eInside Briefs

Professors Receive Post-Doctoral Support Through Kent State Competition

Marcia Lei Zeng, Ph.D., professor at
Kent State University’s School of Library
and Information Science, has been
selected to receive post-doctoral support
through the Kent State Internal Post-Doctoral
Competition.

A proposal by Marcia Lei Zeng, Ph.D., and Yin Zhang, Ph.D., both professors in Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science, has been selected to receive post-doctoral support through the Kent State Internal Post-Doctoral Competition. Zeng, who is the principal investigator, and Zhang, who is a co-principal investigator of the project, along with researchers from three other units in the university, will receive funding for one post-doctoral associate position for a period of two years starting June 1.

This internal program provides support for about 10 post-doctoral associates per year. Kent State’s Office of the President, Office of the Provost and the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs provide this funding. The program aims to support research projects that have potential for attaining external funding.

The previous two competitions in 2012 and 2013 funded 24 post-doctoral positions, but this is the first one for the College of Communication and Information.

“We participated in the 2012 competition, but did not receive funding despite high technical marks on the proposal itself,” Zeng says. “Out of the previous 24 funded positions, 20 had second-year matching support from the principal investigator’s college or department.”

This year, Zeng and Zhang decided to give it another try, and focused on the emerging big data area. They assembled an interdisciplinary project team and submitted a stronger proposal with an added practical-application case involving Kent State’s Liquid Crystal Institute®.

“This time, we are very grateful that Jeff Fruit, interim director of the School of Library and Information Science, and AnnMarie LeBlanc, interim dean of the College of Communication and Information, offered their best support with second-year matching funding,” Zeng says. “The director of the Liquid Crystal Institute, Hiroshi Yokoyama, also committed partial matching funds. All of these factors strengthened our proposal.”

With the help of a team of researchers from the School of Library and Information Science, the Department of Geography, the Department of History and the Liquid Crystal Institute, a proposal was submitted.

“It is evident that cross-disciplinary collaboration is a high priority for the university, and this project will benefit from its cross-disciplinary approaches,” Zhang says.

Yin Zhang, Ph.D., professor in Kent
State’s School of Library and Information
Science, is co-principal investigator for a
project that earned post-doctoral support
through the Kent State Internal Post-Doctoral
Competition.

About the Research Project

The research question addressed by this project involves how to use smart big data in constructing a digital representation of innovation history. To encapsulate this, they have employed the term “Digital Innovation History.” The project proposal blends digital humanities, big data and smart data, all of which are emerging research areas. The proposal consists of a project narrative, the list of data sources, related external funding opportunities, team members’ résumés and external funding records, available resources for the project and supporting letters from each of the involved academic units.

Zeng and Zhang say that they also will seek collaborations with the School of Visual Communication Design’s faculty and students with expertise in visualization.

“We are very happy that this grant proposal was successful because in the past this post-doc research funding program has been heavily devoted to the natural science disciplines, which have been effective in obtaining external research grants,” Zeng says. “We believe that in this digital age, many research and teaching areas under the College of Communication and Information are now moving into the mainstream.“

In 2014, Zeng was named one of three Kent State Distinguished Scholar Award recipients for her work on metadata, knowledge organization and digital libraries.

Zeng and Zhang say that this current project covers new ground, and the research will be consistently reshaped by new theories and technologies throughout the process.

“We can sense the challenges and pressures in exploring such a developing area. We appreciate the support from the university, College of Communication and Information and our participating units, and we look forward to this adventure,” Zeng says. 

For more information about Kent State's School of Library and Information Science, visit www.kent.edu/slis.

Graduate Student Trustee Search

An important search is underway that will result in the appointment of a graduate student trustee to the Kent State University Board of Trustees. Applications from interested students for this two-year term position are now being accepted by the Office of the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs. Currently, Monique Menefee-Profitt and Perry Kimmel are Kent State’s student trustees, graduate and undergraduate, respectively. Menefee-Profitt is completing her 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 20, 2015. 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 in Room 250 of the Kent Student Center. Complete applicant files will be accepted through 5 p.m. on Friday, April 3, 2015. 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 Graduate Student Trustee will begin on the date of appointment specified by the governor and will end on May 16, 2017.

