eInside Briefs

Susan Stocker Named Interim Dean of Kent State’s College of Nursing

Susan Stocker, Ph.D., has been named
interim dean of the College of Nursing,
effective Aug. 1. 

Kent State University has named Susan Stocker, Ph.D., interim dean of the College of Nursing. Stocker currently serves as dean of Kent State University at Ashtabula. The announcement was made by Todd Diacon, Kent State’s senior vice president for academic affairs and Provost.

Stocker will begin serving as interim dean of Kent State’s College of Nursing on Aug. 1 while a national search is conducted for a permanent dean. Stocker succeeds Laura Dzurec, Ph.D., who is stepping down from the dean position but will continue working for the university teaching and pursuing research work. Stocker will maintain her current position as dean of Kent State Ashtabula in addition to the new interim college dean appointment.

“Dean Laura Dzurec merits our deepest appreciation for producing success after success in the College of Nursing, and now she will apply her considerable talents to her first loves of teaching and research,” Diacon says. “I could not be more pleased that Dean Stocker, a successful and seasoned nurse and administrator in the Kent system, has agreed to lead the College of Nursing on an interim basis.”

Stocker says she feels privileged to serve the university and its College of Nursing in this interim position.

“I am honored that Provost Diacon has asked me to step into this interim role, and I look forward to working with the College of Nursing to keep its programs on a steady course until a new dean is named,” Stocker says. “Though I will be dividing my time between the College of Nursing and the Ashtabula regional campus, I am confident that the Ashtabula Campus leadership team will help keep things running smoothly and continue to serve the needs of our students. All upcoming campus projects will continue as planned.”

Since 2001, Stocker has been serving as dean of Kent State Ashtabula. She also currently holds the rank of associate professor of nursing at Kent State. Since finishing high school, Stocker had attended college either part or full time until 2007 when she completed a doctorate from Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services.

Stocker led the capital campaign that raised $6 million dollars in the Ashtabula area to help finance the Robert S. Morrison Health and Science Building at Kent State Ashtabula. The state-of-the-art learning facility opened its doors to students in August 2009.

During her career as a registered nurse and educator, Stocker has served in a number of leadership capacities and has received numerous honors. She served as the president of the Ohio Nurses Association from 1997-2001 and was appointed to the Ashtabula County Medical Center Board of Trustees. Stocker was inducted into the Madison High School Alumni Hall of Fame in 2007, was honored as the Roger T. Beitler Distinguished Former Student award for the Ashtabula Campus of Kent State, received the President’s Award from Growth Partnership for Ashtabula County and was the first faculty member on the Ashtabula Campus to receive the prestigious Kent State University Alumni Association Distinguished Teaching Award.

Stocker resides in Ashtabula, Ohio.

Laura Dzurec, Ph.D., is stepping down
as dean of the College of Nursing but
will continue working for the university,
teaching and pursuing research work.

During her tenure as dean of the College of Nursing at Kent State, Dzurec supported the college’s faculty and administrators as they refined and enhanced academic and research programming in nursing.  College of Nursing graduates across all levels are recognized in practice, teaching and research as the best in Northeast Ohio and nationally, according to Dzurec. She worked with faculty and staff to strengthen the curricula across programs, as faculty built a nationally recognized focus in self-care for students and for faculty.  Both Kent State’s College of Nursing, as a unit, and individual faculty members have received awards from national organizations for their support of students in the use of self-care.  Their research in self-care and related areas continues to grow. 

“After nearly 20 years as a nursing education administrator, the attraction of teaching and research – especially as the focus of teaching and research in the college had evolved – proved to be too much for me to ignore,” Dzurec says. “More and more, I found my energies drawn to the work the faculty were doing. So it seemed like a good idea to get myself to a place that would allow me to actually do the work the faculty was doing.”

Dzurec plans to engage even more actively in research in self-care with students and faculty, and to continue the interdisciplinary work she has been doing in workplace dynamics, just culture, communication and bullying.

