51³Ô¹ÏÍø

Each August during freshman move-in day, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø faculty, staff and students volunteer to assist incoming freshmen get settled into their new university accommodations. To make the experience more fun and welcoming, the Kent InterHall Council sponsors the Movers and Groovers program.Freshman move-in day took place on Thursday, Aug. 21. A host of volunteers welcomed students and parents, and assisted with heavy lifting. The 51³Ô¹ÏÍø president’s Cabinet also volunteered to help this year.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø President Beverly Warren, Athletic Director Joel Nielsen, and Head Football Coach Paul Haynes spent a cold Tuesday afternoon at Dix Stadium after taking part in the Ice Bucket Challenge, a national campaign aimed at increasing awareness and contributions for ALS – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Warren accepted the challenge that was tweeted Aug. 13 by Rebecca Windover, an assistant residence hall director whose father-in-law has been battling ALS for more than a year.

A new four-legged friend has come to the Kent Campus as 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s Police Services welcomed Coco, a 2-year-old German Shepherd who, together with her partner Officer Anne Spahr, form 51³Ô¹ÏÍø Police Services’ first K-9 unit. Coco is trained in evidence search and recovery, area searches and tracking, but is mainly trained for explosives detection and can recognize more than a dozen related odors.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø held its summer Commencement ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 16, at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (MAC Center). 51³Ô¹ÏÍø conferred 1,636 degrees, including 851 bachelor’s degrees, 462 master’s degrees, 74 doctoral degrees, 227 associate degrees and 22 educational specialist degrees.

Beverly Warren, 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s new president, wants to learn what makes the university so exceptional and how we can share our unique story with the world. On July 1, her first day as the university’s leader, Warren began this quest by embarking on a listening tour. 

On March 22, 2014, a massive fire swept through historic Garrettsville, Ohio, destroying an entire commercial block and 13 businesses. Residents in the quaint Portage County village of just over 2,200 people immediately began pulling together, with efforts to relocate the local food bank, which was consumed in the blaze. Some business owners promised to rebuild, but it was clear that the tragedy dramatically changed the character of the village forever.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s student-athletes continued their run of success in the classroom during the spring of 2014 by posting the third highest term grade point average (GPA) in recorded history. The athletic department finished with a 3.085 spring GPA, a number that ranks behind only a 3.11 in the spring of 2013 and a 3.10 in the spring of 2012. The department’s current cumulative GPA of 3.139 remains the highest in recorded history.

51³Ô¹ÏÍø's 20th anniversary FlashFest was headlined by Capital Cities along with Ab-Soul, Scavenger Hunt, and Evan Evolution and Dominic Parisi.

  Across 51³Ô¹ÏÍø’s eight-campus system, 4,551 students graduated this spring, including those receiving associate degrees.

Scholar of the Month Wendy Umberger Professor College of Nursing 2002-present Wendy Umberger is a professor in the College of Nursing. Her program of research centers on the treatment and care of people experiencing chronic non-cancer pain (CNCP), psychological factors related to the pain experience, neuroendocrine and immune mechanisms in pain and inflammation, and the use of complementary therapies in pain management.