eInside Briefs

Candidates for Dean of Kent State University at Tuscarawas Announced

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce that three candidates for dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State University at Tuscarawas will visit campus over the next several weeks. As part of the visits, each candidate will hold a public presentation for the campus community and respond to questions.

I invite and encourage you to attend the following public presentations:

James E. Payne, Ph.D.
Provost and Bank One Professor in Business
University of New Orleans

Public Presentation
Monday, April 14
10-11 a.m.
126 Science and Advanced Technology Building
Kent State University at Tuscarawas

Karla K. Leeper, Ph.D.
Vice President of Board and Executive Affairs and Chief Compliance Officer
Baylor University

Public Presentation
Wednesday, April 16
10-11 a.m.
Founders Hall Auditorium
Kent State University at Tuscarawas

Bradley A. Bielski, Ph.D.
Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean
Thomas More College
 
Public Presentation
Monday, April 21
10-11 a.m.
126 Science and Advanced Technology Building
Kent State University at Tuscarawas
 
Additional information on the search for the Kent State Tuscarawas dean and chief administrative officer, including photos and curriculum vitae for each of the candidates, is available on the Tuscarawas Dean Search website.
 
Sincerely,
 
Todd A. Diacon, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost

Campus Departments Come Together to Host First-Ever Maker Faire

Members of the Kent State University community will have
the opportunity to exhibit their work and explore new
technologies and creative processes at the first Kent State
Mini Maker Faire® on April 24.

Kent State’s first-ever Mini Maker Faire, a family-friendly showcase of inventions, will take place on April 24 from noon to 4 p.m. on the first floor of the University Library. The event is free and open to the public. Anyone can participate, and student participation is highly encouraged.

The Mini Maker Faire is a collaboration of four departments and colleges across campus, and includes makers such as tech enthusiasts, crafters, homesteaders, scientists and garage tinkerers.

“The Maker Faire Event on campus will allow for experiential learning and a platform for collaboration among students, faculty and staff,” says Kevin Wolfgang, manager of the Kent State Fashion School TechStyle LAB. “People get excited to try new things and we want to give them to opportunity to do so.”

This Mini Maker Faire will be the third in the region. Akron and Cleveland have hosted similar events.

Collaborators for the event include Wolfgang; Brian Peters and Mark Meszar, College of Architecture and Environmental Design; Kate Harmon and Zach Mikrut, Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad program; and Hilary Kennedy, University Libraries. The event is sponsored by the College of the Arts.

“This collaboration is important because as professionals, we know that trying new approaches or attacking problems from different perspectives allows for more growth, ingenuity and creativity,” says Wolfgang.

Students participating or attending have the opportunity to establish new connections for future collaborations.

“The event is a great opportunity for students to do something out of their typical class or promote something they’re doing in class that is making-centered,” says Peters, an assistant professor in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

Meszar, senior IT user support analyst in the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, says the MAKE organization tends to favor individuals rather than the corporate aspect.

“There is no right or wrong, but a simple celebration of the DIY and make cultures,” says Wolfgang.

Applications are being accepted until April 14. Makers and vendors interested in participating at the Maker Faire or those who wish to learn more about the event can visit www.makerfairekent.com.

Filmmaker Ken Burns Comes to Kent State for Presidential Speaker Series

Filmmaker Ken Burns speaks at Kent State University on
April 22 as part of the Kent State Presidential Speaker
Series.

(Photo credit: University of Texas at Arlington)

Filmmaker Ken Burns will speak at the fifth Kent State University Presidential Speaker Series on Tuesday, April 22, at 7:30 p.m. in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (MAC Center).

This ticketed event is open to the public. Free general admission tickets are available at http://kentstate.universitytickets.com. A limited number of $15 chairback seats also will be available. Burns’ appearance is sponsored by Kent State’s Office of the Provost, the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of the Arts and the College of Communication and Information.

“It is a true honor to bring Ken Burns to Kent,” says Kent State President Lester A. Lefton. “As one of the most influential filmmakers of all time, he has brought history to life for millions around the world.”

Ken Burns has been making films for more than 30 years. Since the Academy Award-nominated Brooklyn Bridge in 1981, Burns has gone on to direct and produce some of the most acclaimed historical documentaries ever made.

His landmark series The Civil War was the highest-rated series in the history of American Public Television and attracted an audience of 40 million during its premiere in September 1990. In addition to directing The Civil War, Burns served as producer, co-writer, chief cinematographer, music director and executive producer. The film was honored with more than 40 major film and television awards.

Burns was the director, producer, co-writer, chief cinematographer, music director and executive producer of the Public Television series Baseball. Four-and-a-half years in the making and 18-and-a-half hours in length, the film covers the history of baseball from the 1840s to the present. It became the most watched series in PBS history, attracting more than 45 million viewers.

In fall 2009, PBS broadcast the Emmy Award-winning The National Parks: America's Best Idea. Directed and co-produced by Burns, the six-part series focuses on the ideas and individuals that helped propel the parks into existence.

In November 2012, PBS broadcast The Dust Bowl, a two-part series about the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history. Other recent projects include The Central Park Five and Prohibition.

