Are you bold enough to push ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ to even greater heights?
The university community is looking to ββ¦ identify our collective insights and commitment to developing a shared vision β one that reflects with bold clarity our unique distinctiveness as a university,β said Beverly Warren, ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State president.
Warrenβs goal of drafting a vision, values and university priorities by May invites additional input from the community.
Lee Fox-Cardamone, faculty senate president and an associate professor of psychology at ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ at Stark, believes developing a bold vision begins with embracing what already makes ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State distinctive.
In her 21 years in the classroom at ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State, Fox-Cardamone says she has seen how the university changes lives with core values of caring faculty combined with aspirational support for student success.
βWe have students who could have gone anywhere, and we also have a whole group of students who are first-generation college students for their families,β Fox-Cardamone said. βSo we take them, and sometimes theyβre struggling. We help them find success, and to me that is the American Dream. These kids will have better lives and will make their communities better because of what ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State can do for them, and to me thatβs a win-win.
βCollege is about discovery,β she continued. βThe grade means nothing if thereβs nothing to back it up. We let people dream and come to the realization of what they were meant to be.β
P.J. Kimmel, a ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State junior finance major, believes the best opportunities to be bold at ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State lie directly with faculty who interact with students each day. He notes the caring nature many have shown in his personal development.
βAlthough many universities would agree that students come first, ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State offers some of the most personable, down-to-earth professors who are world-class educators and advisors,β Kimmel said. βOur bold vision stretches across all campuses, and our professorsβ selflessness and expertise are bold. I would sincerely argue that you would not find that at every university.β
Kimmel pointed to two experiences as solid examples of the impact of being bold. First were a pair of spring break trips he took with ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State to serve people living in poor areas of the country, and second is an internship with a Fortune 200 Company that the university helped him secure during his sophomore year.
βFrom my personal stories, my point is that ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State offers students countless opportunities to interact with our town, our state, our country and our world,β Kimmel said.
So what opportunities do you see for ΒιΆΉΣ°ΤΊ State to be bold?
Please get involved and visit www.kent.edu/BeBoldKSU. Email your thoughts on the universityβs bold vision for the future to BeBoldKSU@kent.edu and use #BeBoldKSU on social media.