eInside Briefs

Jarrod Tudor Named 2013-2014 Provost's Fellow

Assistant Professor Jarrod Tudor,
Ph.D., has been named the 2013-2014
Provost's Fellow.

Jarrod Tudor, Ph.D., will join the Office of the Provost this August to serve as the 2013-2014 Provost's Fellow.
 
The provost's fellowship provides faculty members who have an interest in academic administration the chance to develop knowledge, skills and experience as an administrator, to increase understanding of practices and procedures in academic administration, to extend and strengthen the administrative resources of the university, to assist in the development and implementation of projects in key areas and to provide ongoing faculty involvement and input into the activities of the Provost's Office.
 
Tudor has been teaching courses at Kent State University in the departments of Paralegal Studies, Higher Education Administration, Justice Studies, Political Science, Finance, History and Journalism for 17 years. He currently serves as the director of paralegal studies. Tudor has taught classes on the Stark, Salem, Tuscarawas and Kent campuses.
 
Tudor has been a member of the Faculty Senate and served on the executive committee for three years, and served several years as grievance chair of the full-time, non-tenure track chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP-KSU).

David Dees Named Interim Director of Faculty Professional Development Center

Associate Professor David Dees, Ph.D.,
has been named interim director of Kent
State University’s Faculty Professional
Development Center.

David Dees, Ph.D., has been named interim director of Kent State University’s Faculty Professional Development Center.
 
Located in Moulton Hall, the Faculty Professional Development Center serves faculty, graduate students, administrators and the university community by providing leadership and support for innovative and successful teaching and learning, and for communicating and creating opportunities for faculty professional development. During the next year as interim director of the center, Dees will provide leadership and shape the vision of the Faculty Professional Development Center by consulting with faculty from across Kent State’s multi-campus system through the shared governance processes of the university.
 
Dees is an associate professor of cultural foundations in the College of Education, Health and Human Services. He has a strong record of service, including membership in the Faculty Senate, chair of the Salem Campus Faculty Council, co-director of the Rural Scholars Program and co-chair of the LER/Core Committee.

For more information about Kent State’s Faculty Professional Development Center, visit www.kent.edu/fpdc.

Kent State University Awarded Grant for Trauma Research

Kent State Professor of Psychology
Douglas Delahanty, Ph.D., applied for
and received a grant from the Ohio
Department of Public Safety for research
on the impact of traumatic injury on child
patients and their families. 

Kent State University has been awarded a grant for $81,445 from the Ohio Department of Public Safety for research on the impact of traumatic injury on child patients and their families. The Ohio Division of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and the State EMS Board created grants from fines collected from seat belt violations to improve trauma patient care and emergency medical services in Ohio.

Douglas Delahanty, Ph.D., Kent State professor of psychology and director of the Initiative for Clinical and Translational Research, applied for the grant in response to a call sent out by the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

Delahanty and a team at Akron Children’s Hospital have been identifying variables that predict which children and their families will have problems adjusting to traumatic injury. Delahanty’s grant summary states that posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is the third most common psychiatric disorder, and is estimated to affect more than 10 million Americans at some point in their lives.

“We focus on trying to identify child and family factors that can be used to predict which families will suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms so that we can target intervention approaches to those individuals,” says Delahanty.

Delahanty says the goal of the research is to identify the rates of acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder in child traumatic disorders and to determine how parents’ reactions to a child’s injury can impact the child’s recovery.

The data collected will be used to create screeners to assist in identifying at-risk children, and inform the content of intervention to prevent the development of persistent distress.

“We were very excited to hear of the funding as it allows us to continue our very productive collaborative work,” says Delahanty.

For more information about Delahanty, visit www.kent.edu/cas/psychology/people/~ddelahan.

Kent State College of Nursing’s Festive Black Squirrel

Kent State University’s College of Nursing
dressed up its Centennial Black Squirrel to
mark Fourth of July.

Kent State University’s College of Nursing was one of several university departments to purchase a Centennial Black Squirrel in 2010. The College of Nursing began promoting the squirrel’s sense of style when it launched its social media campaign in October 2012. Deborah Gesaman, receptionist at the College of Nursing and creative mind and fashion designer of the black squirrel’s outfits, says the outfits are either themed to go along with specific holidays or are based on the current season.

