eInside Events

First African-American Woman Prisoner of War to Speak at Kent State

Shoshana Johnson

The Kent State Veterans Club is hosting Shoshana Johnson, the first African-American woman prisoner of war (POW). Johnson will speak about her experience as a POW and her life as a female veteran on Wednesday, March 2, at 7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva.

Johnson and five other members of the 507th Maintenance Company were captured and taken as POWs on March 23, 2003, after their convoy was ambushed in an-Nasiriyah, Iraq. Specialist Johnson was on assignment with the Army as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

The POWs were rescued by the U.S. Marines on April 13, 2003, in Samarra, Iraq.

Since then, Johnson has retired from the Army on a temporary disability honorable discharge. Her awards include the U.S. Army Service Ribbon, Army Commendation Ribbon, National Defense Ribbon, Good Conduct Medal, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart Medal and the Prisoner of War Medal.

She has also written a memoir titled, I’m Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen – My Journey Home.

The lecture is free and open to the public. The Kent State Veterans Club is hosting the event with assistance from the Center for Student Involvement and the Undergraduate Student Government.

Meet the New Leader of Kent State Golden Flashes Football Feb. 28

Meet the newest addition to the Golden Flashes football team, Head Coach Darrell Hazell. Join the Center for Student Involvement us on Monday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva to meet and greet Hazell. Light refreshments will be served. Bring your friends and show your school spirit!

For more information, contact the Center for Student Involvement at 330-672-2480.

Kent State vs. Akron on the Basketball Court March 4

ESPN2 has officially announced that they will carry the Kent State vs. Akron regular season finale on Friday, March 4, at 7 p.m. Tickets for this great rivalry are still available, but fans better act fast as the M.A.C. Center has sold out the game for eight of the last nine years. Get your tickets today by calling the Kent State ticket office at 330-672-2244.

2011 Stark County Entrepreneur Experience to Feature Business Leader and Baseball Hall of Famer Andre Thornton

Andre Thornton

The Small Business Development Center, Kent State University at Stark (SBDC) is proud to announce the 2011 Stark County Entrepreneur Experience, featuring several events to educate and provide networking opportunities for entrepreneurs at all levels. Sponsored by the Stark Development Board and the SDBC, all events will be held at The University Center at Kent State Stark.

• Tuesday, March 22
  Experiences as an Entrepreneur
  Andre Thornton, president and CEO, ASW Global
  7:30 - 9:30 a.m., $15/person, Breakfast is included
  
  Thornton is the CEO of ASW Global, a supply chain management company, and has more than 20 years of experience in entrepreneurial ventures. He often speaks to national audiences on the topics of leadership, organizational change and diversity, and was recently appointed as the President’s Ambassador by Kent State University President Lester A. Lefton. Nicknamed “Thunder Thornton,” he is also a Cleveland baseball legend who played professionally for 21 years, including 10 years with the Cleveland Indians, where he was a two-time All-Star.
  

• Wednesday, March 30
  The Genesis of Bizdom U
  Ross Sanders, CEO, Bizdom U
  7:30 - 9:30 a.m., $15/person, Breakfast is included
  
  Bizdom U, created to develop entrepreneurial businesses in Detroit, is a program that assists entrepreneurs in launching businesses. Sanders’ presentation will focus on how Bizdom U can be replicated for the entrepreneurs of Northeast Ohio.
  

• Tuesday, April 5
  Panel of Entrepreneurs
  Moderated by Ned Parks and brought to you by Aultcare
  7:30 - 9:30 a.m., $15/person, Continental breakfast is included
  
  A panel featuring several Stark County leading entrepreneurs will divulge the secrets to their successful businesses.
  

• Wednesday, April 6
  College and University Student Entrepreneurs Competition
  8 a.m. - noon, $10/person, Continental breakfast is included
  
  Students from five colleges and universities in Stark County will present business plans for the creation of jobs in Stark County for graduating college and university students. Scholarships of $2,000, $1,500 and $1,000 will be awarded to the best three presentations. The scholarships are made possible through a grant from the Stark Community Foundation.
  

• Tuesday, April 12
  Students Day Kick-Off Breakfast
  Speaker John Dearborn, President, JumpStart, Inc.
  8 - 9 a.m., $10/person, Continental breakfast is included
  
  Dearborn brings 25 years experience in software, Internet and mobile technologies, along with senior management experience leading entrepreneurial companies to JumpStart, Inc. Most recently, he was the CEO and a board member of 3Guppies Inc., a mobile social networking company in Seattle, Wash. Following the breakfast event, Junior Achievement of East Central Ohio will host the Third Annual Junior Achievement Business Challenge, a national competition involving 11th and 12th grade high school students from Stark, Tuscarawas and Carroll counties. Additionally, the winners of the College and University Student Entrepreneurs Competition will be announced at this event.
  

• Thursday, April 14
  Featured Speakers Series Presentation: Jerome Ringo
  The Green Economy and a Clean Energy Future
  7:30 p.m., Free, but tickets are required and will be available beginning Monday, March 28, at Kent State Stark’s Main Hall information desk
  
  Ringo’s 20 years of experience working in Louisiana’s petrochemical industry compelled him to educate communities on how to stop chemical discharge in their neighborhoods through environmental activism. A member of Green Group and Newsweek’s Environment and Leadership Council, he is a passionate advocate for alternative clean-energy sources and energy-efficient technology and jobs, in addition to expanding minority participation in green businesses.
  

