Photo Above: Seniors graduating in the spring, summer and fall of 2023 who were in attendance at the 2023 Seniors Honors Luncheon on April 22, 2023 pose for a photo on the Kent State University Student Center staircase following the ceremony.

A Message from the Dean

Spring 2023

Dear Parents and Friends,  

May has arrived, although so far it is an unusually chilly one! This cool spring has not slowed down the lilacs, daffodils and magnolias - they are putting on a great display as always. Students are extremely busy with exams, graduation preparations, packing their cars, making summer arrangements and all the tasks of bringing the semester to closure. 

The campus had a much more “normal” feel this year, as the pandemic wound down. It has been wonderful to see student gatherings again. For example, we doubled our attendance at the second annual Honors Research Symposium and we had more than 200 students attend our end-of-semester “Dawgs and Dogs” event (hot dogs and therapy dogs!). This summer, we have a record number of Honors students enrolled in the “SURE” Program (Summer Undergraduate Research Experience). 

We remain thoughtfully vigilant in the area of student mental health and wellness, and our CAPS (Counseling and Psychological Services) counselor Dr. Theresa and the Peer-to-Peer Support Program continue to have a positive impact on our Honors students. We will continue both the CAPS counseling and the Peer-to-Peer mentoring in the coming year. 

Summer will surely fly by and I am hoping for all our students and their families a healthy and happy season, with lots of opportunities to get together. Remember, Parents - your students become more self-reliant during these years, but definitely need your advice and listening ears - your role shifts but is still most definitely needed. The challenge of final exams combined with the volatility of world news right now increases the stress levels on our students - we are mindful of their needs and know that you also will be checking in on them as they wrap up this semester and for some, their senior year. Many are going on to interesting internships this summer, or preparing for graduate work, or starting their careers.

I hope all will have an enjoyable summer! Of course, we are still here during the summer, so reach out if you have questions, and we will respond! 

With best wishes,

Alison Smith

Dean, Honors College

Kent State University



Where can I find Health and Wellness Resources?

• DeWeese Health Center

• Mental Health Resources & Support

• Kent State of Well-being

• Counseling and Psychological Services

• Kent State Autism Spectrum Disorder Resources for Students & Parents

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What about Commuter Students? 

Kent State has a Commuter Student Organization entitled “COSO”, which stands for Commuter & Off-Campus Student Organization; view more information at www.kent.edu/coso.

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Where can I find Emergency Resources?

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Honors College

2nd Annual Research Symposium

Scholarship Award Winners Announced

The 2nd annual Honors Research Symposium was held on Friday, April 28, 2023 in the Honors College library. Honors College students were given the opportunity to present their work, research and projects on a variety of topics to symposium judges, Alison Smith, Ph.D., Honors College Dean and Charles Malone, Freshman Honors Colloquium instructor and Brainchild Magazine advisor, as well as assistant director in the Wick Poetry Center.

Of the Honors students who participated, four individuals were selected as scholarship award recipients of $250 each: Svea Hall, Katarina Guenther, Wayne Nieh and Maria Cimino. Congratulations to the award winners and thank you to all of the Honors students who participated in the symposium.

Sonyea Moore, a sophomore Honors student from Twinsburg, Ohio, is currently pursuing two majors and three minors in the College of Arts and Sciences and is thriving while doing so. Holding a 3.9 G.P.A., Sonyea is following her interests in the humanities through majors in anthropology and Africana studies, along with her minors in English, creative writing and history. While the workload of such an education is demanding, Sonyea explains it's worth it to study her passions.  

Within her anthropology major, Sonyea has a concentration in biological anthropology and in Africana studies, she is concentrating on community activism, strategy and development, race and gender and the arts in culture and society. Read Sonyea's story.

The Honors Leadership Academy concluded its fifth year with a spring break trip to the nation's capital, Washington, D.C. Members of the academy dedicated their time by volunteering at Bread for the City, an organization that works to assist low income residents by providing food, clothing, medical care and legal/social services to reduce the burden of poverty.

Honors students also spent time at Martha's Table, an organization operating nationally accredited education programs, pairing healthy food access with physical and mental health services and promoting family success by investing in family leaders.

Between hours of service, the group took the opportunity to view the Cherry Blossoms, which were in full bloom. Members of the academy also enjoyed site-seeing, visiting museums and shopping.

Read more about the Honors Leadership Academy.

The Honors College has announced Gary Bengier, class of 1977, as the 2023 Distinguished Honors Alumni award recipient. Bengier graduated Summa cum Laude from Kent State with a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in computer science and operations research. Upon graduation, he relocated from Ohio to California, to begin an exciting career when several lines of computer science research in Silicon Valley were just getting started – including Artificial Intelligence (AI). Bengier culminated a business career focused on technology companies by building and leading the financial team in the early years at eBay. Read Bengier's story.

