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Many professors have certain influences that inspire them to teach. For David Kaplan, Ph.D., professor in ������'s Department of Geography, that inspiration comes from his father.   “My father was a university professor in psychology, and I remember well the dedication he brought to his job and to his students,” Dr. Kaplan says.   Dr. Kaplan is one of three educators honored with the Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest teaching award a tenured or tenure-track professor can receive. The award is sponsored by the ������ Alumni Associ...

Hear how ������ student Daisy Smith discovered her purpose at Kent State. Learn more at www.kent.edu/discoveringpurpose.               ...

Their hugs were tight, and their words were often soft and tearful.   Still, those who gathered on a windy night on ������’s Risman Plaza on Oct. 29 came together to not only reflect on the recent tragedy in Pittsburgh but to also lift one another up during a time that has shaken many while taking a deep, emotional toll. Many said they just needed to be together on this night. In all, about 125 students, faculty, staff and community members gathered with candles and songs to remember the 11 victims gunned down in a Pittsburgh synagogue. Among those in attendance...

Big city dreams. Growing up Mennonite at his family’s Sugarcreek-area farm, Kent Weaver considered Canton a big city. Now this self-described country boy is headed to the state capital. A graduate of ������ at Stark, Mr. Weaver said the campus served as a conduit, channeling his sense of purpose that began when he was a child. Caring for the animals on his parents’ farm, he first harnessed his calling. Now, he’s making that dream come true. This fall, Mr. Weaver is attending Ohio State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, one of the top veterinary schools in the count...

������ will hold its annual Veterans Day observance on Thursday, Nov. 8, at 11 a.m. at the Kent Student Center Kiva. The program, Honoring All Who Serve, will include a flag-raising ceremony conducted by a joint color guard from the university’s Army and Air Force ROTC programs on the Student Green at Risman Plaza at 10:30 a.m., the national anthem performed by Momentum and remarks from Kent State President Beverly J. Warren and guest speaker Maj. Russell Galeti Jr. Maj. Galeti graduated from Kent State in 2005 and has served more than 20 years in the Ohio Army Nation...

The ������ women’s rugby team found themselves facing a literal bump in the road on their way to a rugby match on Oct. 7. The drive to the match stopped short when the players came upon a large tree that had fallen into the middle of Summit Road. Clyde Gesaman of Ravenna Township stood outside, directing cars around the fallen tree in an attempt to prevent an accident. “I was flagging down cars trying to stop them before they would hit the tree,” Mr. Gesman writes in an email. “Then, a car stopped and two girls got out. They said they were part of a group of cars going to a w...

When Kellie Miley graduated from Rootstown High School in 2008, she is the first to admit she was not ready for college. In high school, she barely cracked a book yet managed a 3.2 grade point average (GPA). Getting by with little effort changed when she started as a freshman at ������. By the end of the year, Ms. Miley found herself academically dismissed for poor grades. “I wasn’t ready for college,” she recalls. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was, kind of, just there. I didn’t know how to study. I didn’t have to in high school.”  Three years later, with h...

Another October, another Columbus Day. But if Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492, why does the United States bear the name of Amerigo Vespucci, an explorer who did not come along until 1499? It has to do with a great public relations campaign on Vespucci’s part, and stubbornness on Columbus’ part for refusing to admit that he had discovered new lands, not Asia, explains Matthew Crawford, Ph.D., ������ associate professor of history, in an article in the online magazine Live Science. Dr. Crawford features prominently in an article by author Laura Geggel for Lives...

������ at Salem recognized the academic achievements of several students during its recent scholarship reception The awards and recipients are: Alumni Insurance Studies Scholarship: Jennifer Buck Amy Dervin Michele Quinn College Credit Plus Salem Opportunity Scholarship: Emily Anderson Renee Bishop Chase Blakeman Logan Cardinal Madeleine Hinkle Madison Krug Brianna Luttmers Baylee McCandless Katherine Renouf John Rupert Courtney Family Scholarship: Renee Bishop Mackenzie Godwin Alexis Johnson Davey Tree Expert Scho...