“While it seems contradictory, bullying emerges readily when people don’t engage in self-care,” Dzurec says. “I look forward to focusing on ways to support students in learning to take care of themselves and in learning to take care of others so that patient care and education benefit. I think I can do that best by engaging actively in teaching and research.”

Dzurec lives in Kent, Ohio.

For more information about Kent State’s College of Nursing, visit www.kent.edu/nursing.

Governor Appoints Student to Kent State Board of Trustees

Kent State graduate student Monique
Menefee of Cleveland, Ohio, has been
appointed by Gov. John Kasich to serve
as a student member of the Kent State
University Board of Trustees. Menefee's
term began on July 19, 2013, and ends
May 16, 2015.

Monique Menefee of Cleveland, Ohio, has been appointed by Gov. John Kasich to serve as a student member of the Kent State University Board of Trustees. Her term began on July 19, 2013, and ends May 16, 2015.

Kent State’s Board consists of 12 members, nine of whom are voting members, who are appointed by the governor of the state of Ohio, with the advice and consent of the state senate. Menefee joins Alex Evans, a Kent State student who is a triple major in biology/pre-med, business management and public health, as the two student trustees – one graduate and one undergraduate – appointed to the board for overlapping two-year terms of office.
 
Menefee exemplifies dedication, persistence and tenacity, both in the classroom and in service. She is pursuing a Master of Education in higher education administration and student personnel and received her Bachelor of Science in Spanish translation with a minor in sociology from Kent State earlier this year. She earned a 3.46 GPA and was named to the Dean’s List.

As an undergraduate student, Menefee studied abroad in Argentina, and she took her passion to Washington, D.C., as an advocate for TRIO, a set of five federally funded college opportunity programs that motivate and support students in their pursuit of a college degree.

Prior to enrolling at Kent State, Menefee spent five years on active duty as a radio communications specialist with the United States Air Force.

Her leadership activities include serving as a Kent State student ambassador, peer mentor and student advisory council member for the College of Arts and Sciences. Away from campus, Menefee has served as a Spanish tutor for homeless children with Project R.I.S.E. in Akron and as a student trustee and board student scholar at Cuyahoga Community College.
 
The Board of Trustees is the governing body of Kent State. By Ohio law, the Board is responsible for selecting and appointing the president; setting the operating budget; approving personnel appointments; granting all degrees awarded by the university, including honorary degrees; establishing tuition and fee rates; approving contracts; and approving all rules, regulations, curriculum changes, new programs and degrees of the university.

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

Kent State Professor to Receive American Psychological Association’s Developmental Health Award

Mary Ann Parris Stephens, Ph.D., Kent
State professor of psychology and dean
of Graduate Studies, has been selected to
receive the 2013 Developmental Health
Award by the Aging and Health Committee
of the American Psychological Association.

Kent State University Professor of Psychology Mary Ann Parris Stephens, Ph.D., has been selected to receive the 2013 Developmental Health Award by the Aging and Health Committee of the American Psychological Association. Stephens will receive the award and give an invited address at the association’s 121st annual convention taking place from July 31 to Aug. 4 in Honolulu, Hawaii. The American Psychological Association’s Developmental Health Award is a biennial award established in 1996 to recognize individuals for their scholarly contributions to health and aging.

Stephens, who serves as dean of Graduate Studies at Kent State, is a highly accomplished researcher whose scholarly contributions lie at the intersection of the human development and health fields. For more than three decades, Stephens has conducted cutting-edge research that has made significant theoretical and empirical contributions in the fields of family caregiving in middle and late life, chronic illness and long-term marriages, and social control of health behaviors. She has published three books, more than a dozen book chapters and more than 90 journal articles. Her research program has been funded by the National Institutes of Health.

“Chronically ill older adults and their family caregivers has been the central theme of my research throughout my career,” Stephens says. “I am so honored that my work has received this recognition.” 

Stephens has served as associate editor of Psychology and Aging, and currently serves on the editorial boards of Journal of Family Psychology, Psychology and Aging, and Rehabilitation Psychology. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, and was awarded the Mentor Award in 1999 from Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging) of the American Psychological Association.

