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“Our challenges are many, our resources are great and our commitment is real.” �鶹��ý President Todd Diacon drove home the focus of his inaugural address with passion, purpose and a direct call to action for the university community.

�鶹��ý’s aviation design challenge, SkyHack, will take place Nov. 1-3. The event draws college students from around the nation, attracting 120 students from 14 universities in four states in its 2017 inaugural debut. Kent State’s College of Aeronautics and Engineering will serve as home base for this year’s event, which will span across other Kent Campus buildings.

In an era that has seen the number of podcasts grow exponentially, the debate over May 4 is well-suited for those who wish to share their views and memories, often uninterrupted via a longer format than traditional storytelling.

Organizers of the recent Voices for Change Educator’s Summit at �鶹��ý say the curriculum developed at the event can be used by teachers worldwide, so that the lessons of May 4, 1970, will continue to be shared. The summit, held in August, was one about 100 events planned for the 2019-20 academic year to support the 50th commemoration of May 4, 1970, the day when Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on Kent State students protesting the U.S. invasion of Cambodia during the Vietnam War, killing four and wounding nine.

This fall, more than 900 students transferred to �鶹��ý. National Transfer Student Week is Oct. 21-25, and the university is hosting events specifically designed for transfer students, creating opportunities for these students and the Kent State community to engage.

As the champagne flowed Oct. 15 in the clubhouse of the National League Champion Washington Nationals, there was a �鶹��ý connection in the middle of the frenzy that capped the team’s first trip to the World Series.

Technology and computers have always interested �鶹��ý College of Nursing Senior Lecturer Jeremy Jarzembak, RN, who co-coordinates the Olga A. Mural Simulation Lab and teaches informatics at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

Guests of �鶹��ý’s May 4 Visitors Center can learn more about Jeffrey Miller, one of the four students shot and killed by the Ohio National Guard on May 4, 1970, by visiting “Our Brother Jeff,” a new exhibition at the visitors center that honors Miller’s life. The exhibition will be on display from Oct. 19, 2019, to Feb. 29, 2020. Russ Miller, Jeff’s brother, helped create the exhibition by loaning some of Jeff’s personal items to the May 4 Visitors Center. 

Kent State’s Precision Flight ranked third overall last week at the Region III Safecon, Competition at The Ohio State University (OSU) securing its place in the national competition. The National Intercollegiate Flight Association (NIFA) SAFECON flight competition, the premier collegiate flight competition with over 500 competitors from more than 30 schools, will be held at Oshkosh, Wisconsin, May 18-23, 2020.

Mitch Landrieu, the New Orleans mayor who oversaw the removal of the city’s prominent Confederate monuments and helped his city to recover and reemerge from a series of natural disasters, will speak at Kent State as part of the university’s May 4 Speaker Series.

�鶹��ý's Esports team won the Hearthstone finals at the Harrisburg University Esports (HUE) Invitational held in mid-September. The Esports team was among 64 collegiate teams invited to the competition. The team took the Hearthstone champion title, winning against ten other universities.

Once it begins, Alzheimer’s disease progresses systematically and aggressively, attacking victims on multiple fronts. But scientists studying the disease operate the same way – like �鶹��ý’s own Gemma Casadesus Smith, Ph.D.

�鶹��ý’s favorite unofficial mascot – the famous black squirrel – needs your help to get ready for Halloween. Squirrel-O-Ween allows the Kent State community to dress up an animated black squirrel with the latest spooky costumes and props and share with friends on social and digital media.

The first priority of �鶹��ý’s strategic roadmap is to ensure that students have the education, experiences and support they need to graduate and to live successful, satisfying lives in their work and in their commitment to become engaged citizens. The university’s Academic Success Center team is making that priority its priority with the creation of the Academic Success Plan (ASP), a new application that gives students easier and quicker access to resources that will help them succeed in class.

Minority, low-income and first-generation college students are often underrepresented in graduate schools. To change this and to help students realize their potential, the McNair Scholars Program at �鶹��ý provides assistance to underrepresented students who consider pursuing a doctoral degree.  

While student voting nationwide doubled since 2014, the �鶹��ý student voting rate has increased 135% from 2014 to 2018, according to a recent report from the National Study of Learning, Voting and Engagement, conducted by the Institute for Democracy & Higher Education at Tufts University’s Tisch College of Civic Life.

One of �鶹��ý’s most prolific and renowned researchers has been elected to the European Academy of Sciences. Quan Li, Ph.D., Senior Research Fellow in Kent State’s Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute, joins the prestigious Brussels-based organization that has about 660 members from 45 nations, including 65 Nobel Prize and Fields Medal winners.

From Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, different countries, cities and communities around the world – including the �鶹��ý community –  have been celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. As Kent State’s population of Hispanic and Latino students continues to grow each year, students, faculty, organizations and departments are taking the time to acknowledge the month through a series of discussion, events, dancing and even theatrical plays.

As we approach the 2020 presidential election, college campuses have become charged with energy from the differences throughout the student body. Channel 5 News asked Kent State College Republicans, “what’s it like being a Republican on a college campus right now?”

The School of Theatre and Dance’s Design, Technology and Production program has been selected by On Stage Blog as one of the top 30 programs for the 2019-2020 academic year.