eInside Briefs

TeleProductions’ Staff, Satellite Truck Returning to Super Bowl to Support Live Broadcast for Latin American Television

Student Crew to Travel With Kent State TeleProductions’ Team to Assist With Production

Being able to tell future employers that you have helped produce the Super Bowl is a big honor. Being able to tell them you did that as a student will blow them away.

Kent State University TeleProductions’ staff members Jeff Bentley, Jason Forbes and Dan Tonelli; Dan LeBeau, an alumnus of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication; and students Mike Donelan and Chris Neiman will travel to East Rutherford, N.J., with the department’s satellite uplink and production truck for Super Bowl XLVIII to provide production and satellite capabilities for FOX Mexico live broadcast of the game.  

In 2013, TeleProductions partnered with PMTV, a global provider of broadcast and video production services, to offer its clients highly customized broadcast, corporate TV and entertainment needs. After a rigorous negotiation process to make sure its truck and production team met all of the technical and professional requirements, Kent State TeleProductions began working with PMTV and its clients to fulfill live broadcast needs.

“Being invited to work at the Super Bowl for a second year in a row is a significant achievement,” says Mark Bussey, director of technology and TeleProductions at Kent State. “It is a clear indication of TeleProductions’ success last year and the trust they have placed in us.”

This production provides experiential learning opportunities for the students attending. Most professionals in this industry do not get to attend the Super Bowl, but Kent State takes its students to experience production firsthand.

LeBeau will travel with the group to attend the Super Bowl for the second time. He will supervise audio and camera set-up, as well as equipment observation during the game.

“TeleProductions’ involvement with the Super Bowl is a testimony to its reputation, high level of professionalism and technical capability,” Bussey says. “I’m very proud of my team and the talented students who accompany them.”

Follow TeleProductions' journey to the Super Bowl and its time broadcasting the live show on the TeleProductions Facebook page or on Twitter @TeleProductions #KSUSuperBowl beginning Jan. 30.

Posted Jan. 27, 2014

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Undergraduate Studies to Relocate to University Library

Kent State University’s Division of Undergraduate Studies is temporarily relocating to the fifth floor of University Library for one year to allow for renovations at the Lake/Olson Center as part of Kent State’s “Foundation of Excellence: Building the Future” initiative.

“The Lake/Olson Center will be renovated to allow us to serve our students better,” says Cesquinn M. Curtis, special assistant to the dean of Undergraduate Studies. “The entire division will return to the Lake/Olson Center in spring 2015.”

The relocating departments within the division will move in three separate phases. The Student Success Programs will relocate Jan. 27, the Exploratory Advising Center will move Feb. 3, and the Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement, Undergraduate Studies Technology and the Office of the Dean will move Feb. 7.

Three departments within the division will not be affected by the relocation and will remain in the Schwartz Center. These include the Dual Enrollment Programs and the Academic Success Center.

“These projects will support Kent State’s top priorities: academic excellence and success of all students,” Curtis says.

The goal of Undergraduate Studies is to help students achieve academic success at Kent State by providing extensive academic advising services. In addition, the division coordinates advising support throughout the university, assists undecided students with degree and career planning, assesses skills of incoming freshmen and provides support tools for low-income, first-generation and precollege students.

Find more information about Undergraduate Studies.

Posted Jan. 27, 2014 | Shannen Laur

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Faculty Member Invited By U.S. State Department Shares Knowledge of Entrepreneurship at International Conference

Kent State University College of Business Administration faculty member Craig Zamary served as the MVP speaker to kickoff “Startup Weekend in Cyprus,” which took place recently in Nicosia, Cyprus. The U.S. State Department, the U.S. Embassy and the U.S. Ambassador to Cyprus commissioned Zamary, an instructor in Kent State’s Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship, to speak about startups, entrepreneurship, success stories, hope, overcoming obstacles and going after opportunities.

“Our faculty’s expertise is often sought by corporate, nonprofit and government partners. I am pleased that Craig was selected for this opportunity by the U.S. State Department to share his knowledge with entrepreneurs overseas,” says Deborah Spake, dean of the College of Business Administration.

