eInside Briefs

Kent State’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative Needs Your Vote to Win $150,000 Grant

A Kent State faculty member and a student work in the
Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative's office space.

Kent State University’s Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative is a finalist in the Cuyahoga Arts and Culture Creative Culture Grant. The Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative is part of the urban design graduate program and the public service activities of the College of Architecture and Environmental Design. The Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative is a project partner with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History and Bike Cleveland, and they have the chance to win a $150,000 grant.

In order to win, the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative must be one of two top public vote winners. The Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative and its project partners want to transform Payne Avenue and Lorain Avenue in Cleveland into physically active cultural corridors.

All Cuyahoga County residents over the age of 13 can vote until Feb. 20. To vote for the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative’s project, visit www.Vote4Mobile.com or www.facebook.com/events/427789013967190.

For more information about the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative’s project, visit www.facebook.com/ksuCUDC or watch the project pitch video at http://youtu.be/qfA9USg_ixo. 

Kent State Police Services Gets Prescription Drop-off Box

A new prescription drop-off box has been
placed in front of the Stockdale Safety Building
on the Kent Campus to collect old and unwanted
prescription drugs.

Drop-off boxes for unwanted or old prescriptions are popping up at various police departments throughout Portage County. The Kent State University Police Services is now one of those locations.

The prescription drop-off box, located in front of the Stockdale Safety Building on 530 East Summit Str., collects any type of prescription drug except needles and syringes.

“As a department, we are happy to provide a simple, safe method for people to dispose of unused medication,” says Kent State University Police Lieutenant Rick O’Neill. “It is satisfying to know that we’re providing a means to avoid accidental ingestion of medications and the ability to dispose of them in an environmentally safe manner.”

Dawn Banks, Kent State alumna and staff member with the Portage County Solid Waste Management District Recycling Center, started the project last year and says that nearly every department in the county is participating.

“The only departments that are not participating do not have the man power,” says Banks. “Before now, there were very few places to safely dispose of unused medications.”

O’Neill says they received their drop-off box the first week of December.

“A few people actually have taken advantage of the box despite news of its existence not yet being widely spread,” says O’Neill. “I do anticipate the collections will increase once the entire university community is aware of the service.”

CollegeResponse Recognizes Kent State University as Top Site for National Depression Screening Day

Kent State has been recognized as one
of the top universities for its National
Depression Screening Day efforts. The
university's online mental health screening
is available year round.

Kent State University’s Psychological Services was recognized by CollegeResponse Screening for Mental Health as one of the top universities for its National Depression Screening Day efforts.

“We are very pleased to be recognized for the work that we do around National Depression Screening Day,” says John S. Schell, senior psychologist and co-coordinator of National Depression Screening Day at Kent State. “National Depression Screening Day is our most important outreach effort, and it is good to know that we have been successful in educating the Kent State community about depression, and more broadly, the importance of college mental health.”

Psychological Services has sponsored National Depression Screening Day for 18 years, and the program has grown ever since. The National Depression Screening Day event last October had 468 individual participants and 1,205 online screenings completed. CollegeResponse acknowledged Psychological Services’ efforts, saying “Your in-person numbers were excellent!”

“In past years, National Depression Screening Day was an in-person event held on a specific date in October,” says Carrie Berta, staff psychologist and co-coordinator of Kent State’s National Depression Screening Day. “Over the past two years, we have been able to extend National Depression Screening Day to Kent State University at Stark and have now implemented an online screening component that allows individuals to access the screening tool and receive referral information 24 hours per day.” 

The online screening continues to be available and can be accessed at www.mentalhealthscreening.org/screening/kent. It is sponsored and endorsed by University Health Services and Psychological Services for the assessment of mood, anxiety and PTSD. 

"We would like for the community to know that depression screening is not just one day; instead, mental health is important to be aware of on an ongoing basis," says Berta.

Berta and Schell hope to keep growing Psychological Services’ mental health efforts by expanding the screenings to other Regional Campuses and offering screenings at different locations on the Kent Campus.

“It is good to know that students in particular are taking advantage of these resources, with National Depression Screening Day and the online screening being two important services that we offer,” says Schell. “With increased awareness, students realize that it is important to take care of themselves psychologically.”

The screenings were free and open to Kent State faculty, staff and students. Attendees had the opportunity to engage in confidential mental health screenings to assess depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and post-traumatic stress. After the screenings, mental health professionals were available to discuss results with participants. The program also served as an information resource for people to receive facts about mental health issues, substance abuse, stress and suicide.

“National Depression Screening Day is an important event on campus,” says Berta. “Students can become more aware of the signs and symptoms of mental health conditions. Students also become aware of the resources available to assist them in terms of counseling or therapy. National Depression Screening Day and the online screening benefits students in a number of ways.”

Important Information About Final Grading of Spring 2013 First Five Weeks (F1) Classes

Online final grading for Spring Semester 2013  F1 courses — meeting in first five weeks from Jan. 14 through Feb. 17 part of term — begins Thursday, Feb. 14, via FlashFAST. Grading is available now also for any Spring Semester 2013 course section that was flexibly scheduled and has an end date no later than Feb. 19. The deadline for grading submission is midnight on Tuesday, Feb 19.

FlashFAST is accessible from any Internet-capable computer that has the cookies function enabled. To access FlashFAST, log in to FlashLine at http://flashline.kent.edu and click the Faculty and Advisor Tools tab. The link to your grade roster(s) is located in the Faculty Toolbox, under the Submit Grades heading.

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 members needing personalized instruction on submitting grades via FlashFAST should contact their campus Registrar's Office during normal business hours for assistance.

Also, as a helpful tip, it is recommended 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.

Kent State Connects Blog: Previewing Valentine’s Day; The Way of Tea; and the “Souper” Bowl

Love Is in the Air: Previewing Valentine’s Day Blog Posts

Valentine’s Day will be celebrated on Feb. 14, and on the Kent State Connects blog, Natalie Caine-Bish, associate professor in the Department of Health Sciences and registered dietician, will write about “Healthy Places to Take Your Valentine to Eat.” Visit the Kent State Connects blog on Tuesday, Feb. 12, to read Caine-Bish’s blog post.

Also, Kent State executive chef Michael Fiala will write about “Entertaining – Valentine’s Day Wine Dinner for Two.” Visit the Kent State Connects blog on Thursday, Feb. 14, to read Fiala’s post and get ideas for your special Valentine’s Day wine dinner.

You can click here to subscribe to the Kent State Connects blog and receive an email notification when a new post has been published. It is the easy way to always keep up with what your Kent State colleagues are writing about on the blog.

The Way of Tea

Elaine Robinson, special assistant in Kent State’s Office of
Institutional Advancement, performs as host for Buji no cha,
the last tea of the year in December 2012.

Photo credit: Lisa Hart, tea student

Elaine Robinson, special assistant in Kent State’s Office of Institutional Advancement, has an interesting hobby—the Japanese tea ceremony.

“Tea provides me with an escape from the everyday bustle and an opportunity for self-reflection and deepening human relations,” Robinson says.

Read more from Robinson’s “The Way of Tea” blog post.

Food Fool’s – “Souper” Bowl Party

Emily Myers, special assistant in the Office of the Provost, writes about her group’s “Souper” bowl party.

“It wasn’t planned to be part of the Super Bowl madness, but we found ourselves participating in our own “bowl” event last week featuring neither Ravens nor Niners but SOUPS!  The group met and shared a lunch of three soups.”

Read more from Myers’s “Food Fool’s – ‘Souper’ Bowl Party” blog post.