• Tuesday, April 19
  Entrepreneurial Conspiracy: A Seminar on Management Focus and Discipline
  Chuck Violand, facilitator
  7:30 - 10 a.m., $20/person, Continental breakfast is included
  
  Chuck Violand has more than 20 years of experience working with small business owners. In this presentation, he illustrates the impact mastering focus and discipline has on small businesses. He also identifies six other behaviors that act as an early warning system to let you know when focus and discipline are starting to falter.
  

Contributing sponsors for the Entrepreneur Experience include Aultcare, the Burton D. Morgan Foundation, the Stark County Community Foundation and Dominion East Ohio. Participating sponsors include JB Young Professionals, Junior Achievement of East Central Ohio Inc., Kent State Stark and YStark! Smart Business magazine is the media sponsor.

Event registrations and payments must be made online at www.cantonsbdc.org by VISA, MasterCard or Discover only. Questions regarding the Stark County Entrepreneur Experience may be directed to info@cantonsbdc.org or 330-244-3290.

Spanish Film Series Featured at Kent State March 4 - 6

Kent State University presents a Spanish Festival, a series of four recent films from Spain, March 4-6. The films will be shown in Spanish with English subtitles in the Michael Schwartz Center auditorium. All films are free and open to the public.

Following each film, the audience is welcome to participate in a discussion. Admission is free and parking is available at no charge in the Michael Schwartz Center lot.

Featured films include:

• Friday, March 4 at 7:30 p.m.: Volver (Volver)
• Saturday, March 5 at 2 p.m.: El Bola (Pellet)
• Saturday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m.: Celda 211 (Cell 211)
• Sunday, March 6 at 2 p.m.: Un Novio Para Yasmina (A Fiancé for Yasmina)
  

Organized in collaboration with the Department of History and the Institute for Applied Linguistics, the Spanish Festival is made possible with the support of the Spanish Ministry of Culture and funding from departments in the College of Arts and Sciences.

For more information and a description of the films, visit: http://appling.kent.edu/newsdetail.cfm?newsitem=0BD2D523-F93C-E857-33F6AEBF299032DB or contact Françoise Massardier-Kenney at fkenney@kent.edu, or Rebecca Pulju at rpulju@kent.edu.

Open House for Textile Program Set for March 5

The community is invited to OPEN STUDIO – the Textile Art/Design Program’s open house. The event will be held on Saturday, March 5, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the
Lake/Olson Center. The program is free and no RSVP is required.

Students, faculty, staff and the general public are invited to join us for demonstrations of weaving – including digital jacquard – feltmaking, dyeing and more. Faculty and students from the program will be on hand to answer questions, as well.

For additional information about the open house or the Textile Art/Design Program, contact Janice Lessman-Moss at jlessman@kent.edu.

New Parenting Group Class Offered by Psychological Clinic

A group-based program designed for parents of children ages two to eight years with everyday behavioral difficulties will soon be offered to Kent State employees. Issues such as temper tantrums, defiant behavior, sleep difficulties, bedwetting, separation anxiety, feeding problems, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will be addressed in this group organized by the Department of Psychology’s Psychological Clinic.

Are you frustrated with your child’s behavior? Do you feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing helps? All parents feel that way sometimes. If you experience those feelings, this group is for you.

Over the course of eight weekly sessions, parents learn research-based strategies to increase cooperative behavior and positive development in their child, as well as effective techniques to manage misbehavior when it occurs. In addition to group meetings, parents receive several individualized phone sessions to create a plan that is tailored to the unique needs of their family.

Groups will be held on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m., beginning March 15, in Kent Hall. Cost of the program is $30, which covers the class as well as a workbook. A limited number of scholarships are available for families with financial difficulties. For more information, contact Nicole Wightman at 330–672–8888 extension 80826 or via e-mail at kentstateparents@gmail.com.

Kent State Wind Ensemble and Concert Band Hold Free Concert

The Kent State Wind Ensemble and Concert Band is holding a free concert at 3:30 p.m., March 6, in the Cartwright Auditorium.

The Concert Band, which is composed of music education majors and non-majors, will be performing Tancredi Overture by Rossini, Undertow by Mackey (which will be conducted by graduate student, Adrian Martinez), Elements by Balmages, Emblem of Unity by Richards and Azrael from Crucifixus by Lotti.

Lotti wrote Azrael for an eight-part chorus, but Marcus Neiman, director of the Concert Band, decided to perform the piece with the band. Neiman selected the wide variety of music of different styles for the group because he believes they should be in the repertoire for college bands.

“I try to expose the band to different composers of different styles,” Neiman says. “Most of these students are used to playing in high school bands. My job is to take them to the next level.”

The smaller wind ensemble is mostly composed of music performance majors and is under the baton of H. Scott Curfman. The ensemble will perform the Florentiner March by Fucik, songs and dances by Percy Granger, including Mock Morris, Australian Up Country Tune and Country Gardens, and Escapades by Spaniola.

“A composer is trying to communicate something about the society he lives in,” Neiman says. “If we can take that piece of music that started in the heart and mind of a composer and communicate something to the audience, then we’ve made a connection about our world that’s going to live on forever and ever.”