Cyprus was one of the hardest-hit countries in the European financial crisis and its recession is expected to continue for a couple more years. The country hopes entrepreneurship will help lift it from the recession and high unemployment rates.

“I was humbled at the opportunity to be the featured speaker about entrepreneurship, as well as a mentor and international judge for ‘Startup Weekend in Cyprus’,” Zamary says. “It was an honor to represent the United States and spread the word about global entrepreneurship.”

As a mentor, Zamary worked with attendees to provide feedback, assistance and guidance on business pitches. Additionally, Zamary served as one of the judges of the entrepreneurship competition that wrapped up the conference.

“I think, personally, everyone who participated in the competition won,” says Zamary. “It’s the spark Cyprus needs to fire new opportunities.”

Microsoft, one of the sponsors of the event, announced that Zamary will volunteer time over the next 12 months to mentor one of the competition finalists via Skype. Other sponsors included PWC and Hellenic Bank.

“The connections, relationships and mutual respect from the weekend conference exceeded my expectations,” Zamary says. “The mood of the attendees was exceptionally positive; it was a great setting to build relationships and create opportunities between the U.S. and Cyprus.”

“The valuable help of the U.S. Embassy in Nicosia and the U.S. State Department has made this possible,” says Stavriana A. Kofteros, deputy press spokesperson for Cyprus. “We are truly honored for this collaboration, for the opportunity to make a difference in Cyprus and for Craig Zamary’s energy, spirit and vision of entrepreneurship everywhere.  He has inspired us while creating new friends and collaborators in Cyprus. This is just the beginning!”

Find more information about Kent State’s College of Business Administration.

Posted Jan. 27, 2014

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Kent State’s School of Library and Information Science Expands Offerings to Denmark

The School of Library and Information Science at Kent State University announces a new education-abroad course exploring the fascinating world of international children’s literature and librarianship in Denmark.

From its notoriety as home of the Vikings, to its current status as home of the happiest people in the world, Denmark is famous for Hamlet, Søren Kierkegaard, Danish pastry, and leaders in architecture and design like Arne Jacobsen, Jørn Utsen, Georg Jensen, Bang & Olufsen and Bjarne Ingels. But Denmark also has a long and solid tradition of cultural production for young people — just think of Hans Christian Andersen, Tivoli Gardens and Legoland.

In this academically rigorous course on international cultural production for children, Denmark will serve as a case study for such, providing students with hands-on perspectives on international children’s literature, librarianship, museums and a view on how different cultures construct “childhood.”
 
The course is hybrid, combining online course delivery with face-to-face class time in Denmark. Some questions this class will address include: What does it mean to be a child in other countries compared to the United States? What sorts of issues face professionals working in cultural production for young people — from museums and libraries, to media industries such as publishing and film? How do those issues compare to ones faced by professionals in the United States? What is similar? What is different? What can we learn from another culture and how will our new knowledge translate into ideas for practice in the U.S.?

Tours and seminars in Denmark will include the Royal Library School, the International Animation Workshop, Rosinante Publishers and an independent children’s bookseller, visit to Helsingør (Hamlet’s castle) and the ministry of culture, as well as tours of a selection of Danish children’s libraries. Students also will visit Tivoli garden and several museums and possibly take a ferry to Sweden.
 
The course will be led by Marianne Martens, Ph.D., assistant professor in the School of Library and Information Science. Prior to entering academe, Martens worked in international children’s publishing and librarianship for more than a dozen years. She received a master’s in library and information science from the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, and a doctorate in 2012 from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.

“While most of the class will be online, we will meet for seven to 10 days in Denmark,” Martens says. “Some of the activities will include visiting the Royal Library School and a range of libraries; a publishing company, where we’ll meet Danish authors and illustrators; and an animation school, where we’ll learn about transmedia storytelling. As a case study within the vast field of international children’s literature and librarianship because of its child-centric culture, Denmark presents interesting and rich points of comparison with the United States.” 

Martens is originally from Denmark. She attended elementary schools and high schools in Switzerland, Scotland, Denmark and the United States.

The deadline for applications, transcripts and letters of recommendation is Feb.14.

Find more information, including a course overview and application forms.

Posted Jan. 27, 2014

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