eInside Briefs

Kent State’s Iris Harvey and Virginia Albanese Honored With Harold K. Stubbs Awards

Kent State University’s Vice President for University
Relations Iris E. Harvey was awarded the 2014 Harold K.
Stubbs Humanitarian Award in Education.

Kent State University’s Vice President for University Relations Iris E. Harvey and Trustee Virginia Albanese were honored at the 2014 Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Awards dinner on March 14 at the Hilton Akron/Fairlawn Hotel in Akron, Ohio.

Harvey, a resident of Stow, Ohio, has been with Kent State since 2008 and oversees Kent State’s global branding initiatives and directs university communications, marketing and media relations, regional engagement and corporate affairs. She recently was selected by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for a U.S.-France International Education Administrators Seminar award, and spent three weeks in France learning about other higher education systems.

“I’m greatly honored by this award and humbled to be considered a humanitarian,” Harvey says. “In the sense that a humanitarian works to make people’s lives better, I’m fortunate that my work allows me to help young people understand the future benefits of higher education.”

Harvey earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing and Master of Business Administration in international marketing from the University of Southern California, as well as an education specialist degree from George Washington University. Before joining Kent State, Harvey held senior marketing positions in higher education at Wright State University and the University of Maryland University College; was the CEO of an international consulting firm she founded and operated in Japan for nearly a decade; and held a vice presidency position at Citigroup Global Consumer Bank Group.

Albanese, a resident of Akron, received the 2014 Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award in Business. Gov. John Kasich appointed Albanese to the Kent State Board of Trustees in 2013. Albanese is president and CEO of FedEx Custom Critical, North America’s largest, critical-shipment carrier. Since joining FedEx Custom Critical in 1986, Albanese has served in various roles, including as director of Safety, Recruiting and Contractor Relations, managing director of Service and Safety, and vice president of Customer and Strategic Operations.

Kent State University’s Trustee Virginia
Albanese was awarded the 2014 Harold
K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award in Business.

“I’m honored to receive this award and to share the stage with so many deserving leaders and volunteers,” Albanese says. “Our community is shaped by those willing to lead and collaborate, and I’m humbled to be recognized with this achievement.”

Albanese earned both a Bachelor of Science degree and an Executive Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Kent State. She is the immediate past chairwoman of the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce and serves on a number of other boards to benefit the Northeast Ohio community, including Akron Children’s Hospital and the Boys and Girls Club of the Western Reserve.

The Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award, sponsored by the St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church of Akron, recognizes those who have made contributions in areas such as social action, government, business, medicine and law.  The awards program honors Stubbs, a former Akron Municipal Court judge and Kent State alumnus. Stubbs was actively involved with the church, which since his death has annually recognized individuals for their community service with this award.

For more information about Kent State’s Division of University Relations, visit www.kent.edu/about/administration/ur.

For more information about Kent State’s Board of Trustees, visit www.kent.edu/bot.

Nominate a Faculty Member for the Distinguished Teaching Award

Lori Randorf (right), assistant vice president of alumni
relations, surprises Leslie Heaphy, associate professor
of history, in her classroom. Heaphy was one of three
faculty members recognized with the Distinguished
Teaching Award in 2013.

Nominate an outstanding colleague who has demonstrated extraordinary instruction in the classroom for the Distinguished Teaching Award (DTA). The Distinguished Teaching Award is the university’s most prestigious honor in teaching for tenure-track faculty.

Sponsored by the Kent State University Alumni Association, qualified nominees of this prestigious award include Kent State tenure-track faculty who are currently employed by the university. The Distinguished Teaching Award is a lifetime achievement award, and past recipients are not eligible for nomination. Any faculty member who has touched a student’s life and helped to better the learning experience at Kent State should be nominated. Faculty and staff are reminded to also encourage students to participate in the nomination process.

The deadline for nominations is June 30. Visit www.ksualumni.org/dta to submit a nomination. 

