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National First-Generation College Celebration is on Nov. 8, and Kent State is hosting a weeklong celebration filled with campus-wide activities and learning opportunities to recognize students who will be the first in their family to graduate with a four-year degree.

For senior mechatronics engineering major Delonte Goodman, the road to higher education was not the easiest. But as a high school student who caught the eye of NASA and can understand electrical and mechanical processes in everyday ATM transactions, he has bravely paved his way as a successful first-generation college student at �鶹����.

Resilience is the ability to adapt to new situations and ever changing environments and resilient individuals more easily navigate professional and personal uncertainties. Researchers Shannon Navy and Lisa Borgerding understand the importance of an adaptable mindset and work to discern the factors that progressively impact one’s ability to maintain their role as an educator. A $1,000,000 grant from the National Science Foundation allows a new project to focus on identifying and describing the development of resilience among new teachers, which can inform education and professional learning programs.  

�鶹���� held its annual Veterans Day Commemoration in person at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 10, at Risman Plaza on the Kent Campus.

Julia Hallgren didn’t know the student in front of her. She didn’t need to. “The student closed the door after they said they felt suicidal, (so) I knew I had to do something,” Hallgren said.

Ohio’s opioid epidemic is one of the worst in the country. One �鶹���� professor and his team are aiming to change that. Deric Kenne in the College of Public Health received a five-year, $2.6 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to expand and enhance services for opioid use disorder treatment in Summit County, Ohio. A significant portion of the funding will go to CHC Addiction Services to enhance and expand medication-assisted treatment programming.

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded �鶹���� a nearly $1.2 million, five-year TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers program grant. The program is designed to provide support services to qualified adults, including veterans, who want to enter or continue a program of postsecondary education. 

�鶹����, which has gained national recognition for its creative and successful Giving Tuesday campaigns, launched its monthlong celebration of philanthropy on Nov. 1. Giving Tuesday, now in its eighth year at Kent State, has raised nearly $7 million during that time, which illuminates the impact that can be made when Golden Flashes come together.

Lamar R. Hylton, Ph.D., �鶹����’s senior vice president for student affairs, has been named the recipient of the NASPA (Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) Region IV-East Scott Goodnight Award for Outstanding Senior Student Affairs Officer for 2021, named to Crain’s Cleveland Business Forty Under 40, selected as a recipient of the American College Personnel Association (ACPA) Diamond Honoree award and is a member of the 2022 class of the NASPA Pillars of the Profession award.

The Rubber City Theatre in Akron, Ohio, will host the play "Love in Reserve" by career storyteller, U.S. Army veteran, award-winning journalist and playwright Eric Mansfield. At �鶹����, many know Mansfield from his role as assistant vice president for content strategy and communications in the Division of University Communications and Marketing.

When it comes to our physical health, regular upkeep and preventative measures are not only expected, but encouraged within our society. However, mental health disorders have yet to be looked upon with the same grace and understanding. Kristen Marcussen, associate professor in the Department of Sociology & Criminology, was recently awarded funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for her proposal titled, “Understanding Social Stigma, Stigma Resistance and the Mental Illness Identity.”

For its fourth consecutive year, the �鶹���� Honors College is hosting “Career Conversations,” a series of alumni speaking events which take place throughout the fall semester.

Representatives from �鶹���� and the city of Kent will hold a community meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 27, called “A Vision of a Village” to share information and answer questions about a new residential complex designed to integrate the city of Kent and Kent State, physically and programmatically.

Last year Kent State faculty and staff surprised first-year students with check-in phone calls for The Flashes Take Care of Flashes call campaign. The outcome was a huge success and has driven the university to host another campaign this fall. It is scheduled to run from Nov. 2-12, but the university needs many faculty and staff volunteers to make it possible to call 4,000 students. Volunteers are encouraged to register by Wednesday, Oct. 27.

The largest single gift in �鶹���� history, by Ambassador Edward F. Crawford, will complete the capital campaign to enable the construction of a new College of Business Administration building on the university’s Kent Campus. 

Kent State alumnus Don Drumm, ‘86, was featured in the Akron Beacon Journal for celebrating the 50th anniversary of Don Drumm Studios and Gallery. Using sand-cast aluminum to create his art, he has decades of experience using a foundry to create his artistic visions.

 Kent Skates will be a new, outdoor ice skating rink that will be free and open to the public. It will be open from Nov. 20 through Feb. 28. Use of the rink will be free, along with free skate rental.

As once stated by educational Pioneer and famous American Philosopher John Dewey, all that we learn is derived from experience. Kent State continues to foster innovation and promote the development of hands-on learning through various collaborative efforts focused on building experience and training. Among the opportunities offered through the university, the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) Program provides undergraduate students with the chance to engage in an intensive research project during the summer break.

Roseann “Chic” Canfora, Ph.D., is a Professional-in-Residence at �鶹���� in the School of Media and Journalism, part of the College of Communication and Information. Prior to teaching at Kent State, Canfora served as the chief communications officer for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and taught high school journalism and speech. Canfora was also a student at Kent State, starting in 1968, and is a survivor of the May 4, 1970, shootings at Kent State. She graduated with her master’s in journalism and public relations and bachelor’s in English/speech. She is heavily involved in activism as well.

“You can’t expect journalists to do this type of hurdling long-term without holistic support that includes logistical elements," claims Assistant Professor and TV2 advisor Gretchen Hoak, "but also mental and emotional support."