eInside Events

Kent State’s College of Business Administration Announces Keynote Speaker for Michael D. Solomon Speaker Series

Keith Levy, Kent State University alumnus and president
of Royal Canin USA, a leading global manufacturer of
premium dog and cat nutrition, will be the keynote speaker
at the Michael D. Solomon Speaker Series on Nov. 5.

Keith Levy, Kent State University alumnus and president of Royal Canin USA, a leading global manufacturer of premium dog and cat nutrition, will be the keynote speaker at the Michael D. Solomon Speaker Series on Nov. 5. His presentation titled “Laws of Growth, Redefined” is being hosted by the Kent State College of Business Administration’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation.

“Kent State University equipped and positioned me to enjoy an incredibly successful career in business, and I met and made lifelong friends, including the girl of my dreams who later became my wife,” says Levy. “Coming back to Kent State after 30 years to share my story and what I’ve learned since graduation is both exciting and humbling.”

Royal Canin, based in St. Charles, Missouri, is a division of Mars Inc., one of the world's largest private companies. The business manufactures, markets and distributes more than 200 different specialty diets and 450 SKUs (stockkeeping units)to approximately 30,000 clients nationwide. Levy’s team operates a network of four factories in North America and leads nearly 1,000 associates across the country. Since being appointed president of the company in 2012, he has led several key initiatives including the creation of an e-commerce strategy and organization, the installation of brand management and marketing discipline, broad-based consolidation in logistics and distribution producing significant cost savings and other margin-enhancing results driving productivity, efficiency and cost containment.

Prior to Mars and Royal Canin, Levy enjoyed a successful 24-year career at Anheuser-Busch Inc. During his tenure at Anheuser-Busch, he held numerous executive roles including vice president of sales and vice president of brand management. Prior to leaving Anheuser-Busch in 2011, he was the company’s vice president and chief marketing officer responsible for leading some of the world's most valuable brands, including Budweiser and Bud Light.

Levy helped drive the company's revenue to a record $13 billion and was instrumental in shaping modern brand management at Anheuser-Busch. He also led the development and launch of many innovative new products, including Bud Light Lime, one of the most successful line extensions across all consumer packaged goods in 2008/2009.

Some of Levy’s awards for marketing excellence include winning USA Today’s Super Bowl Ad Meter in 2008 and 2011, as well as capturing three out of the top 10 Ad Meter selections in 2010, Cannes Gold and Silver Lions in 2008 and 2010, several POPIA Gold and Silver medals for outstanding merchandising achievement, and three Emmy nominations for advertising excellence in 2009/2010. Additionally, he was a key member of the senior integration team during the $53 billion acquisition of Anheuser-Busch by Inbev in 2008.

Levy is a past board member of the Association of National Advertisers, a current board member of Banfield Charitable Trust in Portland, Oregon, and an advisory board member to the George Herbert Walker School of Business and Technology at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri. In addition, he has been a past contributor on Forbes.com where he is a member of the Forbes CMO Network. He earned his BBA in marketing in 1985 from Kent State, and has attended executive education at both Kellogg School of Management and Harvard Business School.

To learn more about the Michael D. Solomon Speaker Series or to register, visit http://business.kent.edu/events/michael-d-solomon-speaker-series-0.

To learn more about Kent State’s College of Business Administration, visit http://business.kent.edu/.

Pulitzer Center Reporter to Speak on Global Refugee Crisis at Global Issues Forum

Emily Feldman, a Pulitzer Center journalist,
will speak about the refugee crisis in the
Middle East and Europe on Oct. 20 at the
Kent Student Center Ballroom.

Kent State University’s School of Communication Studies will host a Global Communication Issues Forum on the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe, featuring Emily Feldman, a Pulitzer Center journalist, on Tuesday, Oct. 20. Feldman’s presentation begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom on the Kent Campus. This forum will examine events resulting in large-scale movements of refugees from Syria and Iraq. The program is free and open to the public.

Feldman, an Istanbul-based Pulitzer Center journalist, writes about the humanitarian crises resulting from conflicts in Iraq and Syria, with a special focus on women. For the last two years, she has reported on issues ranging from ISIS recruitment to the mass movement of refugees from the region – filing stories from Iraq, Turkey, the Balkans and Western Europe for Mashable and Al-Jazeera America, among others. Previously, she covered national and international news for NBC in New York. She is a graduate of City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism and a New York native.

The ongoing movement of refugees from Syria and Iraq has become a concern of governments worldwide and focus of international media, says Paul Haridakis, Ph.D., Kent State professor of communication studies.

“We’re fortunate to have a Pulitzer Center reporter who has covered this ongoing story and who can share her first-person insight on this issue,” Haridakis says. “Addressing the global effect of this topic and how media communicate their coverage to share with a worldwide audience is a basic component of the forum.”

The School of Communication Studies’ ongoing Global Communication Issues Forum brings Pulitzer Center reporters to campus who offer personal and professional perspectives on how a news story is covered. This informs the public, as media consumers, how media coverage can influence viewpoints on global issues.

