eInside Briefs
News Briefs
- Nominate a Colleague for the Kent State President's Excellence Award
- Kent State Employee Appointed to Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County
- WebEx: Bringing Your Meeting to You
- Kent State’s College of Communication and Information Recognizes Its Own for Excellence
- Important Information about Final Grading of Fall 2014 First Half Semester (H1) Classes
- Environmental Health and Safety Training Survey: Win a $50 Starbucks or Amazon Gift Card
Nominate a Colleague for the Kent State President's Excellence Award
The Kent State University President's Excellence Award
recognizes staff members who demonstrate exceptional
commitment and performance in advancing the strategic
goals of the university.
The search is on for excellence, and you have until Oct. 31 to submit your nomination for the sixth annual President's Excellence Award. This program was established in 2009 as a way to recognize staff members who demonstrate exceptional commitment and performance in advancing the strategic goals of the university.
The President's Excellence Award recognizes exceptional performance during the previous fiscal year (July 1, 2013, through June 30, 2014). Full-time classified and unclassified employees at all campuses who have been employed by the university for a minimum of one year and are in good standing are eligible to be nominated. Past recipients are not eligible for a minimum of two years following their award. Faculty members are not eligible.
Past recipients have come from diverse areas within the university and include employees in varied positions, such as program manager, administrative support staff, maintenance repair worker, residence hall worker, director, coordinator, electronic technician supervisor, police officer and a head coach from Intercollegiate Athletics. You can view a complete list of past recipients on the President's Excellence Award website.
Details on the award criteria and the nomination form are available online at www.kent.edu/president/excellenceaward. Award recipients will be announced in January.
If you have questions, contact Geraldine Hayes-Nelson, Ph.D., executive director for engagement, climate, outreach and records in the Division of Human Resources, at 330-672-8075 or ghnelson@kent.edu.
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Kent State Employee Appointed to Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County
Maureen A. Keating, chemical
dependency counselor at Kent State’s
University Health Services, has been
appointed to the Mental Health and
Recovery Board of Portage County for a
four-year term.
The Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has appointed Maureen A. Keating of Ravenna to the Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County for a four-year term. Keating is a chemical dependency counselor at Kent State’s University Health Services.
A 41-year resident of Portage County, Keating worked previously as the director of Women and Family Services at the Community Health Center in Akron for 16 years; a substance abuse specialist at Portage County Juvenile Court; and a counselor and coordinator of residential adolescent treatment at the Interval Brotherhood Home in Akron.
“I have always been a passionate believer in empowering people to seek living their best lives,” Keating says. “I would like to share my experience to support the continuation and improvement of services to people challenged by mental illness and addiction.”
With her diverse background and 40 years of experience, she thinks local mental health and addiction treatment systems like the Mental Health and Recovery Board must work to eliminate stigma, seek out client feedback in improving access to care and emphasize support services that help people recover, including when there is trauma involved.
Keating believes that communities benefit from the work of the Mental Health and Recovery Board to plan and fund local public services so that people with mental illnesses and addictions can develop the tools they need to recover, live in their communities and contribute to community life. She is supportive of the board’s services for children and parents that improve the quality of parenting and support stressed families.
Keating sees the board benefiting from her priority to stay current with research and best practices in the mental health and addiction fields. She also has led an area program based on trauma informed care, an area of therapy for victims whose trauma has evolved into a mental illness or addiction, which is a direction the board is taking in its planning responsibilities for county services. Trauma can include abuse, witnessing family violence, homelessness, illness or being involved in a horrific incident such as an accident or fire.
“Trauma-informed care goes right to the heart of why people are having behavioral health problems. When I was with Women and Family Services, women who were receiving trauma-informed care would come to the lobby just to sit because of the sense of safety they felt from the staff and the environment,” she recalls.
Keating has a Master in Education degree in counseling from Kent State and has additional training in health education, addiction treatment and counseling victims of trauma. She attends Immaculate Conception Church in Ravenna. Keating is a member of the American Counseling Association, the Women Addictions Service Leadership Institute sponsored by the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration, and the Summit County Child and Family Leadership Exchange. She and her husband, Jerry, have one son, John Luke, who attends Kent State.
The Mental Health and Recovery Board of Portage County is a county government agency that plans, funds and monitors mental health and addiction treatment, support and recovery services for Portage County residents. More information about the board is available at www.mental-health-recovery.org.
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WebEx: Bringing Your Meeting to You
Kent State University’s Division of Information Services is rolling out WebEx conferencing and collaboration software to all Kent State faculty and staff. This newly supported software suite offers a variety of features to make work at Kent State better.
While Web conferencing is not a new tool, the WebEx product was specifically chosen for Kent State because of the flexibility it offers to faculty and staff. Video conferencing in general has seen increasing use in recent years. Meeting spaces can be hard to come by, and it is common to need to meet with partners from around the world. While we have made do with phone calls in the past, the introduction of Web conferencing has enabled us to have a face-to-face meeting from miles away. And now, with screen sharing, we can have an interactive, collaborative session no matter where we are — share documents, conduct walkthroughs or demonstrations or even switch presenters to maintain the flow and progression of a traditional meeting.
WebEx at Kent State
WebEx in particular fits the conferencing needs of Kent State, allowing faculty and staff to exchange information, make decisions and work with anyone, anywhere. Available for Windows, Mac and mobile, you can get more done faster.
“It’s a huge time saver,” explains Julee Henry, coordinator of the Instructional Technology Center in Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services. “We’ve relied on Skype and Polycom in the past, and WebEx just makes things so much easier — I can set up meetings and invite all attendees in advance, and WebEx provides real-time minutes and recordings of the meetings, so everything is still available to those who can’t make the meeting time.”
