eInside Events

Kent State to Celebrate Retiring President Lefton at April 4 Reception

Kent State University President Lester
A. Lefton will retire as the university’s
11th president on July 1. A reception
and celebration to honor Lefton will take
place on Friday, April 4.

A reception and celebration to honor Kent State University President Lester A. Lefton will take place on Friday, April 4, from 4-5:30 p.m. at the Kent Student Center Ballroom. The event, which is hosted by the Kent State Board of Trustees, is open to all faculty, staff, students, alumni and members of the community. Refreshments will be served.

Lefton, who will retire as Kent State’s 11th president on July 1, has served as the university’s chief executive officer since July 1, 2006. The university achieved significant accomplishments during his time as Kent State president, including record student enrollment, retention and graduation numbers; the town-gown partnership that resulted in the revitalization of downtown Kent; the university’s Centennial Campaign that raised a record-breaking $265 million; and the “Foundations of Excellence: Building the Future” campus improvement program that is transforming Kent State’s campuses to meet world-class standards.

“This year, and for the past seven years, President Lefton has delivered on his primary goal – ensuring in every way possible that we improve retention and develop the quality experiences and facilities that are appropriate for the aspirations of our students,” Kent State Board Chair Jane Murphy Timken said at the most recent Kent State Board of Trustees meeting. “We’ve grown our enrollment by more than 26 percent and raised our profile as a university of choice, and it has been instrumental to our academic and financial health. We believe his tenure will be remembered as a dynamic time for Kent State.”

The reception will feature a video presentation and remarks from Todd Diacon, Kent State’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost; Alfreda Brown, vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion; and Evan Gildenblatt, the university’s special assistant for Federal Relations in Washington, D.C., and a former executive director for Kent State’s Undergraduate Student Government. Lefton also will make remarks at the event.

Wick Poetry Center Welcomes Two-time U.S. Poet Laureate

Two-time U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser will celebrate
National Poetry Month at the Kent State University Wick
Poetry Center's third annual U.S. Poet Laureate Reading
on April 10.

Celebrate National Poetry Month at Kent State University with the third annual U.S. Poet Laureate Reading featuring two-time U.S. Poet Laureate Ted Kooser on April 10.

Kooser will lead a discussion and Q&A in the University Library's Quiet Study Area at 2:15 p.m. Later that evening, Kooser will give a poetry reading at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Kiva, followed by a reception and book signing. Both events are free and open to the public.

“We are thrilled to bring Ted Kooser to Kent State for our third annual U.S. Poet Laureate Reading, an annual series that has been created in collaboration with the University Libraries,” says David Hassler, director of Kent State’s Wick Poetry Center.

Appointed by the librarian of the U.S. Congress, Kooser held the position of U.S. Poet Laureate from 2004 to 2006. His numerous collections of poetry include Flying at Night, Delights & Shadows, One World at a Time and Sure Signs. He has received many honors for his writing including a Pushcart Prize, the Stanley Kunitz Prize from Columbia and the Pulitzer Prize.

Kooser was born in Ames, Iowa, in 1939. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Iowa State and his M.A. in English from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Today, he lives with his wife near the village of Garland, Neb. He spends his time teaching as a professor in the English department at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

“Those who attend Kooser’s reading and his talk will hear poetry that is not difficult or obtuse, but rather both highly accessible and deeply profound and resonant,” says Hassler. “This will be a remarkable reading.”

For more information about Kent State’s Wick Poetry Center, visit www.kent.edu/wick.

Jewish Studies Program to Co-host Events in Remembrance of the Holocaust

Author Bernd Wollschlaeger, M.D., will speak on the topic
“The Anatomy of Hate: A Personal Perspective” on
April 17 at Kent State University as part of events marking
the remembrance of the Holocaust.

The Jewish Studies Program at Kent State University will co-host two events in April in remembrance of the Holocaust. On April 8, Kent State’s Department of History and the Jewish Studies Program will host Peter Black, Ph.D., senior historian of the United States Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., who will present “Investigations of Nazi Offenders in the United States: The Office of Special Investigations, 1977-2010.” The event will be held at 7 p.m. in Room 306 at Cartwright Hall. Refreshments will be available before the presentation.

On April 17, the Jewish Studies Program and Hillel at Kent State will host Bernd Wollschlaeger, M.D., author of A German Life: Against All Odds Change is Possible, to discuss his experience of having a highly decorated Nazi officer as a father. In his talk, “The Anatomy of Hate: A Personal Perspective,” Wollschlaeger will detail his journey of self-discovery and conversion to Judaism. The event will be held at 7 p.m. in Room 317 at the Kent Student Center, with a reception to follow.

Student Recreation and Wellness Center will Celebrate 15 Years with Daylong Event

A patron climbs the rock wall at Kent
State University's Student Recreation and
Wellness Center. The Student Recreation
and Wellness Center will commemorate its
15th anniversary on April 5 with a daylong
open house.