Along with the big black squirrel, there also is a mini black squirrel, and Gesaman has been dressing them for about two to three years.

“Our squirrel loves holidays, so nearly every holiday, he rocks a new look,” says Kathleen Donchess, marketing coordinator for the College of Nursing. “We also observe Opening Day for the Indians.”

Donchess says students often comment on the squirrel when they stop in the dean’s office.  The squirrel’s latest fashion was in celebration of the Fourth of July.

“The squirrel has gotten great responses,” says Donchess. “It’s one of those unexpected things that makes people smile and that’s always a good thing.”

Gesaman has created outfits for all of the holidays, but her favorite is the pilgrim outfit for Thanksgiving. For the next outfit, Gesaman would like to find a bathing suit, and build the outfit around a day at the pool or beach. One day, she would even like to create a maintenance man outfit.

“If there is ever a period when the squirrel isn’t dressed up, I hear about it,” says Gesaman. “I’d love to see the students and faculty come up with some great costume ideas. The thing I like most about dressing the squirrel up is that it gives me a chance to use my imagination. For example, what materials do we have around the office that can be used, cut or folded? Sometimes I even pull out a needle and thread to create an outfit.”

“If something can be made out of felt or paper, she can do it,” says Donchess. “She’s amazing.”

The College of Nursing is located at Henderson Hall on the Kent Campus.

To check out the College of Nursing’s Pinterest Board, with photos of the black squirrel in a variety of costumes, visit http://pinterest.com/kentnursing/black-squirrel-decked-out.

Do you have a photo of your department’s Centennial Squirrel in costume? Send your photos to einside@kent.edu.

WKSU Feeds Your Curiosity With Re-Structured Lineup Beginning Today

Station to showcase additional news and information while still offering classical, folk music

Beginning today, Aug. 5, WKSU (89.7 FM) will reinforce the
strength of its award-winning newsroom by expanding
news and information programming in its daily schedule.

WKSU (89.7 FM) is reinforcing the strength of its award-winning newsroom by expanding news and information programming in its daily schedule beginning today, Aug. 5. The station will feed listeners’ curiosity with a mix of trusted news magazines and new programs, including several which previously have only been heard in Northeast Ohio on WKSU’s HD-4 channel.

Classical music remains a powerful part of WKSU and will be showcased each evening. WKSU continues to offer distinct online audio streams and HD Radio streams that offer all classical music, folk music and news to complement the on-air broadcast signal.

“We believe this combination of news and music is the sound of Northeast Ohio’s future,” says Dan Skinner, WKSU executive director. “WKSU is dedicated to telling the story of Akron, Canton, Cleveland and beyond through local and regional news, and the added national programs will allow us to tie the world together. The station continues to offer quality, unique music presentations that stand out nationally and honor WKSU’s objective of promoting arts and culture.”

These schedule changes add more stimulating and diverse national programs to complete listening blocks that will make it easier for listeners to find news and music at predictable times during the day.

News and information programs will be featured weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and be complemented by public radio entertainment shows on the weekend. Listeners can still find classical music with WKSU’s familiar hosts weeknights beginning at 8 p.m. and continuing in early morning hours. WKSU will air the station-produced Folk Alley Radio Show on Sundays from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Shows making their Northeast Ohio debut include: The Takeaway with John Hockenberry (9-10 a.m., Monday-Friday), the national call-in show On Point with Tom Ashford (10 a.m.-12 p.m., Monday-Friday) and Snap Judgment, a contemporary blend of story and urban music (4-5 p.m., Sunday). Weekends see a shake-up with new shows and a juggled Saturday schedule, as well as Sunday rebroadcasts of several favorites. The complete schedule, more information on programs and details about online listening and HD Radio is available online at www.wksu.org/discoverwksu.

“We believe these changes will allow WKSU to stay Northeast Ohio’s trusted source for engaging public radio – now and for years to come,” Skinner says.

WKSU is a service of Kent State University, broadcasting throughout Northeast Ohio on 89.7, along with WKRW 89.3 (Wooster), WKRJ 91.5 (Dover/New Philadelphia), WKSV 89.1 (Thompson), WNRK 90.7 (Norwalk) and W239AZ 95.7 (Ashland). The station adds WKSU-2 Folk Alley, WKSU-3 The Classical Channel and WKSU-4 The News Channel over HD Radio and as streaming audio online at www.wksu.org.