Burns’ films have won 12 Emmy Awards and two Oscar nominations, and in 2008, he was honored by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences with a Lifetime Achievement Award. He has been the recipient of more than 25 honorary degrees and is a sought after public speaker, appearing at colleges, civic organizations and business groups throughout the country.

Projects currently in production include The Roosevelts: An Intimate History, a seven-episode series scheduled for broadcast in the fall of 2014, as well as films on the Gettysburg Address, Jackie Robinson, the Vietnam War and the history of country music.

In addition to being the spring Presidential Series Speaker, Burns' appearance will serve as the keynote address for the 2014 Symposium on Democracy.

About the Kent State University Presidential Speaker Series

The Kent State Presidential Speaker Series seeks to bring high-profile, world-renowned experts to Kent State for serious, thought-provoking discussions and conversations. The program enhances the engagement of the world beyond Kent State’s campuses, which is one of the university’s strategic goals.

For more information about Kent State University’s Presidential Speaker Series, visit www.kent.edu/president/speakers. For questions about the Kent State Presidential Speaker Series event, please call 330-672-2216 during normal business hours or email ksupresidentialspeakers@kent.edu.

About the Symposium on Democracy
The tragic events of May 4, 1970, at Kent State University had a profound impact on the university, the nation and the world. The Symposium on Democracy is part of Kent State’s commemoration of the May 4, 1970, events. The purpose of the Symposium on Democracy is to honor the memories of the four students who lost their lives on that day – Allison Krause, Jeffrey Miller, Sandra Scheuer and William Schroeder – with an enduring dedication to scholarship that seeks to prevent violence and to promote democratic values and civil discourse.

Kent State’s Women’s Center Brings Awareness to Breast Cancer

The Kent State University Women’s Center will offer mammogram screenings to qualified Kent State employees, spouses and students on April 9, 10 and 11.

Mammograms take approximately 12 minutes and will be provided in Tiffany Breast Care Center’s mobile mammography unit. The van will be located on the Kent Campus in front of the Women’s Center. Participants’ health insurance will be billed or participants may self-pay.

The American Cancer Society recommends that women receive an annual mammogram beginning at age 40. On average, mammography will detect 80 to 90 percent of the breast cancers in women without symptoms.

Although the April 3 registration deadline has passed, the Women’s Center will schedule appointments based on availability by phone through Tuesday, April 8.

For additional information or to register, call the Women’s Center at 330-672-9230.

The Scholarly Process of Constructing a Better Learning Environment

Faculty members may experiment over a series of semesters to identify the best strategies that enhance student learning. Kent State University’s Faculty Professional Development Center will offer an interactive session that will feature faculty colleagues from the Teaching Scholars Program outlining how the development of a scholarly teaching project helped them to become more methodological, proactive, deliberative and reflective in improving their classroom environments. The session will take place on April 11 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. A light lunch will be provided to registered participants.

The event also will feature open-table discussions with participants on the scholars’ current research, including examining ways to deepen online discussions and collaborations, improving student and instructor engagement both face-to-face and online, identifying ways to improve foreign language proficiency and investigating strategies for purposeful mentoring in field experiences.

To find out more about the Teaching Scholars Program or this special event, visit the Faculty Professional Development Center’s Teaching Scholars' Web page.

City Year and Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services to Offer Tuition Reduction Scholarships

City Year is partnering with Kent State University’s College
of Education, Health and Human Services to offer two 25
percent tuition scholarships toward 22 undergraduate
programs or 24 graduate areas of study.

City Year is proud to partner with Kent State University’s College of Education, Health and Human Services to offer two 25 percent tuition scholarships toward 22 undergraduate programs or 24 graduate areas of study.

Eligibility:

• Each initial award will be in the amount equal to 25 percent of tuition for one academic year (August through May).
• Each initial award may be renewable for no more than one additional one-year period if and only if the recipient maintains a 2.5 GPA at the end of each academic year.  
• Both in-state and out-of-state students who are accepted to an undergraduate or graduate program within the College of Education, Health and Human Services will be eligible to be considered for the scholarship. If an out-of-state student is chosen to be a give a year scholar, he/she will be eligible to receive a scholarship that is equal to 25 percent off out-of-state tuition.
• Scholarships will be awarded to City Year corps member or alumni who have successfully completed at least one year of service with City Year.
• The scholarships described above represent the minimum awards; applicants will be considered for additional merit-based aid based on the strength of the application.
  

To Apply:

• Applications are made available each year until May 30 for eligible students. Contact the Office of Diversity Outreach and Development at ehhsdiversity@kent.edu to request an application. For more information, call 330-672-2537.
• To identify your City Year affiliation: Please contact the College of Education, Health and Human Services’ Diversity Outreach and Development (above) to be considered for the give a year scholarship. Please state that you currently serve or have served with City Year and reference our partnership. 
• City Year verification: A verification letter must be submitted to be considered for the scholarship. Please send an email to Amanda Smidt, national manager of alumni and career services, at giveayear@cityyear.org with "EHHS at Kent State University: City Year verification letter request” in the subject line and include if you are applying to a graduate or undergraduate program, and the site where you served and dates of service in the email. This letter will be sent to the College of Education, Health and Human Services office and added to the applicant file.