91�ֿ�

Many people travel for relaxation, some travel for work, but Erica Dovin traveled to help give the gift of hearing to impaired children. Ms. Dovin, a sophomore speech pathology and audiology major, received a rare opportunity to travel to Honduras to provide much needed assistance while gaining valuable experience at the same time.

When Symone Baskerville came from Chicago to 91�ֿ� to study fashion design, she realized that living so far from home was not nearly as difficult a transition as living in an area with limited choices of fabrics available for to her to use for her class projects. So she changed that by opening Kent Fabrics.

Jason Prufer, '03, a lifelong resident of Kent and 91�ֿ� alumnus, has compiled “Small Town, Big Music: The Outsized Influence of Kent, Ohio, on the History of Rock and Roll,” a book that covers the college town’s impressive – and previously unappreciated – rock history.

Scott Sheridan, Ph.D., professor and chairperson of 91�ֿ�’s Department of Geography, recently conducted a study on abnormal weather patterns published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, a publication of the American Geophysical Union. 

For the 10th consecutive time, 91�ֿ� has earned the 2019-2020 Military Friendly School designation for its Kent Campus. Military Friendly rates companies and colleges on their programs to recruit and retain military veterans as employees and students. 

The Thunderbirds kicked off their eSports season this month. The team wants you to know the sport is just like any other collegiate sport.

91�ֿ�’s College of Podiatric Medicine is testing a new technology for quick wound healing in diabetics and people prone to nerve damage.

91�ֿ� has chosen an international expert to lead the university’s new School of Peace and Conflict Studies within the College of Arts and Sciences, known for its study of nonviolent conflict management. 

Growing up, Chris Post watched as his mom juggled her collegiate studies and motherhood, balancing everyday life with dreams of earning her Ph.D. And while field excursions with his biologist mom are a memory of his childhood, the impact of place is something this cultural and historical geographer seeks to define today.

91�ֿ� sophomore Phil Morgan said he learned about the May 4, 1970, shootings during a history lesson in middle school that included few details, except the fact that the Ohio National Guard’s presence at a student protest ended in the deaths of four students.

Three days after May 4, 1970, Akron artist Don Drumm went to the campus of 91�ֿ� with a team of journalists from the Akron Beacon Journal. They wanted his perspective on one thing: a bullet hole in the 15-foot sculpture outside of Taylor Hall.

The Ohio History Connection’s State Historic Preservation Office Awards has recognized 91�ֿ� with a 2018 Public Education and Awareness Award.

Rodney Flauhaus is 91�ֿ�’s new May 4 Commemoration Project Manager.

91�ֿ�’s Taylor Hall is currently housing the Wick Poetry Center’s Writing Across Borders, a poetry exhibit featuring the work of immigrants and refugees living in Akron that was recently featured on Cleveland.com.

The phenomenon of multitasking across three or four internet-connected devices simultaneously is increasingly common. Andrew Lepp, Ph.D., Jacob Barkley, Ph.D., and Aryn Karpinski, Ph.D., of 91�ֿ�’s College of Education, Health and Human Services were curious to know how often this happens during online education.

In May 2018, 91�ֿ� had the largest number of undergraduate degrees ever awarded. One of the majors with the biggest spikes in growth from the previous year was marketing, which saw an increase of 43 students. The marketing major at 91�ֿ�, housed in the College of Business and Administration, aims to teach students valuable skills and lessons they can implement outside of the classroom.

City rats are unlikely to be on anyone's list of favorite animals, but researching exactly how they are problematic for public health provided a unique opportunity this past summer for Gracen Gerbig, 91�ֿ� junior majoring in Cellular and Molecular Biology.

Thanks to a rare Grant Opportunities for Academic Liaison with Industry (GOALI) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF), 91�ֿ� researchers in the new Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute will be able to work with partners at Merck Performance Materials to advance life-saving sensory technology.

Pacifique Niyonzima lost most of his family during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. Now he is earning a graduate degree in higher education administration at 91�ֿ� so he can give back to his native country.

Christopher Dum, Ph.D., created the ID13 Prison Literacy Project to give men in Lake Erie Correctional Institution in Conneaut, Ohio, a positive outlet while serving their sentence, hoping it help inmates to see themselves as writers rather than convicts.