Photograph by Gary Harwood, ‘83
| | Migrant workers harvest radishes during a light rain on the K.W. Zellers and Son family farm in Hartville, Ohio. This photo is among those published in Growing Season: The Life of a Migrant Community, published by Kent State University Press. |
News FlashUniversity news and events update for Winter 2006
'Growing Season' Cultivates Community Every year, hundreds of migrant farm workers labor in the fields of Hartville, Ohio, harvesting crops that feed Americans all over the country. Worlds away from their Mexican heritage, they form a tightly knit, self-reliant community, bonded by shared experience and tradition. Kent State is intimately connected to this community. Dozens of students and faculty from Kent State’s adult nurse-practitioner and language translation programs spend their summers as volunteers at the Hartville Migrant Health Clinic, ensuring migrant farmers receive the quality health care they deserve. While on assignment for Kent State Magazine, university photographer Gary Harwood, ‘83, was first introduced to this community in 2001. With text by David Hassler, director of outreach for the Kent State Wick Poetry Center, Harwood has since illuminated the migrant way of life — a way of life rarely glimpsed by outsiders — in Growing Season: The Life of a Migrant Community, published by Kent State University Press. Through its rich imagery and first-person narratives told in the voices of migrants and community members, the book portrays the daily joys and struggles of a community less foreign than familiar, and celebrates the efforts of dedicated volunteers who work to improve conditions for the migrants. Stark County residents recently had the opportunity to engage in dialogue and activities centered on Growing Season through the nationwide library initiative known as “One Book, One Community.” Growing Season was selected by the Mayor’s Literacy Commission for the county’s 2006 One Book, One Community program. The mission of this initiative is to foster a sense of community through reading and stimulating discussion of a common book. To learn more about the migrant farming community in Hartville, read "Fields of Change: Kent State students care for migrant families" from the Summer 2003 edition of Kent State Magazine.  
Photograph by Bob Christy, '95
| | Dr. Stevan Hobfoll, distinguished professor of psychology at Kent State, is director of the Summa-Kent State Center for the Treatment and Study of Traumatic Stress and the 2006 winner of the prestigious Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement. |
| Grant Awarded to Study Terrorism's Impact on Mental Health A four-year $2.25 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health has been awarded to the Summa Health System-Kent State University Center for the Treatment and Study of Traumatic Stress and the University of Haifa’s Center for National Security Studies to examine the impact of terrorism. The study aims to reveal important lessons about people’s vulnerability and resiliency in the face of a terrorist attack. The mission of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Traumatic Stress is to develop and conduct a center of excellence at Summa Health System’s Department of Psychiatry in conjunction with Kent State. Read more about this study on terrorism’s impact on mental health. In addition, Dr. Stevan Hobfoll, distinguished professor of psychology and director of the Center for the Treatment and Study of Traumatic Stress, has been chosen by the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies (ISTSS) as the 2006 winner of the prestigious Robert S. Laufer Award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement. Hobfoll has received more than $9 million in grants to research stress and health. As a faculty member at both Tel Aviv and Ben Gurion universities, Hobfoll studied the psychological toll of terrorism in Israel. More information about Hobfoll's award for Outstanding Scientific Achievement is available in "Professor Earns International Achievement Award for Traumatic Stress and Trauma Research." |  | | By learning where children get their information as well as having an understanding of children’s developmental stages , says Dr. Kathleen Walker, parents can prepare to help children navigate difficult issues. |
| War and Peace: Research Gives Voice to Children All over the world children are exposed to war, some first-hand, others through media images. However, little is known about how children understand the phenomenon of war. In the meantime, many parents struggle with how to approach difficult subjects, such as war and terrorism, with their children. Dr. Kathleen Walker and Dr. Maureen Blankemeyer, Kent State professors in human development and family studies, set out to learn first-hand from children from various age groups and countries just how much they know about war and terrorism, and how they express that knowledge. Walker says by learning where children get their information, as well as having an understanding of children’s developmental stages, parents can prepare to help children navigate difficult issues. To learn more about this research on children's exposure to and knowledge of war and terrorism, read "War and Peace: Research Gives Voice to Children," which also features a sidebar titled "What the Children Had to Say" — a collection of responses, in the words of the children. | 
Photograph by Bob Christy, '95
| | The Dell Intelligent Classrooms™ recently installed for the Department of English feature state-of-the-art instructional technology equipment and operations. |
| Kent State, Dell Take English Classes Beyond Reading and Writing Kent State University's Department of English is taking its students well beyond the basics of good sentence structure and a rich vocabulary. To ensure its graduates are prepared to communicate in today’s digital world, the department has installed a series of Dell Intelligent Classrooms™, including technology such as Dell Latitude™ notebooks computers, Dell OptiPlex™ desktop computers, projectors, Dell laser printers, electronic whiteboards, digital cameras and recorders. This installation marks Kent State's second classroom transformation with Dell. The university outfitted its School of Communication Studies with similar classroom technology last fall. Learn more about the Dell Intelligent Classrooms™ in the "Kent State and Dell Take English Classes Beyond Reading and Writing" news release. | 
Photograph by Jeff Glidden, '87
| | James Gaudino, dean of the College of Communication and Information, believes that the Knight Chair indicates the high regard with which Kent State's journalism program is held. |
| Knight Foundation Endows Chair in Scholastic Journalism The School of Journalism and Mass Communication will become home to a new Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism in 2007. Funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation endows the tenured faculty teaching position and funds the national search, set to start this fall. Endowed with more than $2 million, the chair in scholastic journalism marks the 20th Knight Chair in Journalism to be created, endowed and awarded by the Knight Foundation since 1990. Kent State’s presence as one of the nation’s leading scholastic journalism programs made it a clear choice for receiving the Knight Chair designation. For more information about the Knight Chair in Scholastic Journalism and search, read "School of Journalism and Mass Communication Endows New Knight Chair." | 
