News Flash
University news for Spring 2006

Poetry finds a home

The second floor of the Kent State University library is now home to the Wick Poetry Corner, a place for students, faculty and community members to read, write and gather for small group discussions. The Poetry Corner also features the Tyler Lee Gaston Poetry Collection, a circulating collection of 20th- and 21st-century poetry.

The Gaston collection was created in the memory of Tyler Lee Gaston, son of University Provost Paul Gaston and his wife, Eileen.

Tyler Lee Gaston (1980-2004) was a senior English major at Kent State University at the time of his death. He participated in the Wick Poetry Center Outreach Program, teaching poetry to students at Miller South School for the Visual and Performing Arts in Akron and at Maplewood Career Center in Ravenna. Tyler was a gifted poet, as well as an artist and musician. He also worked at the University Library and had planned to pursue a master’s degree in library science after graduation.

For more information about the Wick Poetry Corner or the Tyler Lee Gaston Poetry Collection, visit the Kent State Library or the Wick Poetry Center Web site.

Heat and power project earns state award

The Ohio Department of Development describes the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Energy as a program that honors individuals, businesses, industries and organizations that have improved Ohio’s economic competitiveness and its environment through the effective, efficient and innovative use of energy.  In November 2005, Kent State University was a recipient of an award for its combined heat and power project.

The project began in May 2002 with the installation of new natural gas-fired electric generators (turbines), with heat recovery steam generator units. A second generator, powered by natural gas or No. 2 low sulfur fuel oil, was also installed. These turbines have the ability to produce almost 90 percent of the Kent Campus’ need for electric power in the winter months, and 60 percent of its need for electric in the summer months.

With 60,000 pounds of steam per hour from the steam recovery units, almost 55 percent of the university’s steam needs are provided by the discharged heat from the turbines.  This heat, which is normally released to the atmosphere, is instead being utilized in the production of steam.

The turbines operate daily to meet the university’s fluctuating power demands. In addition, a base load of power is purchased from a local utility or another supplier. Since purchasing power from the local utility is substantially less expensive during off-peak periods, the turbines will typically not be used to produce power at night and on weekends.

In the event of a power failure due to the local utility, Kent State’s power system has the ability to isolate itself from the utility and continue to produce a majority of the power requirements for the university, enabling the institution to remain open and functional. This additional functionality improves the university’s ability to deliver electricity to its students, faculty and staff in their quest for knowledge through teaching and research. This reliability also ensures power for the almost 7,000 students who live in the residence halls.

Read more about the combined heat and power project at the Kent State power plant on the Campus Environment and Operations Energy Management Web site. In addition, watch the video exclusive featuring Tom Dunn, associate director of Campus Environment and Operations, who describes how the project is used to power the university and why it won the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Energy. Watch the video in Windows Media Player or watch the video in QuickTime.

New field hockey field named in honor of donors

Mel B. Mellis, ’68, has a special connection to the women’s field hockey program at Kent State. Over the last several years, he has been watching the team mature and has quietly made sure that its needs were met by providing funds to pay summer school tuition, cover travel expenses and purchase new footwear.

Recently, the team had a much larger need: a new playing field. Mel and his wife, Dr. Susan Murphy, made a leadership gift of $300,000 that made it possible to move forward with construction of a field designed specifically for the sport. The team had previously played at Dix Stadium. Long-range plans called for the team to get its own facility after non-regulation Astroturf was installed at Dix Stadium to improve the playing surface for football games.

The Murphy Mellis Field, which will serve as the home playing field for the team, is located behind Dix Stadium on the Kent Campus. The facility not only will benefit today’s players, but also will help the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics recruit future student-athletes to play varsity field hockey while pursuing Kent State degrees.

Mellis is chair of the Kent State University Foundation Board, as well as the National Athletic Development Council.

Get the latest scoop on the Kent State women's field hockey program and its new field on the Kent State Field Hockey Web site.

Democracy symposium to examine policy debate

Kent State’s seventh annual Symposium on Democracy, “Irreconcilable Differences?  Science, Religion and Politics in Democratic Policy Debates,” will be held May 2 and 3 on the Kent Campus. The Symposium on Democracy is held annually to commemorate the events of May 4, 1970. These symposia provide ongoing opportunities to learn important lessons from the past about the meaning and expression of democracy in a pluralistic society. Dr. James L. Gaudino, dean of the College of Communication and Information, and Dr. John L. West, vice president and dean, Division of Research and Graduate Studies, are co-chairs of the symposium planning committee.

Symposium activities are free and open to the public. Advance reservations are not necessary.

For more information and updates on the upcoming symposium, visit the Kent State Symposium on Democracy Web site.

Biosafety Facility to Prepare First-Responders

In a world of terrorist alerts and threats, the need for a stronger defense against biological attacks is paramount. Kent State opened its state-of-the-art Biosafety Training Lab in October 2005 as part of a national effort to teach procedures and protocols to those working with and responding to attacks involving harmful biological agents.

The laboratory features state-of-the-art equipment for microbial DNA detection, real-time microbe counting and Web cameras, so advanced training activities can be taught in the new laboratory and viewed over the Internet. It also provides a simulated environment for training, where students follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocol and are trained to detect bioterrorism without manipulating the actual biological agents. The laboratory will not house select agents.

The Northeast Ohio Consortium for Biopreparedness (NEOCB), headquartered at the Kent Campus, is one of only two CDC biosafety laboratory training facilities in the United States.

Learn more about the Biosafety Training Lab on the Kent Campus by visiting the Northeastern Ohio Consortium for Biopreparedness Web site. Also, watch this video exclusive that features Dr. Christopher Woolverton, associate professor of biological sciences, discussing and showing the training lab. Watch the video in Windows Media Player or watch the video in QuickTime.