This year, the Honors College announced Denise Harrison as the 2023 Distinguished Honors Faculty award recipient. She is an instructor who works in the Department of Africana Studies (AFS). The Africana Studies department is a social activist program that interrogates social, racial, gender and class divisions with an eye on the representation and history of people of the African diaspora.

This academic year, Harrison instructed a course over the fall and spring semesters on Shakespeare “Race,” Class and Gender: Early Modern Mirroring our Postmodern World. This Freshman Honors Colloquium course looked into Shakespeare’s world, the staging of major and minor plays with an emphasis on the constructions of “race,” gender, class and sexual minorities in Early Modern England.

Read More.

Senior Reflects on Experience as

Chair of May 4 Task Force

Honors College Student Describes

Opportunity as 'Impactful and Rewarding'

Serving as the Chair of the May 4 Task Force has been something Honors College communication studies major Avery Hall, ’23, describes as one of the most impactful and rewarding experiences she’s had at Kent State. 

The May 4 Task Force is a student-led organization that focuses on year-round efforts to honor the memory of May 4 through activism, education and working to understand what the events of May 4, 1970, mean to students today. As Chair, Hall leads the programming, advocacy and educational efforts, plays a significant role in planning the annual commemoration and engages in student and community outreach. Read more about Hall's involvement in the May 4 Task Force.

The option of switching majors is a decision many college students will face in their academic career. Honors College psychology student Maftuna Abduganieva is no exception to this dilemma. In her blog post written for Kent State University Admissions, Maftuna describes her transition from freshman journalism major to current psychology major and lab research assistant. She describes her goal of pursuing a Ph.D. and explains that completing a Senior Honors Thesis/Project will be her "test run" for what she hopes to accomplish in the future. Hear more about how Maftuna navigated her "major" decision with confidence.

Read Maftuna's full blog post.

Student Employee Awards Celebration

A THANK YOU to Our Hard Working Students!

Career Exploration and Development hosted its first Student Employee Awards Celebration to kick off Kent State University’s Student Employee Appreciation Week.

The celebration consisted of a dinner and awards ceremony honoring and recognizing student employees. The Honors College would like to acknowledge and thank our own student worker employees who assist with tasks in the Honors College on a daily basis: Kyra Horvat, Ani Bruno, Ruth Morara and Gabi Isaac.

Honors College student worker Ani Bruno (shown center in photo on left) was selected as a finalist for the Sunshine & Positivity Award. This award is given to an individual who always brightens the days of others. They understand and demonstrate effective work habits and act in the interest of the larger community and workplace.

Congratulations to all of the Honors College student workers from various departments and colleges across campus who were recognized at the event. Read more about the awards celebration.

Phi Beta Kappa Society Chapter Inductions

The Nation's Oldest Academic Honor Society

Congratulations to all of the students who were inducted into the Kent State University chapter of Phi Beta Kappa Society on Tuesday, April 11, 2023.

Membership in the Phi Beta Kappa Society is indeed, a rare honor. Only 10% of universities and colleges in the United States have a Phi Beta Kappa chapter and those that do only select approximately 10% of their graduates in arts and sciences to join.

Lifelong members of Phi Beta Kappa include 17 Presidents of the United States, 42 Supreme Court Justices and over 150 Nobel laureates.

For more information about Phi Beta Kappa, visit the chapter webpage.

Honors College student Katie Armstrong was recently announced to receive the 2023 College of Architecture and Environmental Design Traveling Fellowship, a $4,000 award.

The recognition will allow Katie to conduct archival research for her Senior Honors Thesis/Project in both London and Montreal (at the Canadian Center for Architecture. She will also be conducting on-the-ground interviews in both London and New York. Her thesis is currently titled "The Fall and Resurgence of Archigram in Architectural Discourse."

Alena Miskinis, senior triple major in the Honors College, has seized every opportunity to pursue her combined interests in the arts and science. The task of completing three majors is no small feat, but Alena refuses to sacrifice any of her passions while in pursuit of her goals.

With majors in English, piano performance, and psychology, Alena pushes herself to expand her education in many directions.

Read Alena's story.

The 37th Annual Senior Honors Luncheon

Honors College Celebrates

Graduating Seniors and Award Recipients

On Saturday, April 22, 2023, the Kent State University Honors College recognized graduating seniors at its annual 37th Senior Honors Luncheon. This event congratulated Honors College members for their upcoming graduations in the spring, summer and fall of 2023. Seniors were able to unwind as they met with staff and alumni to applaud their accomplishments.

Attendees of the luncheon also heard from Denise Harrison, recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Honors Faculty Award and Gary F. Bengier, recipient of the 2023 Distinguished Honors Alumni Award. Read the full recap of the luncheon and the graduating seniors. 

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