Kent State is part of the Pulitzer Center’s Campus Consortium network that includes more than 20 colleges and universities. The Campus Consortium initiative is a core component of the center’s effort to create awareness campaigns around global systemic issues that affect us all. The Pulitzer Center promotes in-depth engagement with global affairs through its sponsorship of quality international journalism across all media platforms and an innovative program of outreach and education.

The Center for International and Intercultural Education at Kent State is a co-sponsor for this event.

For individuals unable to attend the event, it will be livestreamed on the School of Communication Studies’ YouTube channel.

LGBTQ Student Center Kicks Off Flashes of Pride Campaign With Coming OUT Party

Kent State University’s Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, Transgender and Queer
(LGBTQ) Student Center will launch its
Flashes of Pride campaign with a Coming
OUT party on Oct. 12 from 4 to 6 p.m. at
the LGBTQ Student Center located in the
Kent Student Center.

Kent State University’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Student Center is launching its Flashes of Pride campaign with a Coming OUT party on Monday, Oct. 12, from 4-6 p.m. at the LGBTQ Student Center located in the Kent Student Center, lower level 024.

The release party is free, open to the public and features a DJ and refreshments.

“I’m excited that we are unveiling a new way to be visible and show our pride!” says Ken Ditlevson, M.Ed., LPCC-S, director of Kent State’s LGBTQ Student Center. “The Flashes of Pride Coming OUT will be an annual event that will highlight the diversity of our university.”

National Coming OUT Day is Sunday, Oct. 11, but Ditlevson says he wanted the university community to be able to celebrate together, so they created their event for Monday outside the office of the LGBTQ Student Center.

“The event will include a poster release featuring 42 people from the Kent State community coming out as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer or however that person identifies,” says Ditlevson.

Ditlevson will make some brief remarks at 4:30 p.m. to welcome everyone and highlight the goals and mission of the event.

“I visited several other universities that were doing similar projects, and I thought this would be an easy, inexpensive way to help build our community,” says Ditlevson. “I hope we have a great response.”

To learn more about the LGBTQ Student Center or its other events, visit www.kent.edu/lgbtq.

Kent State University Bookstore Hosts First Book Festival

The Kent State University Bookstore will hold its first book
festival on Oct. 17.

The Kent State University Bookstore will host its first book festival on Oct. 17 from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. at its location in the Kent Student Center, 1075 Risman Drive in Kent.

The festival is a celebration of local Northeast Ohio authors including Kent State employees and alumni, and the Kent State University Press. Authors will include Alfreda Brown, Kent State’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion; columnist Bob Dyer; mystery novelist Les Roberts; and Kent State alumnus and popular comic strip artist Tom Batiuk. Authors will be available for one-hour sessions to meet attendees and sign books.

Please visit the Kent State Bookstore website for a full list of authors, times and books that will be available at the festival. The festival is free and open to the public. Free parking is available in front of the Kent Student Center.

For more information about the event, contact Nikki Dech at ndech@kent.edu.

For more information about the Kent State Bookstore, visit http://kent.bncollege.com.

Kent State Women’s Center Hosts Showing of The Mask You Live In

The Kent State University Women’s
Center will host a showing of The Mask
You Live In, a documentary that follows
boys and young men as they struggle to
stay true to themselves while negotiating
America’s narrow definition of masculinity.

The Mask You Live In follows boys and young men as they struggle to stay true to themselves while negotiating America’s narrow definition of masculinity, and is being brought to Kent State University on Tuesday, Oct. 13, at the Kent Student Center Kiva at 6:30 p.m. After the screening, there will be a community/panel discussion.

The documentary presents the personal narratives of young boys and men, and features experts in neuroscience, psychology, sociology, sports, education and media, further exploring how gender stereotypes are interconnected with race, class and circumstance.

Cassandra Pegg-Kirby, assistant director of the Kent State Women’s Center, has played a central role in coordinating the screening and conversations.

“With the experience of working at the Women’s Center and being the mom of four boys, I’m acutely aware of how much narrow gender stereotypes affect all of us,” Pegg-Kirby says.

She adds that the Women’s Center has appreciated the opportunity to work with a lot of phenomenal individuals across campus to engage in a meaningful dialogue that creates space and opportunity for a broader definition of masculinity.

“The Mask You Live In ultimately illustrates how we as a society can raise a healthier generation of boys and young men. All are invited to attend and are encouraged to join in the post-film discussion,” Pegg-Kirby says.

For more information, contact Pegg-Kirby at cpeggkir@kent.edu or 330-672-9230.

Country Singer Hunter Hayes to Perform at Kent State

Country singer Hunter Hayes will perform
at Kent State University’s Memorial Athletic
and Convocation (MAC) Center on Oct. 23
at 8 p.m.

Country music star Hunter Hayes is set to perform at Kent State University’s Memorial Athletic and Convocation (MAC) Center on Oct. 23 at 8 p.m.

