Greetings,

The end of the spring semester gives us ample opportunities to recognize the achievements made by faculty, staff and students throughout the year. We do so in many ways, including awards receptions and dinners and news articles, to name just a few. Another avenue of recognition is Points of Pride, notable achievements by units and members of the university community. You can read about the many Kent State Points of Pride at http://www.kent.edu/SuccessStories/Pride/index.cfm. As you will note, there are simply more examples of Excellence in Action at Kent State than can be mentioned here. Just this past semester, we have witnessed the achievements of:

• Rosemarie K. Bank of the School of Theatre and Dance, who was inducted as a fellow of the Fellow of the College of Fellows of the American Theatre at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
• Drs. John Dunlosky and Katherine Rawson, who are part of a multi-university collaborative team studying principles of learning and memory from cognitive psychology to enhance educational practice, supported by a James M. McDonnell Foundation 21^st Century Science Initiative in Bridging Brain, Mind and Behavior Collaborative Award
• Trumbull Campus Business Management and College of Business students, who have been applying the business fundamentals they have learned by conducting K-8 classroom instruction on financial management, entrepreneurship and other skills necessary to succeed in the business world in partnership with Junior Achievement of Mahoning Valley, Trumbull and Mahoning County Schools and the Trumbull Campus Business Management program
• Sara Gonzalez, a Trumbull Campus student studying psychology and justice studies, who earned first place in the American Criminal Justice Association’s national student writing competition
• And the Hospitality and Tourism Management program, for offering the only Master’s Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management in Ohio beginning in Fall 2009.

Every semester, I see hundreds of examples of the outstanding successes of members of our Kent State community. I look forward to the many successes yet to come.

Destination Kent State Update

Many examples of Excellence in Action will come from the incoming Fall 2009 Freshman Class. Our next freshman class will be the first to experience the three Destination Kent State (DKS) programs. All three are moving steadily forward in preparation for their summer launch:

• The six-week Advising and Registration program begins on June 1. During the program, students will register for fall classes, learn about their college and other university services and meet fellow students in a 1½ day overnight program.
• Welcome Weekend plans are being finalized. From August 27-30, students will experience a newly designed Freshman Convocation Ceremony and numerous other planned activities that will launch the Fall semester at Kent State.
• Finally, faculty and staff across all colleges have been redesigning the First Year Experience course for new freshmen, working in collaboration with Dr. Jeffrey Pellegrino from the fpdc. To optimize connections with new students, faculty and staff developed the course according to three university learning outcomes and incorporated college-specific information to encourage student success from their first year through graduation.

Joanna Liedel, Associate Director of the Student Success Unit (SSU); Eboni Pringle, Director, SSU; and Debbie Barber, Executive Director of SSU and GPS, have been designing and developing all three programs to support the Excellence in Action agenda and to promote greater student success. These programs have an extensive reach and impact faculty and staff in all colleges and in many service and support areas. While it is not possible to individually name all the faculty and staff members who are involved, I want to thank and recognize the efforts of everyone who helped prepare DKS for our next class of students.

LER Reform Update

When the 21^st Century LER core committee first began meeting, it was with three specific goals in mind: to enhance the quality of the LER program, to improve the educational experience of undergraduate students by increasing their level of engagement in learning and to reduce the complexity of the LER requirements in order to help students navigate the system more easily.

After five months of intense work, the committee has created a set of guiding principles for the new “Kent Core” (LER’s in our old language). The Kent Core is premised on a learner-centered approach to education that focuses on the programmatic learning outcomes of knowledge, responsibility, insight and engagement (KRIE). In addition to fulfilling Transfer Module Requirements, the model includes a diversity requirement, capstone requirements and an applied literacy requirement.

Reports on the Kent Core have been submitted to EPC. Faculty Senate will receive reports in July and September of this year. Development of the Kent Core and LER reform is a critical step in the future of Kent State University. Our faculty workgroup, a diverse group of 14 faculty, considered each aspect of the challenge – fully realizing that to move forward, compromises must be made by all parties.

I am pleased with the progress made and I want to thank these individuals for their efforts. We look forward to the implementation of these critical courses for our students.

As evidenced by the many achievements across our campuses and the dedicated involvement of faculty and staff in critical Academic Affairs initiatives, we are reaching the goals set forth in the Excellence in Action agenda. I look forward to the progress we will make over the coming months. But as the semester comes to a close, I wish you an enjoyable and productive summer.

With warmest regards,

Robert G. Frank
Provost and Senior Vice President
for Academic Affairs