The Kent State University Student Recreation and Wellness Center will be open for 15 hours to commemorate its 15th anniversary on April 5. A free event or demonstration will begin every hour from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., and the entire facility will be open-house all day.

“This means anybody can come in — community, member, non-member,” says Abby Millsaps, marketing coordinator for the Department of Recreational Services. “Anybody can come in for free, all day long. We want people in here to see what we’ve got going on and take part in the special events.”

The daylong celebration will begin with a breakfast for charter members — those who have been members of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center since its opening 15 years ago. Food samples and cooking demonstrations will take place during lunchtime, with a health and wellness expo featuring local vendors from 2 to 5 p.m. Anyone older than 16 must present a photo ID to gain free admittance that day.

“We hope to have good representation from the community and something that will interest everybody,” Millsaps says.

A Family Dive-In Movie at 9 p.m. will feature Frozen. Those interested in attending must reserve their free tickets ahead of time.

Other events will include stand-up paddleboard yoga, canoe Battleship and a disco black-out hula hoop class. Free massages and tours of the recreational center also will be available. Attendees who are interested in becoming members can take advantage of membership sales and special offers that day.

The Student Recreation and Wellness Center celebrated yearly anniversaries its first five years of operation and commemorated its 10th year.

“This is significant to us,” Millsaps says. “We haven’t really celebrated with a big event like this for the last five years. We take a lot of pride in this building, and we’re excited to celebrate 15 years.”

For more information and to reserve movie tickets, visit www.kent.edu/recservices.

Acclaimed Ensemble HD Performs Music From Cleveland’s Happy Dog at Kent State

Cleveland Orchestra musicians perform new music in Kent State’s Ludwig Recital Hall

The Cleveland Orchestra associate concertmaster,
violinist Jung-Min Amy Lee, and Ensemble HD will perform
at Kent State University on Monday, March 31, at 8 p.m.,
in Ludwig Recital Hall.

The Cleveland Orchestra associate concertmaster, violinist Jung-Min Amy Lee, and Ensemble HD will perform at Kent State University on Monday, March 31, at 8 p.m., in Ludwig Recital Hall. Ludwig Recital Hall is located in the Center for the Performing Arts at 1325 Theatre Drive on the Kent Campus. For tickets, call the Performing Arts Box Office at 330-672-2787 or online at www.kent.edu/music.

Ensemble HD brings to Kent State a new and refreshing take on classical music. The ensemble is led by Joshua Smith, principal flute of the Cleveland Orchestra, and includes Christina Dahl, associate professor of music at Stony Brook, and Cleveland Orchestra members Lee, Frank Rosenwein, Charles Bernard and Joanna Patterson Zakany. Together, they have gained national attention with their performances at the Happy Dog Bar on Cleveland’s near West Side, bringing classical music to new audiences.

The program will include a wonderful array of compositions from the contemporary repertoire such as Mirrors (1997) for flute and cello by the highly acclaimed Finnish composer Kaija Saariaho; A Bird Came Down the Walk (1994) for viola and piano by the distinguished Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu; Little Eye (1999) for cello and “four non-percussionists” by 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning composer David Lang; and Lachen Verlernt (Laughing Unlearnt) (2002) for solo violin by Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen. The first half of the program will conclude with the virtuoso tour-de-force Sequenza VII (1968) for solo oboe and drone by Italian composer Luciano Berio.

Richard King, principal horn of the Cleveland Orchestra, will join Lee and pianist Randall Fusco for the featured work of the program, Trio for Violin, Horn and Piano, by 20th-century composer György Ligeti.

Tickets for the performance are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and Kent State faculty and staff, $10 for groups of 10 or more patrons, $8 for non-Kent State students, $5 for children and free for full-time Kent Campus undergraduate students.

Tickets are available weekdays, noon to 5 p.m. at the Performing Arts Box Office, located in the lobby of the Roe Green Center in the Center for the Performing Arts at 1325 Theatre Drive in Kent. The Performing Arts Box Office accepts Visa, MasterCard and Discover, in addition to cash and checks.

The Ludwig Recital Hall box office will open one hour prior to the performance for walk-up sales and will accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Tickets and more information are available by calling 330-672-ARTS (2787) or visiting www.kent.edu/music.

Kent State University Department of Recreational Services Hosts Fourth Annual Black Squirrel 5K

Participants in the annual Black Squirrel 5k Race, named
after Kent State's unofficial mascot, run across the Kent
Campus. This year's race will take place April 12..

Kent State University’s Department of Recreational Services will host the fourth annual Black Squirrel 5K on Saturday, April 12. The spring race is named after the university’s unofficial mascot. The race starts and ends at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center, which offers plenty of parking, indoor registration, restroom and locker room facilities.

