A Message from the Dean

Fall 2024

Dear Parents and Friends,

I hope this September finds you happy and healthy and enjoying the extended summer weather and sunny days. Fall is my favorite season, in part because of the start of a new academic year and the arrival of our students ready to take on new opportunities and make new plans. Our large freshman class (693!) joined us with much fanfare (see convocation photo!) and ice cream (see photos of the ice cream social!) and we also welcomed back our energized sophomores, juniors and seniors. This year promises to be full of interesting campus events and opportunities for our students to become involved in a range of activities through student organizations. 

We continue to develop our new programming, and note this year’s expansion in…

Honors Drop-In Tutoring expanded again to include Fashion Design & Merchandising and Physics as well as Math, Biological Sciences and Chemistry: We are pleased to offer drop-in tutoring beginning NOW in the Design Innovation Hub (DI Hub, right next to Stopher/Johnson) on Wednesdays and Thursdays, from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m.   

Honors Digital Leadership Academy is in its third year, and has openings for honors students in Computer Science, Visual Communication Design, Emerging Media and Technology, Computer Engineering, who are interested in a paid internship in IT this year, which will also provide Honors College internship credit. For those that continue through the academic year as a successful intern, a $1,000 tuition scholarship will also be included.

Peer-to-Peer Support is Back for a Fourth Year! We have nine Honors Peers in training, mentored by the Counseling Program in the College of Education, Health and Human Services, who will be developing group events for students and be deployed in the residence halls and on campus this year. They are trained to listen carefully, and to help students find appropriate counseling or self care help. Each year becomes more successful as students become aware of Peer-to-Peer, and we think this program is really making a difference! Dr. Theresa Tschannen Isabella is also returning this year as our Honors College embedded CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) counselor and will meet with honors students in-person on Wednesdays and Thursdays this year. (Of course, all counseling services offered by the university are available to our students as well). Joint Peer-to-Peer and CAPS programming will also be offered in the college. 

How You Can Support Your Student’s Well-Being During the Semester

College students across the country are feeling the stress and anxiety of global and US news, of uncertainties of all kinds, and for freshmen, these concerns focus on just commonly shared worries. What are they? We asked the incoming freshmen again this year what their #1 concern or fear was about starting college, and the concerns parallel last year’s freshman class - Fear of Failing, Fear of Loneliness, Stress & Anxiety, and Worries about Time Management.  

These concerns are all interrelated. Time management skills are important, as students are often surprised at the workload differential between high school and freshman year, and tend to over commit to many clubs and experiences during their first year. These factors tend to increase their anxiety and stress and fear of failing. We will be working on all of these topics this fall with our students. Honors students really mastered the K-12 learning methods, and are now adjusting to college.  This takes some getting used to, and we work every day to help that adjustment go smoothly.

Please also check-in with them frequently, to see how they are doing and if they are accessing the many support structures offered in the college and the university. There are some links in the section below that you may want to share with your student.

Read on to learn about events and achievements in the Honors College.

I hope to see you at Parents and Families Weekend this Saturday!

With Best Regards,

Alison J. Smith, Ph.D.

Honors College, Dean

Kent State University

Honors College Freshmen Welcome Event and Ice Cream Social

Fall 2024 Welcomes in Class of 2028

First-year Honors College students were invited to meet classmates and enjoy some New Baltimore ice cream, as they gathered at the Honors College Welcome Event and Ice Cream social on Thurs., Aug. 15, to kickoff the start to their collegiate careers.

Students were encouraged to take part in an interactive BINGO card game, where students marked off scorecards based on pieces of information collected from fellow students at the event.

Student members of the Honors College Peer-to-Peer Support Program were on-hand to welcome new students and have a blast with a friendly game of kickball for both participants and spectators near The Commons. 

PARENTS AND FAMILIES WEEKEND WILL BE HELD SEPT. 20-22, 2024!

Parents and Families Appreciation Weekend is about celebrating you! From memorable experiences with students, to building connections with key administrators, departments and support offices, planned events throughout the weekend will be packed with meaningful opportunities to celebrate with your favorite Golden Flash student. The events highlight various Kent State traditions combined with the excitement of family-friendly programming. 

