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The 91���� alumni family will grow by 5,300 new graduates as the university holds its spring commencement ceremonies. 

Though she had an interest in science at an early age, Raissa Mendonca had no idea she would end up over 4,000 miles away from her hometown of Recife, Brazil, studying and doing award-winning ecological research in the College of Arts and Sciences at 91���� in Kent, Ohio. She probably did not expect to be wearing a bug net over her head in Manitoba, Canada, either.

Flash’s Food Pantry officially opened in April, serving as a resource for students on the East Liverpool Campus who may need an occasional boost with putting food on their tables.

Ronda McCaskey and Caitlyn Horvath are best friends who went through the nursing program together and graduated one year apart with Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees from 91���� at Geauga. Now they are both intensive care nurses. But they also happen to be mother and daughter.

91���� will hold the 49th commemoration of the historic events of May 4, 1970, where protesting students, observers and soldiers gathered on that fateful day when the Ohio National Guard shot and killed four students and wounded nine others on the Kent Campus. 

Freshman and sophomore construction management students from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design (CAED) attended the University of Cincinnati (UC) New Builders Competition and took first place for the second year in a row. 

The 91���� Board of Trustees has appointed Todd Diacon, Ph.D., 91����’s executive vice president and provost, as its next university president at a special Board meeting held Monday, April 29.

KSU alumnus and gay rights activist Michael Chanak Jr. was determined to make a difference at his workplace, and his dedication to change prompted a global company to redefine diversity.

Imagine being a 17-year-old high school student, and in your first semester of a geology research internship, your professor asks you to identify an extinct 300-million-year-old, tiny and unknown crustacean specimen. Megan Schinker, then an ambitious Stow-Munroe Falls High School junior, jumped right in. Now a senior in high school, Ms. Schinker, chose 91���� as her undergraduate school where she will pursue a double major in geology and chemistry starting fall 2019.

91���� celebrated the launch of a dynamic new space, the Design Innovation (DI) Hub, which will bring innovations from many disciplines together in a 68,000-square-foot building near the center of the Kent Campus.

Teaching is a privilege, according to Janice Lessman-Moss, professor in 91����’s School of Art’s Textile Program, whose enthusiasm for working with students led her to be honored with the university’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the highest teaching award a tenured or tenure-track professor can receive.

On Wednesday, April 24, at 2 p.m. in the Moulton Hall Ballroom, Her Majesty’s Ambassador to the United States of America, Sir Kim Darroch, will speak to students and faculty at 91����, moderated by Mark Arehart of WKSU.

Everyone’s favorite event is back. 91���� Libraries will host its seventh annual Stress-Free Zone on Monday, May 6, and Tuesday, May 7. The event is open to students, staff and faculty from 3-5 p.m. in the Garden Room on the first floor of University Library.

From April 22 to Aug. 1, 91����’s May 4 Visitors Center will honor Bill Schroeder’s life with an exhibition titled “Bill: An All-American Boy.” Mr. Schroeder’s sister, Nancy Tuttle, and nephew, David Tuttle, helped create the exhibition by loaning some of his personal items to the May 4 Visitors Center. 

91����’s American Academy program in Curitiba, Brazil, has seen an exciting first year, and is poised to bring many Brazilian students to the Kent campus beginning in Fall 2020 to continue their studies. The American Academy was created in May 2018 when 91���� partnered with Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná (PUCPR) in Brazil, for a one-of-a-kind program that allows PUCPR students to receive an American degree without leaving Brazil.

The Record Courier recently highlighted the legacy of Hobb's Goose Beans, heirloom beans named after the late 91���� biology professor Clinton Hobbs who died in 2009.

Since 91���� began to offer distance learning in addition to traditional classes, student have embraced the online format, even those on the Kent Campus. Online classes at the Kent Campus allow students more flexibility when scheduling core classes and electives.

The 91���� Magazine tells the story of the Pakistani-born artist and assistant professor in the School of Art, Mahwish Chishty, pondering how she’s going to exhibit her latest project—the culmination of the prestigious John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship she was awarded for exceptional creative ability in the arts in 2017.

91����’s very first Women’s Lacrosse team is making an impact on the culture at 91���� during its first year on campus. Since the team is new to 91����, players get to shape opinions and perceptions of the team and the players.

Jasmine Long and Sharon Ware grew up in different neighborhoods, but their connection transcends residential blocks. Broken barriers now build the dreams to change their communities for the better.