�þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ�

�þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� has the distinction of being the only Ohio public or private college or university that ranks among the top 500 companies nationwide in Forbes’ recently released list of America’s Best Employers for Diversity 2022.

The �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� Board of Trustees approved the establishment and registration of a Community Benefit Company in Rwanda, Africa, during the Board’s regular quarterly meeting held May 25. �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State has realized an immediate need to establish a private limited company, designated as a not-for-profit Community Benefit Company, that can serve as a strategic starting point for engaging in the African continent’s expanding higher education market.

When recent Undergraduate Student Government (USG) President Chazzlyn Jackson started her journey at �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� in 2018, she had planned to major in fashion until a mentor with Kupita/Transiciones (K/T) cultural orientation program helped her tap into her leadership abilities and passion for social justice issues. The advice played a pivotal role for Jackson, who stepped into leadership roles and anti-racism advocacy and has not looked back.

During �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State’s spring 2022 commencement on May 14, Jameson Payne will earn his bachelor’s degree in integrative studies with concentrations in physics and political science. Benjamin Wales-McGrath will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in cellular and molecular biology at the age of 18.

After a 21-year absence, Chagrin Falls resident James Reinart will be crossing the stage at �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ�’s spring commencement ceremonies on May 14, 2022, to become a Golden Flash alumnus.

When she receives her doctorate degree in cellular biology on May 14, Amber Rose Titus will enter an exclusive group: She will become one of just seven �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� graduates to earn her doctorate at the age of 25 or younger.

Daffodil Hill became a part of the May 4 Memorial that brought both sides together, but groundskeepers struggle to keep it thriving now. 

People familiar with �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State history know well the tragedy of May 4, 1970, on the �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� Campus. However, not all who are familiar with university history are aware of the significance of May 4, 1933, at �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State and how it echoed through the �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� community years later in the aftermath of May 4, 1970.

The horrific images of the massive explosion that rocked Beirut, Lebanon, in August 2020, motivated �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� officials to reach out to help. Their thoughts immediately turned to Lebanese American University (LAU) in Beirut and its School of Architecture and Design, with which �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State’s College of Architecture and Environmental Design has been cultivating a relationship for the past several years.

Although �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State alumna and current graduate student Lydia Lisowsky has never visited Ukraine, she feels a deep sense of obligation and responsibility to help those who have been injured in the war. The �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State community helped Lisowsky pack and donate medical supplies on the �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� Campus and in the larger �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� community to send to Ukraine. 

The �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� alumni family will grow by more than 5,000 new graduates as the university holds its spring commencement ceremonies. The accomplishments of the Spring Class of 2022 will be recognized with in-person, outdoor commencement ceremonies on May 12-14 and May 20 and a virtual commencement ceremony for all colleges and degrees on May 15.

The inaugural Jerry M. Lewis May 4 Lecture Series and Luncheon took place May 2 at the �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� Student Center Ballroom with Tammy Clewell, Ph.D., professor in �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ�’s Department of English, as the featured speaker.

Two significant environmental issues our nation faces today include invasive plant species and a lack of sustainable materials. Invasive plant species are detrimental to host environments for multiple reasons. �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State students are working to turn invasive plant species into a sustainable material that can help protect the environment through the 2022 Biodesign Challenge, a course and national competition to create sustainable solutions to real world problems.

The protected prairie surrounding �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ�’s Warren Student Recreation and Wellness Center will be burned on Friday, April 29, starting around 9 a.m., to allow for new growth during the summer season.

Leadership roles in the Interfraternity Council and Delta Tau Delta Fraternity served as preparation for Dylan Mace's service on the �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State Board of Trustees when Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine appointed him in July 2020. Mace’s two-year term, in which he served as a member of the Board’s Academic Excellence and Student Success Committee and the Finance and Administration Committee, will expire May 16, 2022. 

As key supporters and organizers of the May 4 Candlelight Walk and Vigil, Michael and Kendra Pacifico say the event is the time when people can put their politics aside to honor those who died and were wounded on May 4, 1970.

The central component of the Grind2Energy systems at �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� are larger versions of the in-sink garbage disposals found in many homes. The difference is that at �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State, these units aren’t disposing of food waste, but processing it with a purpose - as the first part of a highly sustainable innovation that creates energy and high-grade fertilizer.

Born from inside �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State’s Wick Poetry Center, “Dear Vaccine” gives citizens a chance to process the pandemic through poetry. The poetry center collaborated with the University of Arizona to expand on poet Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem “Dear Vaccine.” The poem became a catalyst for respondents around the world to share their own poems.

�þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� has scheduled a variety of programs, events and exhibits for this year’s remembrance of May 4, 1970, to honor the four students who were killed, the nine students who were wounded and the countless others whose lives were forever changed when the Ohio National Guard fired on �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State students during an anti-war protest.

�þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State’s messengers, the staff at University Communications and Marketing (UCM), have helped the university be recognized regionally, nationally and internationally for its work throughout 2020 and 2021. The last two years were filled with major events across campus and around the world. UCM was tasked with continuously updating students, faculty and staff on the constantly evolving landscape. In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, UCM was challenged to create a campaign to help the �þ���ҹ����ӰԺ��ѹۿ� State community manage these tough times together.