Kent State Moves Forward With Creation of Center for the Visual Arts

The state-of-art studies at Kent State University will soon be state of the art in every way. The Kent State Board of Trustees has authorized the university to continue full-speed ahead with a project to build a new facility for its nationally respected School of Art. The new Center for Visual Arts will bring together the school’s studio, classroom and gallery spaces for the first time in more than 50 years. The project, which the Board originally approved in concept in 2012, is a high-priority component of Kent State’s historic “Foundations of Excellence: Building the Future” initiative. In the next four years, “Foundations of Excellence” will transform the Kent Campus with new buildings and major renovations designed to ensure that Kent State offers a world-class, 21st-century college experience for decades to come.

Creation of the Center for Visual Arts, which the Board stipulated is not to exceed $33.8 million in revenue from a bond issue, will include the renovation of Van Deusen Hall (former home of the College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability and Technology), renovation of the existing Art Annex (former university heating plant) and connection of the two buildings with a new addition. The combination of renovation and new construction, which is expected to be completed by August 2015, was determined to be the most cost-effective way to consolidate the art program, which currently is offered in six buildings, and to provide world-class classrooms, studios and galleries.

The 115,000 gross-square-foot Center for Visual Arts will comprise about 77,000 square feet of renovated space and about 38,000 square feet of new construction. The building will reflect Kent State’s commitment to sustainable design and operations, meeting the standards for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification. The building will feature Wi-Fi access, flat-screen visual access in classrooms and studios, a fabrication studio for 3-D printing and other technologies.

New Kent State Program to Cultivate Agribusiness Experts

A new Kent State degree program in the high-demand and rapidly changing agribusiness industry has received overwhelming support from community, business and government leaders in and around Tuscarawas County. Kent State’s Board of Trustees today established a Bachelor of Science degree in agribusiness, effective Fall Semester 2014. The program will be offered at Kent State University at Tuscarawas through the university’s Regional College, with the opportunity for future expansion.

Agribusiness is a complex economic system that affects every member of the global community – from producer to consumer – and is a critical industry in Ohio and nationwide. It includes farm production and businesses that supply seed, fertilizer, chemicals, feed, fencing and equipment, and comprises sectors such as financing, insurance and marketing. Students in the new program will be prepared for jobs including management in an agribusiness firm, agricultural commodity merchandising, finance and lending, real estate management and investment, international trade, entrepreneurship, agricultural production, relationship and sales management, and food marketing and advertising.

The addition of an agribusiness degree program is the brainchild of a broad-based, New Program Development Task Force at Kent State Tuscarawas. The task force conducted a needs assessment and hosted a community focus group that included representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency, local economic development councils, Farm Credit Services, local high schools and universities and farm owners. In addition, a 14-member Agribusiness Advisory Board, comprising representatives from the local extension agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Service Agency, Farm Credit Services, and Soil and Water Conservation District, contributed support and expertise toward the creation of the curriculum, which was developed in partnership with the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. Each representative involved in the needs assessment and program development affirmed a need for such a program and expressed overwhelming support for its creation at Kent State Tuscarawas.

Click here to see more of the summary of Board actions from March 12.

Kent Campus to Implement Faculty Load and Compensation Module

The Kent Campus is preparing for the implementation of the Faculty Load and Compensation (FLAC) Module. Beginning this summer, all part-time faculty instructional assignments on the Kent Campus will be paid through FLAC. The Regional Campuses have been using the FLAC process for more than a year. Demos are scheduled for March 24 at 9 a.m. and March 26 at 2 p.m. These sessions will be held in the Governance Chambers at the Kent Student Center.

The FLAC process will be explained, and training materials will be mailed after each session. In April, open labs will be scheduled for hands-on training. At the open labs, department originators will be able to bring part-time faculty instructional assignments and practice the complete process. The dates and times of these open labs will be announced soon. Please plan to attend one of these important sessions and labs so that you will learn everything that you need to know about FLAC.

