eInside Events

Register Now for the Spring 2011 Bowman Breakfast

This spring's Bowman Breakfast topic is "Medical Research and Education: Good for the Health of Ohioans…Good for the Health of Ohio's Economy." Jay A Gershen, D.D.S., Ph.D., president of Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, will speak at the event, which is scheduled for Thursday, April 7.

Doors open at 7 a.m. Breakfast will be served at 7:30 a.m., and the program will start at 8 a.m. in the Kent Student Center ballroom. The cost is $9 per person at the door.

Reservations can be made online until Monday, April 4. To cancel a reservation, contact Mary Mandalari at 330-672-8664 or mmandala@kent.edu. No-shows will be billed.

The Bowman Breakfast, a tradition since 1963, is sponsored by Kent State University and the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce.

CNN’s O'Brien to Speak at Kent State March 10

Kent State is hosting an evening with CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O’Brien on March 10 at 7 p.m. in the Kent Student Center ballroom.

Soledad O'Brien

O’Brien is the anchor for CNN: Special Investigations Unit and has covered global news such as Hurricane Katrina, the 2004 South Asian tsunami and the war in Iraq.

She is also the author of Latino in America and will sign copies of the book immediately following the program.

“An Evening with Soledad O’Brien” is sponsored by Black United Students; the Center for Student Involvement; the School of Journalism and Mass Communication; the Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; the Student Multicultural Center; the Office of the Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs and the Women’s Center.

Danéa Rhodes, event programmer for Black United Students, says O’Brien’s speech will be valuable to both the general public and the university community.

“O’Brien is the host of CNN’s Black in America series,” Rhodes says. “We believe it is important for the students of Kent State to learn firsthand of her perspective on the series, as well as the issues prominent in our society.”

O’Brien is recognized as an award-winning newscaster, receiving a Gracie Allen Award for her 2007 coverage of the Israeli-Hezbollah conflict, and the George Foster Peabody Award and Alfred I. DuPont Award for team coverage with CNN.

She has also been honored for her volunteerism and philanthropic efforts with the NAACP President’s Award, as well as the Soledad O’Brien Freedom’s Voice Award that was created for her by Community Voices at the Morehouse School of Medicine.

Tickets are free for students and are available through the MAC Center ticket office, which can be reached at 330-672-2244. The general public can purchase tickets for $15.

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

Kent State University Board of Trustees to Meet March 9

The Kent State University Board of Trustees will hold its next regular business meeting Wednesday, March 9.

The Board will convene at 3 p.m. in the George Urban Board of Trustees Conference Room, which is located on the second floor of the Kent Campus Library.

Board committees will meet as follows:

• Committee of the Whole; External Relations and Development Committee – 9-10 a.m. in the Urban Conference Room.
• Academic Excellence and Student Success Committee – 1:15-2:45 p.m. in the Urban Conference Room.
• Audit/Finance and Administration Committee – 1:15-2:45 p.m. in Room 222.

Trustees are expected to retire into executive session at about 10:15 a.m. to consider specific topics as provided for under Ohio's "Sunshine Law."

Kent State University President Lester A. Lefton and Board Chair Jacqueline Woods will be available to answer media questions immediately after the business meeting.

Come Cheer Your Golden Flashes on to a MAC Victory

The Kent State men’s and women’s basketball teams will soon take the court at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) Tournament, which begins on March 8. The Kent State Alumni Association and Intercollegiate Athletics will co-host pre-game celebrations at Flannery's Pub in downtown Cleveland for weekday games after 5 p.m. and Saturday games.

Last year, the basketball pre-game parties were popular.

The women's team first plays in the quarter finals at the Quicken Loans Arena at 7:30 p.m on March 9. That reception will begin at 5:30 p.m. Information about additional games is updated frequently at www.ksualumni.org or www.kentstatesports.com.

The men's team first plays at Quicken Loans Arena on March 10.

The receptions are free and all fans are welcome. Complimentary appetizers will be provided for fans during the receptions. Also, a representative from the Kent State bookstore will be there so fans can purchase spirit wear. Flannery’s Pub is located on Prospect Ave. at East 4th Street, just a short walk from Quicken Loans Arena, making it a convenient place to gather before the game.

To purchase game tickets, contact the Kent State Athletic Office at 330-672-2244. First-round tournament games will be played at campus sites and all other tournament games will be played at Quicken Loans Arena.

For more information, please visit www.ksualumni.org or call 1-888-320-KENT (5368).

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 extention 80826 or via e-mail at kentstateparents@gmail.com.

Renowned Poet and Activist Nikki Giovanni to Receive Virginia Hamilton Literary Award

Poet and activist Nikki Giovanni will add to her acclaim in April when she receives the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award at Kent State University. The award will be given at the 27th Annual Virginia Hamilton Conference on Multicultural Literature for Youth, where Giovanni will deliver the keynote address at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 7, in the ballroom of the Kent State University Student Center.

The conference provides a forum for discussion of multicultural themes and issues in literature for children and young adults. In addition to Giovanni, this year's program features Coretta Scott King award-winning author and photographer Charles R. Smith Jr. and Caldecott Honor Book award-winning illustrator Chris Raschka.

Nikki Giovanni

This year's conference, titled "Voices, Visions and Verse," opens Thursday evening, April 7, with Giovanni's address, followed by a special poetic performance by the Kent State Wick Poetry Center and area elementary and middle school students, with musical accompaniment.

