91�ֿ�

The horrific images of the massive explosion that rocked Beirut, Lebanon, in August 2020, motivated 91�ֿ� 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 91�ֿ�’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design has been cultivating a relationship for the past several years.

Although 91�ֿ� 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 91�ֿ� community helped Lisowsky pack and donate medical supplies on the Kent Campus and in the larger Kent community to send to Ukraine. 

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. 91�ֿ� 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.

Born from inside 91�ֿ�’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.

In an impressive close to her undergraduate career, 91�ֿ� Honors College senior Mallory Woods was recently awarded the prestigious Fulbright English Teaching Award (ETA). A native of Fairview, Pennsylvania, Woods is completing a major in translation with a Spanish concentration and minors in economics and Italian studies while also finishing a certificate program in teaching English as a foreign language. 

Although 91�ֿ� 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. Lisowsky recently began a campaign to collect medical supplies on the Kent Campus and in the larger Kent community to send to Ukraine. 

Moira Armstrong, undergraduate in the College of Arts and Sciences and research assistant on the Queer Pandemic Project, collaborated with Molly Merryman, associate professor in the School of Peace and Conflict Studies, to compile digital, video-based oral interviews for the Queer Pandemic Project in a partnership between 91�ֿ�, Goldsmith’s University of London and Queer Britain. These interviews feature people in queer communities across the United Kingdom, discussing the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has impacted their lives as queer people.

91�ֿ�’s diligence in integrating international education throughout its programs and culture is in the spotlight. 91�ֿ� is the sole university in the U.S. to receive the prestigious 2022 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization. Meet two students currently displaying the university's excellence in global education. 

Tang Tang, Ph.D., professor in the College of Communication and Information at 91�ֿ�, recently shared her expertise with the New York Times in the article "Beijing Olympic Ratings Were the Worst of Any Winter Games."

91�ֿ� is the sole university in the U.S. to receive the prestigious 2022 Senator Paul Simon Award for Comprehensive Internationalization from NAFSA: Association of International Educators. The honor recognizes 91�ֿ� for overall excellence in integrating international education throughout all facets of the university and its campuses.