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The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted everyday life for everyone. For some, it’s minor. For others, it’s catastrophic. At the ºÚÁÏÍø at Geauga Campus, economic hardships caused by the pandemic have threatened to derail many students’ academic plans and their hopes for a better future. Recognizing that dozens of students face similar situations, Kent State Geauga has established an Emergency Relief Fund to provide a stopgap for them to continue on with their studies.

Oct. 2 is National Custodian Day, but the staffs on the East Liverpool and Salem campuses deserve more than one day to recognize their efforts in recent months. 

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, most universities across the United States transitioned from face-to-face classes to remote learning, closed campuses and sent students home this past spring. Recently, a group of ºÚÁÏÍø researchers sought to examine the impact of these pandemic-related changes upon physical activity and sedentary behavior, specifically sitting, across the university population. 

Before leaving the house, you most likely check to ensure you have your ID, your shoes and most importantly your smartphone. In the past decade, American smartphone usage has grown more than 50% according to a . Smartphones have become as commonplace as a wallet or car keys and Kent State researchers are taking advantage of this new commodity by using cell phone data to study individuals’ behavioral patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic and link cell phone use behaviors to mental health. 

The ºÚÁÏÍø Board of Trustees congratulated Kent State President Todd Diacon and university leaders on increased retention and graduation rates, as well as a strong Class of 2024, as official fall 2020 enrollment figures were shared at the Board’s regular quarterly meeting held Wednesday, Sept. 16.

The 100% online MPH, with a concentration in epidemiology , will have an official launch in fall semester 2020.

Among the festivities marking the beginning of this unconventional semester, one ºÚÁÏÍø office is partnering with Portage County social service agencies to host a contactless food drive to collect items that will support members of campus and local communities. The Flashes Fighting Hunger Contactless Food Drive, organized by Kent State’s Community Engaged Learning, will take place on Wednesday, Aug. 26, from 4-8 p.m.

We all know the world has changed, perhaps forever. The overall lesson of the COVID- 19 pandemic is that we need a public health workforce, prepared at all levels, to monitor the world for emerging infectious diseases, to prevent the spread of highly contagious diseases, to develop new treatments and vaccines, and to invent novel approaches never seen before. ºÚÁÏÍø’s College of Public Health is addressing this workforce challenge, in part, by hosting the 2020 Virtual Public Health Academy.

It’s move-in week at Kent State. To count down to the return of students, faculty and staff for the start of the fall semester, the university reviews its final Flashes Safe Seven principle. This week, we focus on Always Wear Your Face Covering.

A panel of distinguished Kent State Faculty discussed what to expect with the safety conditions in place for face-to-face learning and how students can succeed regardless of how their classes are delivered.