Undergraduate Student Trustee Search

An important search is underway that will result in the appointment of an undergraduate student trustee to the Kent State University Board of Trustees. Applications from interested students for this two-year term position are being accepted now by the Office of the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. Currently, Monique Menefee and Alexander Evans are Kent State’s Student Trustees, graduate and undergraduate, respectively. Evans is completing his term of office this year and will serve as chair of the Student Trustee Search Committee, as required by university policy.

An overview of the student trustee position, including expectations, responsibilities and qualifications is available at www.kent.edu/emsa/students/student-trustee.cfm. The deadline for submitting nominations is Friday, March 21. Documents necessary for completing an applicant’s file are: application form, résumé and three letters of recommendation (two from individuals affiliated with Kent State and one from a personal source not affiliated with the university). Students may choose to include additional relevant information with their application.

Students may access a copy of the application for the position online or by contacting the office located in Room 250 at the Kent Student Center. Complete applicant files will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Wednesday, April 9. At the conclusion of the process, the names of five students will be forwarded to the Governor’s Office for final selection of the successful candidate.

The new term for the undergraduate student trustee will begin on the date of appointment specified by the governor, and will end on May 16, 2016.

For more information, contact Pat Dennison at 330-672-4050 or pdenniso@kent.edu. 

Teaching Scholars 2014-2015 Application

Applications for the Teaching Scholars Program are open now through April 25 at 5 p.m. to all full-time faculty members of any rank. Preference will be given to faculty members who hold the terminal degree in their discipline.

The primary goal of this program is to support faculty in the design, implementation and assessment of scholarly projects that identify and create significant learning environments. Selection is made by the Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Committee of the Faculty Professional Development Center.

Criteria for selection include:

• Commitment to quality teaching
• Commitment to a scholarly examination of student learning
• Level of interest in the program and potential for contributions to the program
• Plans for use during and after the award
  

For more information or to discuss your application, contact David Dees, Ph.D., at ddees@kent.edu or contact the Faculty Professional Development Center at 330-672-2992 or fpdc@kent.edu.

To apply, complete the application at http://bit.ly/teachingscholars and click Submit at the end of the form. After you have submitted your completed form, you will receive an email from fpdc@kent.edu asking you to send a brief letter of support from your unit administrator along with your current vita. 

Kent State Dance Faculty and Students Featured at American College Dance Association Conference

Work choreographed by Professor Barbara Allegra Verlezza and performed by Kent State students opens gala concert

Pictured are Kent State University
students on stage during a performance.

Kent State University’s School of Theatre and Dance is proud to announce that Celestial Celebration, choreographed by Dance Division Professor Barbara Allegra Verlezza and her husband, Sabatino Verlezza, opened the gala concert at the American College Dance Association’s (ACDA) East-Central Conference held March 2-5. The piece, performed by Kent State dance students, was most recently presented during the School of Theatre and Dance’s production of Dance ’13: This Time in November 2013.

The choreography of Celestial Celebration was inspired by the Greek and Roman myths of the planets and features the majestic music of Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana. The work originally premiered in New York in 1993. The dancers featured in the piece worked with both Barbara Allegra Verlezza and Sabatino Verlezza throughout the beginning of the spring semester and rehearsed once a week in preparation for the conference. Dance Professor Joan Meggitt, who also represented the School of Theatre and Dance at the conference, says the dancers were “beside themselves with excitement” to be chosen to open the gala concert.

Both Verlezzas were “delighted to represent Kent State, the College of the Arts and the School of Theatre and Dance” at the conference and “excited that the dancers had the opportunity to showcase their work.” Works included in the gala concert are chosen through blind adjudication. Three nationally recognized dancers and choreographers determine which pieces best represent the region through demonstration of outstanding artistic excellence and merit. In the coming weeks, a number of pieces from each regional conference will be selected for presentation at the National College Dance Festival at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

The dance students who attended the ACDA conference also participated this past weekend in the School of Theatre and Dance’s BFA Senior Dance Concert/Student Dance Festival: The Light Within Us as choreographers and performers. An excerpt from Celestial Celebration was performed by senior B.F.A. dance performance major Katie Scekeres during this event.