For more information about Kent State’s Department of Psychology, visit www.kent.edu/cas/psychology.

For more information about graduate studies at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/graduatestudies.

For more information about the American Psychological Association, visit www.apa.org.

Kent State Promotes Two Officials in the Center for Corporate and Professional Development

Amy Lane, former executive director for
the Center for Corporate and Professional
Development, has been named associate
vice president for corporate and professional
development.

Kent State University has announced promotion of two officials in its Center for Corporate and Professional Development. Both will have expanded responsibility for enhancing and expanding relationships with major employers in the state and beyond, and to strategically connect corporations and business enterprises with Kent State’s many assets.

Amy Lane, former executive director for the Center for Corporate and Professional Development, and North Canton, Ohio, native, has been named associate vice president for corporate and professional development. Corianne Kocarek, also from North Canton, has been named program manager for the Center for Corporate and Professional Development. Kocarek was previously outreach program coordinator for the center. Both appointments were effective April 1, 2013.

“Amy and Corianne’s expanded responsibilities will better position Kent State to maximize our interactions with corporate stakeholders who can benefit from accessing the talents and resources of our university,” says Iris Harvey, vice president for university relations.

Corianne Kocarek, has been named
program manager for the Center for
Corporate and Professional Development.
Kocarek was previously outreach program
coordinator for the center.

Kent State’s Center for Corporate and Professional Development assists organizations with their talent development needs. Highly credentialed and experienced facilitators work with employees to build supervisory, management and leadership skills, enhance project management abilities, communicate effectively, drive teams forward and deal well with change and conflict. The center offers both onsite, tailored training at organizations, and open enrollment professional development programs.

For more information about Kent State’s Center for Corporate and Professional Development, visit www.kent.edu/YourTrainingPartner. 

Important Information about Final Grading of Summer 2013 Summer II (S2) Classes

Online final grading for Summer 2013 – Summer II (S2) courses meeting from June 10 through Aug. 3 begins Thursday, Aug. 1, via FlashFAST. Grading is also now available for any Summer 2013 course section that was flexibly scheduled and has an end date no later than Aug. 3. The deadline for grading submission is midnight on Tuesday, Aug. 6. Any final grades for Summer 2013 Summer II (S2) courses not reported in FlashFAST by the grades processing deadline will have to be submitted using the Grade Change Workflow.

To access FlashFAST, 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.

Grades Processing Tips and FAQs 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.

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.

Reminder: Parking Rates for the Kent Central Gateway Take Effect July 29

Pictured is a view of the Kent Central
Gateway from E. Main Street. Parking
rates for the parking deck go into effect
July 29.

The Kent Central Gateway parking rates will become effective July 29. The daily parking rates vary depending on the length of time, and parking rates will differ for special events.

The rates are as follows:

• The first 30 minutes - Free
•  30 minutes to one hour - $1
• One hour to an hour and a half - $2
• One hour and a half to two hours - $3
• Two hours to three hours - $4
• Three hours to 24 hours - $5
  

The maximum rate is paid for lost tickets, and there are no in-and-out privileges. Anyone staying at the Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center can see the front desk for overnight rates.

“The Kent Central Gateway increased transit accessibility and emphasized multimodal transportation,” says Frank Hairston, director of marketing for the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA). “There are bicycle amenities, hike and bike trails, an opportunity to park and an opportunity to ride to Akron and Cleveland. The Kent Central Gateway is a vital civic space that will contribute to the health, safety and sustainability of the Kent and Portage County communities for generations to come.”

Hairston believes the parking deck will bring more visitors to Kent from other cities.

PARTA received a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program. The Kent Central Gateway created 266 construction jobs and 703 long-term jobs.

The new multimodal transportation facility will combine elements of buses, pedestrians, bicycles and cars, and will serve as a transfer point that allows bus transport to Akron, Cleveland and all points in Portage County. Located at Erie and Depeyster streets with a curb cut into Haymaker Parkway, the Kent Central Gateway project is estimated to stimulate $60 million worth of new investment, both public and private, in Kent. 

For more information about PARTA, visit www.partaonline.org.