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People familiar with Kent State history know well the tragedy of May 4, 1970, on the Kent Campus. However, not all who are familiar with university history are aware of the significance of May 4, 1933, at Kent State and how it echoed through the Kent community years later in the aftermath of May 4, 1970.

The horrific images of the massive explosion that rocked Beirut, Lebanon, in August 2020, motivated �鶹��ý officials to reach out to help. Their thoughts immediately turned to Lebanese American University (LAU) in Beirut and its School of Architecture and Design, with which Kent State’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design has been cultivating a relationship for the past several years.

Although Kent State alumna and current graduate student Lydia Lisowsky has never visited Ukraine, she feels a deep sense of obligation and responsibility to help those who have been injured in the war. The Kent State community helped Lisowsky pack and donate medical supplies on the Kent Campus and in the larger Kent community to send to Ukraine. 

The �鶹��ý alumni family will grow by more than 5,000 new graduates as the university holds its spring commencement ceremonies. The accomplishments of the Spring Class of 2022 will be recognized with in-person, outdoor commencement ceremonies on May 12-14 and May 20 and a virtual commencement ceremony for all colleges and degrees on May 15.

The inaugural Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series and Luncheon took place May 2 at the Kent Student Center Ballroom with Tammy Clewell, Ph.D., professor in �鶹��ý’s Department of English, as the featured speaker.

Two significant environmental issues our nation faces today include invasive plant species and a lack of sustainable materials. Invasive plant species are detrimental to host environments for multiple reasons. Kent State students are working to turn invasive plant species into a sustainable material that can help protect the environment through the 2022 Biodesign Challenge, a course and national competition to create sustainable solutions to real world problems.

The protected prairie surrounding �鶹��ý’s Warren Student Recreation and Wellness Center will be burned on Friday, April 29, starting around 9 a.m., to allow for new growth during the summer season.

Leadership roles in the Interfraternity Council and Delta Tau Delta Fraternity served as preparation for Dylan Mace's service on the Kent State Board of Trustees when Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed him in July 2020. Mace’s two-year term, in which he served as a member of the Board’s Academic Excellence and Student Success Committee and the Finance and Administration Committee, will expire May 16, 2022. 

As key supporters and organizers of the May 4 Candlelight Walk and Vigil, Michael and Kendra Pacifico say the event is the time when people can put their politics aside to honor those who died and were wounded on May 4, 1970.

The central component of the Grind2Energy systems at �鶹��ý are larger versions of the in-sink garbage disposals found in many homes. The difference is that at Kent State, these units aren’t disposing of food waste, but processing it with a purpose - as the first part of a highly sustainable innovation that creates energy and high-grade fertilizer.

Born from inside Kent State’s Wick Poetry Center, “Dear Vaccine” gives citizens a chance to process the pandemic through poetry. The poetry center collaborated with the University of Arizona to expand on poet Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Dear Vaccine.” The poem became a catalyst for respondents around the world to share their own poems.

�鶹��ý has scheduled a variety of programs, events and exhibits for this year’s remembrance of May 4, 1970, to honor the four students who were killed, the nine students who were wounded and the countless others whose lives were forever changed when the Ohio National Guard fired on Kent State students during an anti-war protest.

Kent State’s messengers, the staff at University Communications and Marketing (UCM), have helped the university be recognized regionally, nationally and internationally for its work throughout 2020 and 2021. The last two years were filled with major events across campus and around the world. UCM was tasked with continuously updating students, faculty and staff on the constantly evolving landscape. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, UCM was challenged to create a campaign to help the Kent State community manage these tough times together.

The �鶹��ý Board of Trustees recently approved the naming of the Burton D. Morgan Foundation Entrepreneurship Suite, a space that includes the LaunchNET offices, the Marty Erbaugh i3 Lab and surrounding areas within the Design Innovation (DI) Hub.

Michelle Corvette is the new assistant director of Kent State’s Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). The CTL’s mission is to enrich student's lives by supporting faculty members with evidence-based, student-focused and innovative teaching and learning measures. Corvette is excited about providing support to Kent State faculty across all of the Kent State campuses. Learn more about Corvette and the CTL as she answers these 10 questions.

A new interactive exhibit from the Wick Poetry Center that encouraged visitors to explore the history of student protest through the Kent State shootings, has opened in the Kent Student Center as part of May 4 commemoration activities.

Kent State’s Career and Community Studies (CCS) program has partnered with the Bursar’s Office to provide opportunities for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities to develop professional skills and help them transition into the workforce. Ellie McGregor, a fourth-year student currently in her final semester in the CCS program, has found great success and made solid contributions in the office while honing her business skills. She is an example of what this program can do for students. 

National Public Radio (NPR) has whittled down and decided on the college finalists in its College Podcast Challenge. �鶹��ý at Ashtabula Human Services Technology associate lecturer and journalism student Joan Steidl is one of ten students from across the country who became finalists.

Infant mortality rates in Northeast Ohio are three to five times higher for Black babies than white babies, an alarming statistic that is an issue across the country but particularly prevalent in this part of the state. A new $100,000 grant from the Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation will support innovative work being undertaken at Kent State, an elite research university with the esteemed R1 designation, to address this important issue.

Tammy Clewell, Ph.D., professor in �鶹��ý’s Department of English, will give the inaugural lecture of the Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series with her presentation “Remembering the Contested May 4 Memorializing Process.” The lecture and luncheon will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, May 2, in the Kent Student Center Ballroom.