The concert is open to faculty, staff, students and the general public. Tickets are currently on sale online and at the MAC Center. Students must have a student ID to purchase tickets. Floor seats are available to students only and are $25. Upper-level student seats are $15, and upper-level general public seats are $35. There is a limit of two tickets per person.

“We knew we had to bring somebody who was country because of the lack of country singers we have had in the past,” says Kevin Otubu, director of programming for Undergraduate Student Government at Kent State. “Hunter is a singer around students’ age, with a more up-to-beat country style that seems to be the new trend in what college students like, so it was an easy choice for us when we were looking at acts.”

Doors open at 7 p.m. Country music singers Ryan Lafferty and Matthew Pinkham will accompany Hayes.

To buy tickets, visit www.kentstateusg.com.

Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services to Host Inaugural Social Responsibility and Diversity Award

Pictured is White Hall, which houses Kent State University's
College of Education, Health and Human Services.

The Office of Diversity Outreach and Development within Kent State University’s College of Education, Health and Human Services is pleased to announce its award recipients for the inaugural Social Responsibility and Diversity Awards. The awards recognize students, faculty, alumni and supporters that provide outreach support and programs focused on increasing the success of underrepresented and/or underserved students within the college or across the university.

The recipients will be recognized at the Celebration of Social Responsibility and Diversity Awards held on Friday, Nov. 6, at 5:30 p.m. at the Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center.

Register for the event or make a donation.

This event is a fundraiser and includes a reception, dinner and program. Tickets are $60 per person and $550 to purchase a table as a sponsor. All proceeds from this event go to the College of Education, Health and Human Services’ Diversity Assistance Fund to support scholarships for diverse students and experiences.

Congratulations to this year’s award recipients:

The Social Responsibility Award
Daniel Mahony, Ph.D.
President, Winthrop University

Outstanding Creative Contribution Award
Vacca Office of Student Services

Della Marie Marshall
Senior Associate Director, Kent State’s Center for Student Involvement

Community Impact Award
Akron Public Schools (Katrina Halasa, Carla Sibley and Yvonne Culver)

Advancing Diversity Scholarship Award
Phillip Rumrill
Kent State Professor, Rehabilitation Counseling

Student Inclusive Influence Award
James Yarbrough (Undergraduate student)
Peter Jeffy (Graduate student)

Alumni Legacy Award
Geraldine Hayes-Nelson, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Kent State’s Division of Human Resources

For more information about the celebration, contact N. J. Akbar or Felicia Johnson at ehhsdiversity@kent.edu or 330-672-2537.

Kent State’s School of Theatre and Dance Opens Season With The Servant of Two Masters

Classic comedy is adapted and directed by Roe Green Visiting Director Tracy Young

When Truffaldino (Wesley Simmons)
decides to double his income by serving
two masters, comedic chaos abounds.

(Photo credit: Joni Koneval)

Kent State University’s School of Theatre and Dance begins it 2015-2016 season with Carlo Goldoni’s classic comedy The Servant of Two Masters. The production is directed and adapted by this year’s Roe Green Visiting Director Tracy Young, and runs through Sunday, Oct. 18, in Wright-Curtis Theatre, located in the Center for the Performing Arts at 1325 Theatre Drive in Kent.

For tickets, call 330-672-ARTS (2787), purchase online at www.kent.edu/theatredance or in person at the Performing Arts Box Office located in the Roe Green Center lobby of the Center for the Performing Arts at 1325 Theatre Drive in Kent. The box office is open Monday to Friday, noon to 5 p.m. Tickets are $18 for adults, $16 for Kent State alumni, faculty and staff, $14 for seniors (60+) and $10 for non-Kent State students, age 18 and under. Tickets are free for full-time, Kent Campus undergraduate students. Groups of 10 or more can purchase tickets for $12 per person. Flex pass subscriptions also are available. The box office accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, check and cash.

Written by Goldoni and adapted by Oded Gross and Young, The Servant of Two Masters is a masterpiece of commedia dell’arte. The hilarious comedy demonstrates what happens when you combine a sister disguised as her brother, a fiancé returned from the dead, a lover accused of murder and an always-hungry servant who decides one master is not enough.

An accomplished director and adapter, Young, who directs The Servant of Two Masters, has credits at Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Marin Theatre Co., Playmakers Rep, Great Lakes Theater, Yale Rep, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, Los Angeles Theatre Center and Lincoln Center Theater.

The production and design team includes choreography by Kent State Assistant Professor Courtney Brown, scenic design by Associate Professor Raynette Smith, technical direction by Associate Professor Steve Pauna, lighting design by Kent State graduate student Tom West, costume design by Associate Professor S.Q. Campbell, and sound design by Kent State theatre studies student Alex Toth. Abbey Matye, Kent State theatre studies student, serves as production stage manager.

Now in its 13th year, the Roe Green Visiting Director Series was established following a donation from local arts patron and activist Roe Green. Through this generous gift, the School of Theatre and Dance invites a guest professional director each year to work in residency with students and direct one of the school's main stage productions. Previous guest directors include Tony Award winner Michael Rupert, Victoria Bussert, Vincent Dowling and Sue Ott Rowlands.