eInside Events

Groundbreaking for Kent State’s Field House Locker Room Project Takes Place May 3

The first phase of the Building Champions Fundraising
Initiative will begin with a groundbreaking on May 3 for the
Kent State Field House locker room.

The groundbreaking for Kent State’s Field House Locker Room project will take place at 9 a.m. on Friday, May 3, at the Kent State Field House located at 2227 Summit St. in Kent. The Field House Locker Room project is the first phase of the Building Champions Fundraising Initiative. It is also a part of the university's "Foundations of Excellence: Building the Future" initiative.

The Field House locker room will provide a new facility for soccer, softball, field hockey, men’s and women’s track and cross country. In this facility, there will be a locker room, lounge area and satellite training space for athletes.

“This project will have a transformational effect on the Dix Complex and the programs it will serve,” says Matthew Geis, Kent State’s senior associate athletic director. “With student-athlete welfare at the forefront of our minds, this locker room project will greatly enrich the student-athlete experience.”

The groundbreaking event is free and open to the public. RSVP to Alicia Gaffney at 330-672-8399 or alongst1@kent.edu. Parking for the event will be available at the Field House parking lot on the east side of Dix Stadium.

For more information about Kent State Athletics, visit www.kentstatesports.com.

Kent State Alumni Association Hosts Third Annual Alumni College

Former NASA astronaut and Kent State graduate Carl
Walz, ’77, will serve as keynote speaker at the third annual
Alumni College on June 8.

The Kent State University Alumni Association will host the third annual Alumni College on June 8. The event offers alumni an opportunity to visit their alma mater, reconnect with their peers and return to the classroom.

The 2013 Alumni College will focus on topics from the College of Arts and Sciences with renowned faculty members James Blank, interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; Robert Clements, research assistant professor, Department of Biological Sciences; Ernie Freeman, assistant professor, Department of Biology; C. Owen Lovejoy, university professor, Department of Anthropology; and Thomas Schmidlin, professor, Department of Geography. Additionally, former NASA astronaut and Kent State graduate Carl Walz, ’77, will serve as the keynote speaker. The day will also include a state of the university address from Kent State President Lester A. Lefton, and tours of campus and downtown.

Event registration ends on May 24. Watch a video recap from last year’s alumni college here. For more details about this year’s event, visit www.ksualumni.org/alumnicollege2013.

Kent State Hosts its Inaugural Neuroscience Symposium on April 29

Randy Nelson, Ph.D., will give the morning
keynote presentation at the inaugural
Neuroscience Symposium at Kent State
University on April 29.

Kent State University hosts its inaugural Neuroscience Symposium “The Neuroscience of Mental Health” on April 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 7:15 p.m. in the Kent Student Center, Kiva Auditorium on the Kent Campus.

The purpose of this symposium is to bring together nationally renowned neuroscience researchers, clinical practitioners, students and the public to discuss leading-edge university research on mechanisms underlying mood and addiction, injury, disease and the brain. The symposium is free and open to the public, but registration is required.

With nearly 40 neuroscientists working across multiple departments, Kent State conducts research in molecular biology to behavior, producing interdisciplinary research on neurological diseases and conditions including: traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic street disorder, the effects of aging, addiction and pain management.

“This symposium provides a venue for exchange of the scientific ideas that must take place to solve and treat these critical healthcare problems,” says Grant McGimpsey, Ph.D., Kent State’s vice president for research.

The symposium’s morning keynote speaker is Randy Nelson, Ph.D., Brumbaugh Chair in Brain Research and Teaching; professor and chair, Department of Neuroscience; and distinguished professor, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. He has published more than 350 research papers and several books describing studies in seasonality, behavioral endocrinology, biological rhythms, immune function, sex behavior and aggressive behaviors.

Nelson’s presentation, “Effects of Light at Night on Neuroinflammation, Metabolism and Mood,” will provide insight into the disruptive effects of light at night on several core clock genes and the resulting neuroinflammation, which may be a potent mechanism through which light at night affects mood and food intake.

Kevin Guskiewicz, Ph.D., will give the
evening keynote presentation at the
inaugural Neuroscience Symposium at
Kent State University on April 29.

The evening keynote speaker is Kevin Guskiewicz, Ph.D., Kenan Distinguished Professor and director of the Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Over the past 17 years, he has focused his research on the effect of sport-related concussion on balance and neuropsychological function in high school and collegiate athletes, and the long-term neurological issues related to playing sports. In 2011, he was awarded a prestigious MacArthur Fellowship.

In his keynote, “Making Sport Safer Through Innovative Science,” Guskiewicz will discuss how to better understand the long-term consequences of concussive and sub-concussive impacts to athletes.

The symposium features invited presentations from nationally renowned neuroscientists including J. David Glass, Ph.D., Kent State University; Colleen McClung, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh; and Michela Marinelli, Ph.D., Rosalind Franklin University; Stephen Rao, Ph.D., Cleveland Clinic; John Gunstad, Ph.D., Kent State University; and Jennifer Vasterling, Ph.D., Boston University. Panel discussions will be held at the end of each session. A reception will be held in the Kent Student Center Ballroom Balcony from 4:15-5:15 p.m.

For more information about the symposium and to register, visit www.kent.edu/neuroscience or call 330-672-2692.

Free Lectures from Renowned Printmaker and Sculptor in the Art Building, May 14 and 16

This photo is of Elana Herzog's exhibition "Dewarped and
Unweft" at the Daum Museum of Contemporary Art in Sedalia,
Missouri in 2009. The exhibition featured a collection of Herzog's
work from 1993 through 2009.

(Photo credit: Elana Herzog)

Kent/Blossom Art will present two guest lectures the week of May 13 as part of the 2013 Public Lecture Series. The series will feature printmaker Guillermo Trejo on Tuesday, May 14, and Thursday, May 16, it will feature sculptor Elana Herzog. All public lectures take place in room 202 of the Art Building at 6 p.m., and they are free and open to the public.

Trejo is originally from Mexico, where he studied at the National School of Painting, Sculpture and Etching in Mexico City. He also earned his MFA at the University of Ottawa. Trejo now teaches printmaking at the Ottawa School of Art.

Trejo has shown work in a variety of Ontario exhibitions, as well as in the Printmaking Biennal in Shanghai and “Full Memory” at the Mexican Embassy in Vienna, Austria. Trejo held a residency at Zygote Press in Cleveland in 2012. For more information about Trejo, visit http://trejoguillermo.com.

Herzog creates impactful installations with materials, including textiles, staples and sheetrock. Her recent solo and two-person exhibitions have included shows at LMAKprojects, the Morgan Lehman Gallery and the New Britain Museum of Art.

Herzog earned her bachelor’s degree at Bennington College in Bennington, Vt., and her master of fine arts degree from State University of New York College of Technology in Alfred, N.Y. For more information about Herzog, visit www.elanaherzog.com.

The public lecture series gives the general public an opportunity to hear from the top artists in the fields of painting, sculpture, printmaking and ceramics. The Kent Blossom Art program also includes two-week intensive workshops in these areas of study, available at the undergraduate and graduate levels. For more information, visit http://dept.kent.edu/art or call 330-672-2192.