Elevations

Valora Renicker, Associate Professor of Visual Communication Design at Kent State University, is co-founder of Traveling Stanzas. In 2009 she approached David Hassler, Director of The Wick Poetry Center at Kent, and the two developed a project that combines poetry and design. The idea is to reach out to and interract with the community using these two creative forms.

Michael Chanak Jr. is a gay rights activist who started working for Cincinnati-based Procter & Gamble (P&G) in the mid-1980s. He worked for years to get the company to add a clause to the equal employment opportunity (EEO) policy that protected the rights of gay people against discrimination at the workplace. Twenty-five years later, P&G made a short film to mark the anniversary of the policy change. The film won a Silver Lion award for corporate and social responsibility at the

How is personalized news (social media, cable networks, etc.) changing our roles as citizens? Michael Beam, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication Studies at Kent State University.

Dean Mark Mistur was named one of the top 25 most admired educators in architecture, interiors and landscape architecture in the United States for the 2nd time in 2018 by DesignIntelligence . He talks with us about educating young architects, what draws them to the field, and what has changed.

Cameron Lee, Ph.D. is an assistant professor from the Kent State Geography Department and an applied climatologist. Lee is a self-described “weather nerd” and his work models how the weather in our area is affected by climate events around the globe. His work also studies how climate change affects people in terms of public health.

Dr. Anne Jefferson, associate professor in the Geology Department at Kent State University, runs the Watershed Hydrology Lab . She says we may be overdoing it when it comes to salting our roads in winter.

Bea McPherson was in geology class at Kent in 1943 when her professor asked if a few of the women would like to be trained in map making to help the war effort. In 2010 she was recognized by the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

Jason Prufer is the author of Small Town, Big Music - The Outsized Influence of Kent, Ohio, on the History of Rock and Roll. The book features first-hand stories of big-name musicians traveling through Kent, as well as the local music scene where Joe Walsh, Patrick Carney, Chrissie Hynde, and DEVO refined their crafts. The book is published by the Kent State University Press. Prufer also works as a Senior library associate in Kent State University's library.

Stephanie D. Smith is an Assistant Professor in the School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Kent State. This follows a 27-year career in government working for the CIA, U.S. Navy, and the Department of State. Smith's work has been recognized with several awards including being the recipient of the Distinguished Intelligence Medal, which is awarded exclusively for the performance of outstanding services in the Central Intelligence Agency.

Mindy Farmer is the director of the May 4 Visitors Center and an assistant professor of history. Previously she served as the founding education specialist at the federal non-partisan Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum where she oversaw the Library's education and public programming. She holds a doctorate from The Ohio State University.