Celebrate with Honors College students and families at the annual Parents and Families Weekend on Saturday, September 21, from 1-3 p.m., for games, trivia, popcorn, and all around fun. Join the Honors College at Stopher-Johnson Hall outside under the bridge lounge.

See below for a complete list of Parents and Families Weekend events set up by Kent State organizations:

September 20:

• Check-in | Kent State Student Center Lobby | 3 - 8 p.m.
• 42nd Annual Black Squirrel Festival | Student Green and Risman Plaza | 4 - 7 p.m.
• Parents and Families Weekend Private Dinner | Design and Innovation Hub (DI Hub) | 4 - 9 p.m.

September 21:

• Breakfast | Eastway Dining | 8 - 11 a.m. | Meal voucher required
• Check-in | Kent State Student Center Ballroom | 2nd Floor | 8 - 10:45 a.m. 
• Parents and Families Appreciation Weekend Opening Pep Rally | Kent State Student Center Ballroom | 2nd Floor | 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.
• Kent State University Museum | 515 Hilltop Drive Kent | 2 - 4 p.m.
• May 4 Visitors Center | 147 Taylor Hall | 1 - 5 p.m.
• College Open Houses (Including the Honors College) | Various Locations | 1 - 3 p.m.
• University Housing Door Decks and Desserts | Various Locations | 1 - 3 p.m. and 2 - 4 p.m.
• Kent State Esports Gaming Demonstration | 2nd Floor University Library | 2 - 4 p.m. 
• Kent Interhall Council Ice Cream Social | Tri Towers Rotunda | 2 - 4 p.m.
• Hillel- Faith Fest | Pepsi Leadership Lounge | 2nd Floor Kent Student Center | 2 - 4 p.m.
• Design and Innovation Hub Make and Take | DI Hub Basement | 3 - 5 p.m.
• Origami with Anthony | Kent Student Center | 3 - 4 p.m.
• Health and Harmony with CAPS, Care Center and KSU Police | Kent Student Center | 3 - 5 p.m.
• Family Movie Fun Night | Design Innovation (DI) Hub Auditorium | 4 - 6 p.m.
• Flashes Bingo | Rathskeller- Kent Student Center Lower | 4 - 6 p.m.
• Blue and Gold Paint and Sip | 4 - 6 p.m. | 306 Kent Student Center | *$45.00 per person
• Oktoberfest | Eastway Dining | 4 - 9 p.m. | Meal voucher required 

September 22

• Sweet Wishes and Chocolate Kisses | 1st Floor, Kent Student Center | 10 - 11 a.m.

Over 1,000 families and Kent State students participate each year and for that we say THANK YOU!

Student Creates Moving Memorial to 9/11

Mark Morrison Honors Victims with Reminder of Unity

A Kent State University student honored the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks with a display of 2,977 American flags on the campus student green this week.

Mark Morrison, 21, a junior accounting major and Kent State University Honors College student, organized the memorial to uphold the promise to "Never Forget" and promote national unity.

"I wasn't alive to remember the day this tragedy struck," Morrison said. "The vast majority of students on campus weren't born yet either."

Alpha Lambda Delta Chapter Wins

National Chapter Award

Maintaining the Flame '23-'24 Academic Year

Eileen Merberg, Executive Director of Alpha Lambda Delta Academic Honor Society, announced that the Kent State University chapter has won the Maintaining the Flame Award for the 2023-24 academic year. The chapter won the Order of the Torch Award in 2021. Chapters awarded the Order of the Torch are ineligible to apply for the award for the next four years. To reward continued excellence, the Board of Directors bestows the Maintaining the Flame Award to chapters ineligible for the Order of the Torch award but that have demonstrated such continued excellence in the areas of chapter involvement, communication, visibility, and overall presentation during the academic year.

This year the Board of Directors of Alpha Lambda Delta recognized six chapters across the nation with the Maintaining the Flame award – Baylor University, IUPUI, Kent State University, Northwestern State University, University of Oklahoma, and Saint Vincent College.

The successful chapter at Kent State University was led by: Lauren Reed, Chapter President; Haleigh Saylor, Chapter Vice President; Casey Pollitt and Maggie Conley, Program Co-Chairs; Alex Miller and Vinaya Patel, Communications Co-Chairs; Shawn Pusateri, Karlee Adams, and Noah Nicholson, Membership Co-Chairs. The chapter was advised by Lauren Huffman.