Media request
If you want to interview a staff member for a class or student media, please complete our media request form.
For Black History Month, Kent State Today is spotlighting students, alumni, faculty and staff in our university community who are taking an active role in making history and creating positive change in the world.Bertice Berry, MA ’86, Ph.D. ’88, has earned a long list of descriptors, including sociologist, educator, lecturer, author, television host, podcaster, humorist and storyteller. She also is a alumna who has been awarded the university’s Oscar Ritchie Distinguished Alumni Award. In addition to the Ph.D. she earned at Kent State, Berry has been awarded mo...
A team of photographers from Kent State's Division of University Communications and Marketing recently traveled to Cleveland to photograph Kent State alumna, Aysia Kemp as part of the university's Kent State Works program. Kemp works at Rocket Arena as senior people and culture coordinator for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Want to see one of YOUR photos in “IN A FLASH?” Submit your Kent State-related photos to InAFlash@kent.edu and you may see them in a future Kent State Today post. Photos should be framed -horizontally- and include a brief description of what’s ha...
This March, senior fashion design and marketing major Rachel Stauffer will take her fashion research to the international stage.The Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) at is an opportunity for undergraduate researchers to work directly with a faculty mentor, gain valuable experience to clarify career and educational goals, enhance research skills and gain academic insight. Last summer, Stauffer worked alongside faculty mentor professor Archana Mehta at the SURE program to support her B.F.A. collection.Stauffer’s award-winning SURE research focused on...
Kent State Men's Basketball (19-9) is officially headed to the 2025 Mid-American Conference Tournament in Cleveland this March following a 105-65 win over the University of Toledo on Tuesday night.Kent State got of the gate hot and never stopped outscoring Toledo 54-30 in the first half, and 51-35 in the second. It was the first time Kent State scored 100 points or more in a conference game since Feb. 19, 2002, when they defeated Marshall University 116-76 in the M.A.C. Center. Additionally, it was Kent State's second time scoring 100 points this season, and their first time against a DI oppon...
About the Planetarium
The physics building, Smith Hall, opened in 1968 with a new planetarium contained within. The planetarium projector cost $25,000 and the total cost of the system was estimated to be $35,000. Public shows began in the Planetarium in late 1968 or early 1969, with Physics Professor Dr. Kenneth Warren estimating that it took him 1000 hours of preparation for a show.
Our Financial Needs
We want to keep the planetarium as a resource to the community available to all that wish to enjoy it without having to charge for admission. Our students and faculty donate generous amounts of time to provide shows for everyone, However, there are financial needs to maintain and improve the planetarium.
Immediate Needs:
Observatory
Kent State has an observatory on the edge of campus with a 12-inch robotic Meade telescope. A group of students has taken on the task of bringing the observatory back online. We have completed the inglorious task of cleaning out the observatory building and evicting the current residents (mice) as well as clearing out overgrowth by the observatory. We also repaired the dome so it opens and rotates properly. We are now ready for the work of learning how to use the actual telescope and understanding how to work all the equipment we have. Our goal is to learn how
Other Show Requests
We have hosted planetarium shows for campus groups as well as for groups in the community such as Boy and Girl Scouts without cost. We have also hosted private shows such as a Birthday Party and a Wedding. For private shows, we do not have a fixed fee schedule and have appreciated appropriate donations to help us maintain and upgrade the planetarium. If you are interested in a show for your group, please fill out and we will be in contact with you.