping, gift bags, ribbons and bows.  You’ll be with us in spirit.
• As Santa’s Shopper:   Donate items to be used to fill the baskets, such as toiletries,  personal grooming products, small stocking stuffers (socks, jewelry, nail polish, stuffed animals, small toys, books or other children’s items), kitchen items and school supplies. For men:  cologne, socks, caps and hats, games for teenagers and other young men's items.  Shoe boxes wrapped with holiday paper and other items can be taken to the drop off points listed below.
• As a Holiday Knitter: Hand-knitted or crocheted scarves and caps for kids will be accepted.
  

To make the Dec. 10 activities go smoothly, the Professional Women of Kent State is asking that all items to be donated be dropped off at the Office of the Vice President – Enrollment Management and Student Affairs, Room 250 Kent Student Center, beginning Nov. 28. 

For more information about the Peace Basket Project, contact Barb Boltz at 330-672-1306 or by email at bboltz@kent.edu.