Enrollment Management and Student Affairs Joins United Way of Portage County in the Big Red Bookshelf Project

On March 19 in the lobby area of the Kent Student Center, volunteers from Kent State University’s Division of Enrollment Management and Student Affairs will construct and paint bookshelves that will be placed in early childhood education facilities around Portage County.

Concurrent with the assembly of the bookshelves, the division is running a book drive for new and gently used children’s books, suitable for children from birth through third grade. The book drive has drop-off points in the following buildings:

• Kent Student Center: Office of the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs
• Schwartz Center: Snack area and main entrance
• Twin Towers: Office of Student Conduct and mailbox area
• Student Recreation and Wellness Center: Check-in desk
• DeWeese Health Center: Lobby
• Tri-Towers: Mailbox area
  

The book drive will conclude on March 19 at the Kent Student Center.

The inspiration for The Big Red Bookshelf project came from Kent State senior Leigh Knaus while doing an internship at the United Way. Two bookshelves have already been built and placed in child care centers, and children can choose a book and take it home. Research has shown that more than 60 percent of Portage County kindergarteners need supplemental instruction, and giving them access to printed material is a successful way to improve reading achievement.

For more information about the Big Red Bookshelf project, contact Brian Duchon at the United Way of Portage County at briand@uwportage.org. For more information about the March 19 event, contact Barb Boltz at bboltz@kent.edu.
 

Important Information About Final Grading of Spring 2014 Second 5 Weeks (F2) Classes

Online final grading for spring 2014 Second 5 Weeks (F2) courses meeting from Feb. 17 through March 23 begins Thursday, March 20, via FlashFAST. Grading also is now available for any spring 2014 course section that was flexibly scheduled and has an end date no later than March 23. The deadline for grading submission is midnight on Tuesday, March 25. Any final grades for spring 2014 Second 5 Weeks (F2) courses not reported in FlashFAST by the grades processing deadline will have to be submitted using the Grade Change Workflow. These spring 2014 Second 5 Weeks (F2) courses will be available in the Workflow on Thursday, March 27.

Incomplete Mark and NF/SF Grades:

The administrative mark of IN (Incomplete) may be given to students who are unable to complete the work due to extenuating circumstances. To be eligible, undergraduate students must be currently passing and have completed at least 12 weeks of the semester. The timeline shall be adjusted appropriately for flexibly scheduled courses. Graduate students must be currently earning a C or better grade and are unable to complete the required work between the course withdrawal deadline and the end of classes. Instructors are required to complete and submit an Incomplete Mark Form to the department chair when an incomplete mark is assigned. Access the form from your Faculty Toolbox in FlashLine.

The grade SF (Stopped Attending–Fail) denotes that the student stopped attending the course and did not formally withdraw and must be accompanied by a date of last attendance in the course.

The grade NF (Never Attended–Fail) denotes that the student neither attended one class session nor formally withdrew from the course.

For complete information on university grading policies including Incomplete Mark and NF/SF grading policies, procedures and timelines, please visit the Grading Policies and Procedures section in the university catalog at www.kent.edu/catalog.

Grades Processing Tips and FAQ may be found on the Office of the University Registrar's website at www.kent.edu/registrar/facstaff/facresc.cfm. Any faculty member needing personalized instruction on submitting their grades via FlashFAST should contact their campus Registrar's Office during normal business hours for assistance.

To access FlashFAST to post your final grades, login to FlashLine from www.kent.edu (click FlashLine Login from top right menu bar) then click the Faculty & Advisor Tools tab. Locate the Faculty Toolbox, and select Final under the Submit Grades heading.

Troubleshooting TIP: FlashFAST is accessible from any Internet-capable computer that has the cookies function enabled. We recommend that you clean out your cookie and cache files regularly to help your computer run faster, and to potentially restore and/or improve your access to FlashFAST and/or FlashLine by improving your connection to the server. Our Helpdesk is prepared to offer assistance with these issues. Please contact them at 330-672-HELP (4357) for one-on-one assistance and technical issues.