“It’s a great race because it kicks off the race season for serious runners, and we have people who just do it for fun,” says Abby Millsaps, marketing coordinator for Recreational Services. “It’s also great because a 5K is a really accessible distance for first-time runners.”

The race is a loop through the Kent Campus, and participants are tracked with a chip timing system. A free buffet and awards ceremony, featuring prizes from local vendors, will take place immediately following the race.

The Black Squirrel 5K has hosted 600-700 participants in the past.

“I think at the heart of it, the Black Squirrel 5K is a community event,” says Millsaps. “You will see Kent State students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the Kent community and surrounding communities all coming together for this race.”

Registration is $25 per person now through April 7. Late registration and day-of registration are available for $30 after April 7. The first 600 registered participants will receive a gender-cut performance T-shirt.

Race check in will take place on Friday, April 11, from 6 - 9 p.m. at the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Runners may also check-in before the race from 7-7:30 a.m. in the lobby of the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. Due to insurance limitations, headphones, baby joggers, inline skates and animals are not permitted. Recreational Services reserves the right to refuse any entry.

For more information about the Black Squirrel 5K Race or to register online, visit www.kent.edu/recservices/blacksquirrel.

Art M.F.A. Students Featured in Thesis Show

Artwork by Kent State University School of Art students
Shawn Kerns, Junji Miyazawa, Ryan Osbourne and Nick
Skowron will be featured as part of the M.F.A. Thesis
Group Show, open April 1 - 4 at the School of Art Galleries.

Four M.F.A. candidates at the Kent State University School of Art will present their work as part of the M.F.A. Thesis Group Show, open April 1 - 4 at the School of Art Galleries. The exhibition will feature work from School of Art students Shawn Kerns, Junji Miyazawa, Ryan Osbourne and Nick Skowron. Miyazawa's and Osbourne’s theses will be installed in the School of Art Gallery on the second floor of the Art Building, Kerns’ in the Sculpture Gallery on the first floor, and Skowron’s in the Painting Gallery on the third floor.

There will be a reception for the show on April 3 from 5 to 7 p.m., during which all three galleries will be open to the public. Normal operating hours for the School of Art Gallery are Tuesday to Friday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the Sculpture and Painting Galleries are open by appointment.

For more information, contact Anderson Turner, director of galleries, at haturner@kent.edu or 330-672-1369.

University Bookstore Holds Book Launch and Signing Party on April 9

The University Bookstore at Kent State University will hold
a book launch and signing party on April 9 for Lost in
Oscar Hotel: There is Something in the Air, a book written
by Joe Murray, Ph.D., associate professor at Kent
State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Murray and his flying partner Ron Siwik (not pictured), flew
vintage planes and landed them in all 88 counties in Ohio.

The University Bookstore at Kent State University will hold a book launch and signing party for Lost in Oscar Hotel: There is Something in the Air, a book written by Joe Murray, Ph.D., associate professor at Kent State’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 9, from noon to 2 p.m. at the University Bookstore in the Kent Student Center. The event is free and open to the public, and refreshments will be served.

Murray, a pilot who enjoys flying vintage airplanes in Ohio airfields, chronicles his record-breaking flight across the state of Ohio in his debut book that features 65 color photographs.

Read more about Murray’s journey across the state of Ohio.

For more information about the University Bookstore, visit www.kent.bkstr.com.

Creativity to be Celebrated At First Kent State Mini Maker Faire®

Applications now being accepted for makers and vendors for April 24 event

Members of the Kent State University community will have
the opportunity to exhibit their work and explore new
technologies and creative processes at the first Kent State
Mini Maker Faire® on April 24.

Makers across all disciplines, from art and design to technology and science, will now have the opportunity to exhibit and discuss their unique talents in one environment at the first Kent State Mini Maker Faire® to be held on April 24 from noon to 4 p.m. on the first floor of the University Library.

Developed in collaboration with the Fashion School’s TechStyle LAB, the College of Architecture and Environmental Design, University Libraries and the Blackstone LaunchPad program, the Kent State Mini Maker Faire will offer a venue for students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as the greater Kent community, to exhibit their work, explore new technologies and creative processes and talk firsthand with makers while sharing information and resources.

“The College of the Arts is excited to sponsor the Maker Faire through a new internal grant award process called Catalyst Interdisciplinary Projects,” says John Crawford, dean of the College of the Arts. “The Catalyst awards are meant to promote creativity and collaboration across disciplines both within and outside the arts college. The Maker Faire will bring artists, entrepreneurs and collaborators together to explore new ideas and innovations."

“Our respective programs saw a natural affinity in bringing Maker Faire to Kent State University based on the wide range of resources our departments collectively provide the community and the makers we come in contact with regularly,” says Kevin Wolfgang, manager of the TechStyle LAB. “Kent State University has a well-developed maker culture, and we look forward to highlighting and fostering that talent and creativity through this event.”