Photograph by Gary Harwood, '83
| | Kent State's recently opened New York City Studio enables students to work on fashion projects and education in the heart of the garment district in midtown Manhattan. |
| Newly Formed College of the Arts Helps Students Imagine, Create, Transform Kent State's College of the Arts, newly organized and named July 1, 2006, will unite the arts and help provide an identity for these programs at the university, says Dr. Timothy Chandler, dean of the new college. The College of the Arts, composed of the School of Art, the School of Fashion Design and Merchandising, the School of Music and the School of Theatre and Dance, combines programs that have similar outlooks and goals, he adds. "The schools within the college will work together to be mutually sustaining and mutually beneficial," he says. "Students will have the opportunity to broaden their understanding because of the interdisciplinary nature of the programs." Read more about the college in "Newly Formed College of the Arts Helps Students Imagine, Create, Transform" and then visit the new College of the Arts Web site for more information. You can also read about Kent State's recently opened New York City Studio in "Kent State Meets the Big Apple." The studio is part of the School of Fashion Design and Merchandising, which is also included in the newly formed College of the Arts. | 
Photo by Bob Christy, '95
| | President Lester A. Lefton visits with U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine and researchers following an announcement of an approved federal appropriations bill for the Oak Clinic/Kent State Consortium. |
| Federal Funds Earmarked for Multiple Sclerosis Research Consortium On July 21, U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine announced that $475,000 had been earmarked in a recently approved federal appropriations bill for the Oak Clinic/Kent State University Consortium for Multiple Sclerosis and Neurodegenerative Disease Research. For reasons unknown, Northeast Ohio residents are even more likely than those in other regions of Ohio to have, or know someone who has, MS. The Oak Clinic/Kent State collaboration engages an interdisciplinary research group from both organizations in investigating the causes and treatments of MS using advanced molecular techniques and three-dimensional imaging. Read more about "Federal Funds Earmarked for Multiple Sclerosis Research Consortium" and then watch a video exclusive, featuring Kent State's partnership with Oak Clinic to target MS. | 
Photograph by Jeff Glidden, '87
| | Dr. John West (center, with 2006 Distinguished Scholar Award winners) will join NorTech for 12 months as the organization's first fellow. West will split his time between NorTech and furthering his research efforts at the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State. |
| Kent State's West Named First NorTech Fellow NorTech, Northeast Ohio's technology-based economic development organization, today announced the NorTech Fellows Program, which is expected to bolster the group's economic development outreach efforts as well as foster stronger ties with regional industry and academic institutions. John L. West, Ph.D., vice president for research and dean of graduate studies at Kent State has been named the first NorTech Senior Fellow. Dr. West joined NorTech for 12 months, beginning on July 1, 2006, and will lend his considerable expertise to specific programs designed to build economy-sustaining, technology industries in Northeast Ohio. Dr. West will split his time between NorTech and furthering his research efforts at the Liquid Crystal Institute at Kent State. For more information about NorTech or the fellowship, read "NorTech Announces Fellows Program; Kent State's West Named First NorTech Fellow." In related news, Kent State has responded to the Ohio Board of Regents Economic Growth Challenge/Innovation Incentive with a plan to expand its two most productive and prominent doctoral science programs: liquid crystals and bioscience/biotechnology. The university agrees with the Regents' principle that doctoral programs, especially those in science and technology areas, are critical for the economy of Ohio, says Dr. John L. West, Kent State's vice president for research and dean of graduate studies. Read more about Kent State's top areas for Innovation Incentive reallocations in "Kent State to Strengthen Liquid Crystal and Bioscience/Biotech Programs." | 
| | Widely considered the "gold standard" in health and fitness certifications, the American College of Sports Medicine has endorsed the Bachelor of Arts in physical education curriculum for its high standards and student preparation. |
| American College of Sports Medicine Endorses Kent State Education Program Students pursuing health and fitness or clinical exercise programs at Kent State University will study in one of the select programs now endorsed by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). The endorsement is widely considered the "gold standard" in health and fitness certifications and professional memberships. The American College of Sports Medicine's University Connection program approved the endorsement application of Kent State's Bachelor of Arts in physical education (exercise sciences/exercise specialist option) curriculum as meeting the academic standards needed to prepare students for health, fitness and/or clinical exercise training and positions. More information about the Kent State curriculum that has achieved this prestigious endorsement from the American College of Sports Medicine is available in "Gold Standard: Prestigious National Body Endorses Kent State Education Program." | 
Photograph by Jeff Glidden, '87
| | Technology use, including reading news online or via e-book, has been cropping up in many classrooms all over the country. |
| Research Center on Educational Technology Shares Latest Research on Technology in the K-12 Classroom Palm pilots, PCs, cellular phones — technology permeates all aspects of our lives, including the American classroom. Kent State University's Research Center for Educational Technology, a national leader in the study of ubiquitous computing, has developed a DVD-ROM to educate current and future teachers. The DVD, titled "Ubiquitous Computing: How Anytime, Anywhere, Anyone Computing Is Changing Education," recently was distributed to every K-12 school and teacher education program in Ohio. The disc was developed to support teaching, professional development and research as it relates to the impact of technology-rich environments on teaching and learning. In addition, researchers with the Research Center for Educational Technology recently co-edited a book featuring findings from the major researchers in the field of ubiquitous computing. Learn more about this educational technology research and the center's experts in "Center Shares Latest Research on Technology in the K-12 Classroom." | | |
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