eInside Events

Kent State’s Spring Commencement Ceremonies Take Place May 5 and 7

Spring 2011 Commencement Ceremonies, May 5 and 7

Spring 2011 Commencement Ceremonies at Kent State University are scheduled for Thursday, May 5, at 6 p.m. and Saturday, May 7, at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. The Thursday evening ceremony for those receiving doctoral degrees will be held in the E. Turner Stump Theatre in the Music and Speech Center, which is located on Theatre Drive. The Saturday ceremonies for those receiving master’s and baccalaureate degrees will occur in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (MAC Center).

More than 4,000 students will graduate universitywide from Kent State this spring. At the Thursday evening ceremony, 40 doctoral degrees will be granted. Approximately 1,700 total students will walk at Saturday’s ceremonies.

Live streams are available approximately 15 minutes before each ceremony begins. Check back at a later date for archived video of these ceremonies.

Doctoral Commencement Ceremony
Thursday, May 5, at 6 p.m.
E. Turner Stump Theatre, Music and Speech Center
Speaker: Dr. Timothy J.L. Chandler, Senior Associate Provost at Kent State
https://ksutube.kent.edu/new/watchlive.php?playthis=9596

Master’s and Baccalaureate Ceremonies
Saturday, May 7
Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center

9 a.m. Ceremony
https://ksutube.kent.edu/new/watchlive.php?playthis=8905
College of Arts and Sciences
College of Nursing
College of Public Health
Speaker: Cathy D. Hemming, co-founder of LevelFiveMedia and Kent State alumna (bachelor’s degree in political science, 1970)

1 p.m. Ceremony
https://ksutube.kent.edu/new/watchlive.php?playthis=0263
College of Business
College of Communication and Information
College of Technology
Speaker: Patrick S. Mullin, managing partner for the Northeast Ohio practice of Deloitte & Touche LLP and Kent State alumnus (bachelor’s degree in business administration, 1971)

5:30 p.m. Ceremony
https://ksutube.kent.edu/new/watchlive.php?playthis=1164
College of Architecture and Environmental Design
College of the Arts
College of Education, Health and Human Services
Speaker: Thomas L. Cole, chief administrative officer of Macy’s, Inc. and Kent State alumnus (bachelor’s degree in business administration, ’72)

For more information about Kent State’s commencement ceremonies, visit the commencement website at www.kent.edu/commencement.

Save the Date for Festschrift Honoring Professor David C. Riccio, May 19-21

David C. Riccio

The Department of Psychology invites members of the Kent State University community to save the date for events honoring Professor David C. Riccio. Soon, Riccio will be completing his 46th year as a faculty member at Kent State (with no plans to retire), and the psychology department is hosting a Festschrift to recognize his life's work with a scientific meeting and a reception. A festschrift, by definition, is from the German and means a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during his or her lifetime.

Riccio has had a distinguished research career. He has published more than 170 journal articles, had 40 years of uninterrupted research funding from the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, and received Kent State's Distinguished Scholar Award. In addition, he is the recipient of the university's Distinguished Teaching Award and has mentored 42 Ph.D. graduates. Riccio has provided extensive service to the psychology department, university community and his profession.

From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on May 19, a reception will be held at the 11th Frame at Kent Lanes, located at 1524 S. Water Street in Kent.

On May 20 and 21, the scientific program will take place in room 102 of Kent Hall Annex (KTA) and will consist entirely of presentations by Riccio's former Ph.D. students including keynote speeches by three of his most distinguished former students. The sessions are from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on May 20 and from 9:30 a.m. to noon on May 21.

All of the events are free and open to all. For more information, contact Maria Zaragoza, Kent State professor and chair of the Department of Psychology, at 330-672-2167 or mzaragoz@kent.edu.

Kent State’s Porthouse Theatre Prepares for Razzle-Dazzle 2011 Summer Season

Kent State's Porthouse Theatre announces
its summer schedule.

Porthouse Theatre, Kent State University’s outdoor summer theatre located on the grounds of Blossom Music Center, announces a razzle-dazzle season for 2011. The professional theatre, celebrating its 43rd year, opens the season with the Broadway sensation Chicago, with book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, music by John Kander, and lyrics by Fred Ebb. It is based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins.

The show will be directed by Porthouse Theatre’s Artistic Director Terri Kent. Kent is a professor of theatre at Kent State and also serves as director of the musical theatre program for the university’s School of Theatre and Dance. Chicago will run June 16 - 18, June 21 - 25, June 28 - 30 and July 1 and 2 at 8 p.m.; and June 19 and 26 at 2 p.m.

The second production of the season is The Sunshine Boys by Neil Simon. The show will be directed by Rohn Thomas, who won Best Comedy of 2010 for his “perfectly balanced” direction of The Foreigner last summer, according to local theatre critic Bob Abelman. “The Sunshine Boys” will run July 7- 9, July 12 - 16 and July 19 - 23 at 8 p.m.; and July 10 and July 17 at 2 p.m.

The Porthouse Theatre season closes with the iconic musical Hello, Dolly! Featuring music and lyrics by Jerry Herman and book by Michael Stewart, the show will be directed by returning guest artist Victoria Bussert. A nationally acclaimed director, Bussert has been involved in directing and acting in international tours, and in Broadway and off-Broadway productions. She serves as the resident director for Cleveland’s Great Lakes Theater Festival and as the head of the musical theatre program at Baldwin-Wallace College. Hello Dolly! will run July 28 - 30, Aug. 2 - 6 and Aug. 9 - 14 at 8 p.m.; and July 31,
Aug. 7 and Aug. 14 at 2 p.m.