The event is free and open to the public. Individuals interested in participating and exhibiting at the Maker Faire or who wish to learn more about the event can visit http://makerfairekent.com. Applications are being accepted until April 14.

Maker Faire is a place where people show what they are making, and share what they are learning. Makers range from tech enthusiasts to crafters to homesteaders to scientists and garage tinkerers. They are of all ages and backgrounds. More than 100 Maker Faires are held annually around the world. The aim of Maker Faire is to entertain, inform, connect and grow communities.

Kent State University at Stark Theatre Presents Our House

Kent State University at Stark Theatre will present Our
House, as the third and final theatrical event of the 2013-14
season.

Kent State University at Stark Theatre proudly presents Theresa Rebeck’s dark comedy, Our House, as the third and final theatrical event of the 2013-14 season. Performances will take place on April 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 8 p.m. and on April 6 and 13 at 2:30 p.m. in the Kent State Stark Theatre, 6000 Frank Avenue NW in Jackson Township. American Sign Language interpretation will be provided for the performance on April 13 at 2:30 p.m. Opening night is Scholarship Night with proceeds benefiting students in Kent State Stark theatre and music programs.

An arrogant television executive faced with dwindling ratings hires America’s favorite news anchor to host a popular reality show. Meanwhile, a TV addict with an unhealthy obsession for her teeters is on the edge as tensions in his house rise and explode into a drama that holds the nation riveted. Filled with comedic satire, Our House examines a culture that is fascinated with transforming sobering crisis into sexy entertainment (For mature audiences only, due to violent content and strong language).

Ticket prices are $10 for adults and $7 for non-Kent State students, children under 17 and senior citizens. All Kent State students are admitted free with current student ID. Reserve tickets online at www.stark.kent.edu/theatre or call the Kent State Stark Theatre Box Office at 330-244-3348, Mondays through Fridays, from 1 to 5 p.m.

Directing Our House is Kent State Stark Assistant Professor of Theatre and Theatre Director Brian Newberg. Louis Williams is the scenic and lighting designer, Susan Blurton is the costume designer and Ron Jarvis is the sound designer.

Celebrating Kent State Entrepreneurs: The Blackstone LaunchPad Recognition Breakfast and Student Expo

Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Color Jar and founding team member of Priceline.com, to speak at April 1 event

Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Color Jar
and founding team member of
Priceline.com, will serve as keynote
speaker at the first Blackstone LaunchPad
Recognition Breakfast and Student Expo
on April 1 in the Kent Student Center
Ballroom.

Kent State University's thriving entrepreneurial culture will be highlighted at the first Blackstone LaunchPad Recognition Breakfast and Student Expo on April 1 in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.

The breakfast will serve as an opportunity to recognize the achievements of Kent State entrepreneurs, past, present and future, as well as showcase current Blackstone LaunchPad student entrepreneurs in the accompanying student expo where students will be able to network, sell their products or services and discuss their businesses with event attendees.

'"We welcome students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to join us as we celebrate the success of our client entrepreneurs and recognize our many university and community partners," says Julie Messing, executive director of entrepreneurship initiatives at Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad. "Blackstone LaunchPad at Kent State has expanded beyond our expectations during the first 18 months of our program. We are thrilled to recognize our partners in launching this collaborative program that is reaching across the university and feature our client businesses who have benefited from our services.”

The featured keynote speaker for the event is Jeff Hoffman, co-founder of Color Jar and founding team member of Priceline.com, who serves as a venture coach in the regional Northeast Ohio Blackstone LaunchPad Venture Coaching program coordinated by the Burton D. Morgan Foundation.

“As a mentor in the Blackstone LaunchPad program, I am so impressed with the program's open and collaborative approach,” Hoffman says. “The program serves students of all majors and hosts many innovative events that help students who have never considered entrepreneurship to see the benefits of creating their own companies and designing the dreams jobs of their future. Kent State students already have that ‘get it done’ attitude, and the LaunchPad program helps them accelerate down the path to an amazing future.”

The breakfast is free and open to the public, but guests are required to register at www.eventbrite.com/e/kent-state-entrepreneurial-expo-awards-tickets-9207837891 in order to attend. The doors open at 7:30 a.m. with opening remarks and the keynote address at 8 a.m., followed by the awards presentations at 8:45 a.m. and the student expo at 9:15 a.m.

Blackstone LaunchPad at Kent State promotes entrepreneurship as a viable career path. Through meetings, mentoring, workshops and events, Blackstone LaunchPad helps Kent State students, faculty, staff and alumni to create new businesses or grow existing start-ups in Northeast Ohio.

For more information about Kent State’s Blackstone LaunchPad, visit www.kent.edu/blackstonelaunchpad.