As Blackboard Collaborate has integrated Web-based communication into the classroom, WebEx is available to integrate Web conferencing into the office. To get started, request an account through your local support professional or submit a support.kent.edu ticket.
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Kent State’s College of Communication and Information Recognizes Its Own for Excellence
The Kent State University College of Communication and Information presented six of its distinguished personnel with 2014 Faculty and Staff Awards at its All Schools’ Retreat earlier this semester.
The College of Communication and Information implemented the collegewide awards program in 2011 to recognize faculty and staff members for exceptional teaching, advising and service, based on nominations from their peers and students. A committee of college staff reviews the nominations and selects winners based on the award criteria determined for each category. Each award winner receives a certificate and a $500 honorarium.
The 2014 winners include Communication Studies Associate Professor Nichole Egbert, Ph.D.; Journalism and Mass Communication Associate Professor Jan Leach; Journalism and Mass Communication Associate Professor Stefanie Moore; Communication Studies Associate Professor Mei-Chen Lin, Ph.D.; Communication Studies Academic Advisor Lorie Hopp; and Library and Information Science Associate Professor Miriam Matteson, Ph.D.
“Recognizing our peers for their dedication to excellence in research, teaching, advising and service is of paramount significance in our college,” says AnnMarie LeBlanc, interim dean of the College of Communication and Information and professor in the School of Visual Communication Design. “Knowing that nominations for these awards came from college peers and students, winners should be very proud of their distinguished honor.”
Egbert received the college’s Distinguished Scholar Award for her dedication to and passion for her research. She has produced more than 100 different pieces of scholarship, ranging from manuscripts to grant applications to competitive papers and poster presentations.
“What is most impressive about Nichole’s scholarship is that she mentors graduate students so well,” Egbert’s nominator wrote. “It is difficult to bring graduate students into research projects and help them learn how to be strong, independent scholars. She does this so well.”
Leach, who teaches myriad journalism classes, received the college’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Receiving nominations from numerous colleagues, Leach was praised for her “commitment to student excellence” and her “ability to transform students’ thinking and engagement so effectively.”
The college presented Moore with the Outstanding Teaching Award after receiving numerous nominations filled with testimonials from current students, alumni and colleagues. Moore — a member of the public relations faculty specializing in online media — was recognized as being a passionate and constructive educator who is constantly educating herself about new online technologies and trends.
“She’s an empathic and passionate coach, mentor and constructive critic for her students,” a colleague wrote in Moore’s nomination. “She sets ambitious goals for her students, creates a highly participatory learning environment and is excited by their accomplishments.”
Lin was recognized for her incredible dedication to the School of Communication Studies. She received the Outstanding Service Award for “pouring her heart and soul” into creating new programs and opportunities for students. Recently, Lin helped establish a dual M.A./MBA graduate program with the College of Business Administration, added a new graduate concentration in global communication, developed a global scholar exchange program with the Catholic University of Portugal in Lisbon and facilitated 3+2 partnerships with universities in China.
A colleague noted that in addition to Lin’s dedication to academic programming, she also excels at mentorship.
“She displays leadership within the school and college,” the colleague wrote. “She’s committed to mentoring junior faculty and has personally mentored me. Each time I knock on her door, she has willingly stopped whatever she is working on to address my questions and concerns, providing kindness and support, and offering a big picture perspective.”
Going above and beyond in her guidance of students, Hopp was recognized as one of the college’s Distinguished Advisors. A favorite of students in communication studies, Hopp “goes out of her way to make us feel at home,” her nominator wrote.
“She is extremely helpful,” the nominator continued. “And there’s never a day that she doesn’t greet us in the hallway with a smile. That really comforts students when they need to discuss difficult situations or figure out what they are going to do with their lives. She took the time to get to know me not just my academic credentials.”
Matteson, an instructor in the School of Library and Information Science Columbus program, also was recognized as one of the college’s Distinguished Advisors. As an assistant professor, Matteson takes great interest in her students’ academic and career goals, and she personally searches for additional opportunities to help them attain those goals. Her nominator expressed praise for Matteson’s understanding of individual research projects and her dedication to helping students develop academically.
For more information about Kent State’s College of Communication and Information, visit http://www2.kent.edu/cci/.
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Important Information about Final Grading of Fall 2014 First Half Semester (H1) Classes
Online final grading for Fall 2014 First Half Semester (H1) courses meeting from Aug. 25 through Oct. 15 began Wednesday, Oct. 15, via FlashFAST. Grading is now available also for any fall 2014 course section that was flexibly scheduled and has an end date no later than Oct. 15. The deadline for grading submission is midnight on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Any final grades for fall 2014 First Half Semester (H1) courses not reported in FlashFAST by the grades processing deadline will have to be submitted using the Grade Change Workflow. These fall 2014 First Half Semester (H1) courses will be available in the Workflow on Thursday, Oct. 23.
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/faculty-grades-processing. 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, log in 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.
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Environmental Health and Safety Training Survey: Win a $50 Starbucks or Amazon Gift Card
Kent State University’s Office of Environmental Health and Safety is conducting a survey of faculty and staff members at all campuses. The purpose of the survey is to measure awareness and to gauge interest in attending Environmental Health and Safety training sessions in person or online.
Please visit https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KSUEHS by Nov. 2 to take our five-minute survey. Once you have completed the survey, you will be entered into a random drawing to win your choice of a $50 Starbucks or Amazon gift card. Three gift cards will be awarded. Respondent confidentiality is guaranteed.
Thank you for your participation. If you have any technical issues accessing the survey, please email elewis9@kent.edu.
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