One of the highlights of the season will be Terri Kent’s return to stage after a 13-year hiatus, as she alters roles and steps into the part of Dolly Levy. John Crawford, dean of Kent State’s College of the Arts, will choreograph the play. Crawford’s work for last season’s Bye Bye Birdie garnered him the city’s “Best Choreography of a Musical” award by Abelman.

Subscriptions are currently on sale. Prices for Tuesday through Friday evening performances are $60 for adults and $51 for seniors; Saturday nights are $66 for adults and seniors; and Sunday matinees are $57 for adults and $51 for seniors. Gift subscriptions are also available. Special rates are available for students and groups of 20 or more.

Single ticket prices, ranging from $25 - $33 for adults and seniors and $17 - $20 for students, will go on sale after May 25.The box office is located in the Music and Speech Center on the corner of Main Street and Horning Road on the Kent Campus. For more information, call 330-672-3884 or visit www.porthousetheatre.com.

Watch the Live Stream of Today's OPERS and STRS Sessions

Representatives from the Ohio Public Employee Retirement System (OPERS) and the State Teachers Retirement system of Ohio (STRS) will be on the Kent Campus on Tuesday, May 3 for informational meetings on proposed changes to both systems.

The OPERS session will be held at 10 a.m. in the Student Center Kiva and the STRS session will begin at 1 p.m. in the same location. Each session will last approximately 75 minutes and will include a question and answer period. The session will also be streamed live on the web and recorded for future viewing online. The links for both will be available on the Faculty/Staff page of the Kent State website at www.kent.edu/facultystaff/index.cfm. Look for the links, beginning on May 3, in the Current Highlights section on that page.

Reservations are required to attend either of the in-person informational sessions. You can register at OPERS May 3, 2011 Session or STRS May 3, 2011 Session. Please note that staff employees who attend the seminar must take the appropriate leave time, which includes vacation or comp time.

Updates on the proposed legislation for both state retirement systems may be found on the OPERS and STRS websites.

For more information contact the Benefits Office at 330-672-3107 or benefits@kent.edu.

Performing Arts Library Colloquium Series Wraps Up

The Performing Arts Library Colloquium Series explores a broad range of topics in music, theatre and dance. Faculty members, students, staff, scholars and community members are welcome to attend the final Colloquium Series event.

Monday, May 2, 2011, 4:30 - 6 p.m.

"Semiology of Musical Gestures: How Uniqueness Expresses Community Identity"
Laurel Myers Hurst

"Sight-Reading Pre-Adjudication: A Comparison Between Director Commentary and Adjudicator Expectations"
Kate Ferguson

"Does a School Music Program Influence a School's Culture?"
Joseph W. Ellis

The series is held in Kent State University's Performing Arts Library, located in Room D-003 of the Music and Speech Building, and is a free event open to the public. Light refreshments are provided.

For more information, visit http://www.library.kent.edu/page/16237 or contact Joe Clark, head of the Performing Arts Library, at jclark88@kent.edu.

Summer Session of Weight Watchers at Work to be Offered

Losing weight can be challenging but you don't have to do it alone. OneWellU, the university's wellness program, and the Student Recreation and Wellness Center are offering a summer session of Weight Watchers at Work.

This includes the new Points Plus program and E-Tools to make losing weight easier while still enjoying many of the foods you like to eat. Don't take our word for it; just ask Kent State employees who have participated in the program. In 2010, Kent State Weight Watchers at Work members collectively lost more than 400 pounds.

An informational and registration session will be held on Tuesday, May 10, at noon in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. The nine-week session is scheduled to begin on May 24; meetings will be held on Tuesdays at noon in the Student Recreation and Wellness Center.

The cost is $108, which can be paid in full or in three installments of $36 each. Payment may be turned in at the informational meeting or before the first regular meeting.

There is an incentive program for employees who have medical coverage through Medical Mutual of Ohio. Information on the program is available on the OneWellU website.

For more information, contact Marlo Kibler, benefits coordinator, at 330-672-8320 or mkibler5@kent.edu.

Kent State Presents First Conference on Information and Religion

Kent State University will host the first Conference on Information and Religion on Friday, May 20, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Kent Student Center. The conference is sponsored by the Center for the Study of Information and Religion (CSIR), a research initiative of the School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at Kent State.

The theme of this inaugural conference is “Research Frontiers in the Study of Information and Religion.” Cost for the conference is $85, with a student rate of $25. Lunch is included. More information about the conference, including registration details, can be found at http://www.kent.edu/cde/conferences/csir.cfm.

Renowned scholar Dr. Brenda Dervin, professor of communication and Joan N. Huber Fellow in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Ohio State University, will deliver the conference's keynote address, “Spiritual Knowledge,” discussing the role of religion in sense-making.

Dervin is widely credited for research that launched the “user-oriented” approach in library and information science studies, which also has been applied in other disciplines, such as health communication, communication policy, the arts, religion and spirituality, and organizational communication.

Thirty scholars and doctoral students will present papers and posters on diverse subjects representing the “frontiers” of information and religion.

CSIR was founded in 2009 to facilitate research on the various institutions and agents of religion and their effect on social knowledge through the use, dissemination and diffusion of information. Dr. Don A. Wicks, SLIS Interim Director and associate professor, serves as director of the center. Dr. Daniel R. Roland, SLIS assistant professor, is the Primary Researcher. For more information, visit http://csir.slis.kent.edu/.