Congratulations to Dr. Joseph Ortiz, one of six Kent State faculty members presented with the 2020 President's Faculty Excellence Award, which recognizes exceptional performance that leads to the achievement of national or international recognition. Joseph Ortiz, Ph.D., is a professor in the Department of Geology. His research focuses on paleoclimate change and water quality, particularly in the Great Lakes and Lake Erie. He research is widely known and has had major impacts on the impact of human influences on the water quality of Lake Erie and its neighboring watershed. His knowledg...
Apple and Google partnered in early April to create a new smartphone app that uses Bluetooth to track coronavirus cases. Using a technology called contact tracing, the app alerts a user when they come in contact with someone who has been positively diagnosed with COVID-19. Apple and Google focus on a promise of privacy and data security, however, there are still concerns as contact tracing is new in the way of mobile technology. Gokarna Sharma, Ph.D., assistant professor in Computer Science and the director of Scalable Computer Architecture & Emerging Technologies Laboratory (SCALE) i...
Kent State’s famous food truck, known for its mouth-watering pulled pork sandwiches and fresh-cut french fries, is now becoming known for giving back to its community. Kent State is loaning its campus food truck to Aramark to provide meals to students from Kent, Elyria and Lorain City School Districts who are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus outbreak has caused all schools in Northeast Ohio to close and move to online learning, which has spiked the concern of how meals will be provided to students who depend on school lunches. Through the university's food truck, Ken...
Since a traditional pinning celebration was not possible due to COVID-19 physical distancing restrictions, recent ºÚÁÏÍø at Tuscarawas Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) program graduates received their nursing pins and special recognition through an innovative drive thru procession that wound through campus on Thursday, May 7. The pinning ceremony is a time-honored nursing school tradition signifying the nursing student’s official initiation into the brotherhood and sisterhood of nurses. “We could not have a traditional ceremony, so a nursing pinning drive thru was he...
The COVID-19 pandemic halted ºÚÁÏÍø’s plans for the 2020 Environmental Science and Design Symposium, but it hasn’t impeded the spirit of the conference. In late April, Environmental Science and Design Research Initiative (ESDRI) leadership, in collaboration with representatives from the university’s Design Innovation (DI) Initiative, hosted virtual events to keep symposium registrants engaged, and celebrate students’ research projects. “We were a little heartbroken, after all the efforts of a full year, to have to cancel the in-person conference, but I’m very thankful for work...
In honor of the class of 2020, we are profiling a very recent alum, Linden Lehner and her business, Linden Lane Artworks. How did the idea for your business come about? I grew up around talented artists and taking art classes in high school, sparking my passions in the art industry. While studying at Kent State, I thought I was going to study Art History to learn more about the culture and what it takes to bring to life an art gallery. I also took entrepreneurship classes to pair it. Half way through my first semester in Art History, I gave that a big good-bye and took marketing as my m...
Using ºÚÁÏÍø’s exceptional student support and career resources, senior aerospace engineering major Sydney Bihn followed her instincts to her true career calling. Since high school, Sydney Bihn’s plan was to become a teacher, specifically in middle childhood education. When it came time to choose a university, she wanted to stay in Ohio to take advantage of in-state tuition. She visited several Ohio universities, including the University of Toledo, Bowling Green State University, Ohio State University and Miami University. Then, she and her father ...
Division of People, Culture and Belonging
Your Employee Wellness Team is eager for the day we can all safely return to work, and we look forward to seeing your smiling faces once again. Employee health and safety continue to be our main priority, so we will continue to heed advice from University leaders and Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. As of now, the Wellness Your Way Tier 1 deadline has been extended to Aug. 31. Should any additional changes need to be made, we will provide updates as the COVID-19 situation unfolds. To accommodate those employees still working on Tier 1 of the Wellness Your Way rewards pro...