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

Undergraduate Studies Relocates to Lake/Olson Hall

Beginning March 20, Undergraduate Studies will officially be located in the Center for Undergraduate Excellence at Lake/Olson Hall on the Kent Campus. The following departments are included:

• Office of the Dean
• University Advising and Degree Completion 
• Office of Experiential Education and Civic Engagement 
• Exploratory Advising Center 
• Student Success Programs 
• Academic Success Center 
• TRIO/Student Support Services 
• Dual Enrollment Programs 
• Technology Support
  

For more information about the Center for Undergraduate Excellence, visit www.kent.edu/undergradstudies.

Kent State Greek Life Participates in WKYC’s #ShovelChallenge

Kent State University students and a staff member work
to clear snow from around a fire hydrant in the city of
Kent. The effort was organized by WKYC Channel 3 in
Cleveland working with the Kent Fire Department.

Kent State University members of Phi Kappa Tau Fraternity and Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity, spent their afternoon on Feb. 27 digging out snow-covered fire hydrants in Kent neighborhoods.

WKYC Channel 3 Producer Jon Adkins approached the Kent Fire Department and Kent State’s Fraternity and Sorority Life to participate in this community service project, which was dubbed the #ShovelChallenge. Adkins is hoping students at other universities will take similar initiatives in their communities.

Snow Presents a Problem

Heavy snowfall and subsequent plowing in the city of Kent this winter buried many fire hydrants under snow, hiding them from the street. This makes it difficult for firefighters to do their job if a crisis arises.

Lt. Jamie Samels with the Kent Fire Department says many house fires occur in the winter because people are trying to use alternate methods to heat their homes. This often results in an increased risk of fires because these devices are left unattended or used improperly.  

While homeowners are in charge of clearing the snow from fire hydrants in their yards, many remain hidden, says Kent Fire Chief John Tosko.

“It’s such a labor-intensive endeavor to get this snow removed,” Tosko says. “We depend on water to put out fires. If we can’t get to the hydrant, which is the water supply, then we’re scrambling to figure out alternative methods.”

Students Help Provide a Solution

Eleven students and one staff member participated in the #ShovelChallenge. They were divided into groups of three, and firefighters drove them from neighborhood to neighborhood.

“It feels good to be able to help out the local community,” says David Halula, junior managerial marketing major and member of Phi Kappa Tau. “We get a lot of support from them when our fraternity holds events, so it’s nice to do something easy that helps a lot.”

Not even the chilly temperatures could stop the students from giving back to the community.

“We do a lot of different service projects,” says Victoria Sack, senior justice studies major and member of Alpha Phi Omega. “I don’t mind the cold or the outdoors, so it sounded fun to me.”

With hundreds of fire hydrants in the city of Kent, it was impossible for the students to dig all of them out, but their efforts did not go unnoticed.

“We would normally send a person out in between emergencies to try to dig a hydrant out, but that would be one person at a time,” Samels says. “You can see with this vast group of people how we’re able to spread across the city and make a bigger impact.”

Watch WKYC Channel 3’s story about the #ShovelChallenge in Kent.

Important Information about Final Grading of Spring 2015 Second 5 Weeks (F2) Classes

Online final grading for Spring 2015 Second 5 Weeks (F2) courses meeting from Feb. 16, 2015, through March 22, 2015, begins Thursday, March 19, via FlashFAST. Grading also is now available for any spring 2015 course section that was flexibly scheduled and has an end date no later than March 22, 2015. The deadline for grading submission is midnight on Tuesday, March 24. Any final grades for Spring 2015 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 2015 Second 5 Weeks (F2) courses will be available in the Workflow on Thursday, March 26.

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, 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.