On Friday, April 8, the program includes presentations by Smith and Raschka, as well as local and national speakers leading workshops on such topics as notable books for a global society; the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "using music in the classroom and library"; Mahjong, World War II and ethnic Chinese cultural representation; Appalachian children's literature; and an update on the newest multicultural picture books, to name a few. Participants also can attend a conversation session with the three featured presenters.

"Virginia Hamilton and Arnold Adoff are good and dear friends," Giovanni says. "I am incredibly thrilled to receive this award named for one of the great children's authors. I cried all the way through The Planet of Junior Brown and actually had the nerve to turn Zeely into a play. Winning this award is one of the highlights of my life."

"Nikki Giovanni's work speaks for itself," says Dr. Carolyn Brodie, conference director and professor in the School of Library and Information Science. "We're delighted to be able to honor her in this way. She truly speaks to what this conference is about and what Virginia Hamilton stood for."

Giovanni is a world-renowned poet, writer, commentator, activist and educator. She published her first book of poetry, Black Feeling Black Talk, in 1968, and within the next year published a second book, thus launching her career as a writer. Early in her career she was dubbed the "Princess of Black Poetry," and over the course of more than three decades of publishing and lecturing, she has come to be called both a "National Treasure" and, most recently, one of Oprah Winfrey's 25 "Living Legends." Giovanni's books have received numerous honors and awards. Most recently, her children's picture book, Rosa, about the civil rights legend Rosa Parks, became a Caldecott Honor Book, and Bryan Collier, the illustrator, was given the Coretta Scott King Award for best illustration. Rosa also reached #3 on the New York Times bestseller list. Among other honors, she was the first recipient of the Rosa L. Parks Woman of Courage Award and has also been awarded the Langston Hughes Medal for poetry. The author of some 30 books for both adults and children, Giovanni is a University Distinguished Professor at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Va.

Chris Raschka received a Caldecott Medal for The Hello, Goodbye Window and a Caldecott Honor Award for Yo! Yes? Publishers Weekly has called him "one of the most original illustrators at work today." His A Poke in the I: A Collection of Concrete Poems, a critically acclaimed anthology, was both a New York Times Book Review Best Illustrated Children's Book and a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year.

Charles R. Smith Jr.'s photographic exploration of Langston Hughes' My People received the 2010 Coretta Scott King Award for illustration. In other works, he combines writing, photography and sports, as in his first book, Rimshots, a collection of stories, poems and "other stuff" mixed with gritty black and white photos. His recent work celebrates those who have inspired him, such as Muhammad Ali in Twelve Rounds to Glory, and subjects that have interested him since childhood, such as The Mighty 12, which celebrates Greek gods and goddesses.

The Virginia Hamilton Conference is the longest-running event in the United States to focus exclusively on multicultural literature for children and young adults. Honoring author Virginia Hamilton, the conference reflects a commitment to promoting cultural awareness and affirming cultural pride while addressing the array of issues which surround the concept of culture. The conference is held each April at Kent State University and is sponsored by the School of Library and Information Science, the College of Education, Health and Human Services and the Office of Continuing and Distance Education. Additional support is provided by Akron-Summit County Public Library, Cleveland Public Library, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Hamilton Arts Inc. and the Kent State University Bookstore.

By Flo Cunningham

Faculty Professional Development Center Hosts Lefton on Teaching Large Classes

The workshop takes place Thursday, March 10, from 1:30-3 p.m. in the Moulton Hall ballroom. To register for this event, go to: http://tinyurl.com/how-to-DIRT

Tenth Annual Performance of Giving Voice Features Community Poets and Performers

On Monday, March 8, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Student Center ballroom, area students, veterans, medical care providers and patients from local hospitals will perform original poetry with guest musician Hal Walker.

All material is created in workshops led by Kent State University undergraduate students enrolled in the service-learning course, Teaching Poetry in the Schools and from other Wick Poetry Center outreach programs.

For more information, contact the Wick Poetry Center at http://dept.kent.edu/wick.

By Sarah James

Dance Majors Present First Student Choreography Production in New Performance Space

Kent State University's School of Theatre and Dance presents junior and senior dance majors performing in Infinity ~ 3.14: BFA Senior Dance Concert and Student Dance Festival Concert. This collaborative concert will offer the opportunity to see works that feature 17 different and exciting artistic visions in dance, music and choreographic explorations in the new, state-of-the-art Louis O. Erdmann and William H. Zucchero Theatre.

Rehearsals for the student event

This concert marks the first student choreography production in the new theatre.

Guest choreographer Richard Brandon Hall, along with student lighting designers from the Theatre Division, will help in presenting this collaborative concert. Graduating majors in dance performance and choreography Amanda Black, Tamara Landry and Katie Naso present works which explore individual and diverse meanings with a focus on modern dance.

Along with the three senior choreographers and Hall, 13 junior choreographers, including dance performance and choreography majors and dance education majors, will premiere works representing various styles and artistic visions.

Tickets are $16 for adults, $12 for senior citizens and $8 for students with valid ID. The box office is located in the lobby of the Roe Green Center. Hours are noon to 5 p.m. weekdays and one hour prior to curtain on show days. Contact the box office at 330-672-2497 or online at www.dance.kent.edu.

Meditation Group Offered at Women's Center This Wednesday

The Women’s Center yoga and meditation series has met with great success and is being expanded to include a lunchtime meditation drop-in group for faculty and staff. This semester, meditation was introduced through a series of three well-received brown bag lunches.

Monthly guided meditation will be offered on the second Wednesday of each month, from noon to 1 p.m.,now through May 11, 2011. No registration or fee is required, and all sessions are held at the Women’s Center Carriage House.