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At 5'9", Isaac Vance doesn't immediately stand out next to his ����ɬ���� football teammates, but his big heart and care for others clearly make him one of the tallest on the team. Vance, a senior wide receiver, was surprised Dec. 17 as the Humanitarian Award winner ahead of the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. The award is given annually to a player from each team for exemplary community service and leadership efforts. With an infectious smile and overwhelming positivity, it's easy to see why Vance stands out as a person who cares deeply about helping others.

During its regular quarterly meeting held Wednesday, Dec. 15, the ����ɬ���� Board of Trustees approved naming resolutions for 17 spaces to be located in the future Crawford Hall based on philanthropic gifts of $100,000 or more. An additional nine named spaces were approved by ����ɬ���� President Todd Diacon that were below the required Board approval threshold.

The ����ɬ���� Board of Trustees approved two new degree programs at its regular quarterly meeting held Wednesday, Dec. 15. The new majors – the Sport, Exercise and Performance Psychology major within the Bachelor of Science degree and the Emerging Media and Technology major within the Master of Science degree – will help meet the high demand for these types of programs and provide opportunities for students to find careers in these growing fields.

The ����ɬ���� alumni family grew by more than 2,400 new graduates as the university held its fall commencement. The accomplishments of the Fall Class of 2021 were recognized with in-person commencement ceremonies and a virtual commencement ceremony for all colleges and degrees on Dec. 17-18.

For the third consecutive year, Veterinary Technology students at ����ɬ���� at Trumbull earned the highest three-year average passage rate in Ohio on the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE), administered by the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB).

����ɬ���� Golden Flashes excel in a range of activities, and some students are forging their own paths by owning and operating small businesses during their college years. With endless opportunities and resources at their fingertips, ����ɬ���� students have found success as entrepreneurs across a range of industries. Here are five of them.

Her commitment and passion for math mixed with a desire to help others is what led Abbey Eng, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Public Health at ����ɬ���� to earn the 2020 Outstanding Teaching Award (OTA). The OTA, presented by the University Teaching Council, credits three full-time non-tenure track and part-time faculty members for being among the most dedicated and motivated faculty at the university.

Of the 33,984 awarded computer science (CS) bachelor’s degrees in 2020, only 21% of CS graduates identified as women, 3% as Black, and 8.5% as Hispanic (Zweben & Bizot, 2021). Susan Fisk, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology, is using her expertise in social-psychology to change that and improve the field of computing. Fisk was awarded her third National Science Foundation grant to continue her work on broadening participation in computing and improving undergraduate STEM education. 

����ɬ����’s high-powered offense struggled to move the ball against Northern Illinois, and the Huskies prevailed 41-23 over the Golden Flashes in the MAC Championship game in Detroit.

The interruption to ����ɬ���� Ashtabula associate lecturer Joan Steidl’s Intro to Human Services class recently was for a good reason, as Dean Susan Stocker and many of her colleagues were there to make the surprise announcement of Steidl being a recipient of the ����ɬ���� Outstanding Teaching Award (OTA) for 2020. Steidl is one of three recipients across the ����ɬ���� system awarded for 2020 and is just the second ����ɬ���� Ashtabula faculty member to win the award.

As ����ɬ���� returns to a school year that resembles pre-pandemic times, First Star ����ɬ���� Academy has begun to imagine new programs. The Academy is a free, comprehensive four-year college access program for youth in foster care. The program engages a cohort of up to 30 students in a variety of learning opportunities, including academic support, career exploration, social and cultural activities and more.

This year, ����ɬ���� donors demonstrated the power of philanthropy by giving at unprecedented levels. The 2021 Giving Tuesday campaign shattered the previous records, more than tripling last year’s record of $2.2 million.

Following a national search, R. William (Bill) Ayres IV, Ph.D., of Toledo, Ohio, has been selected as the new dean and chief administrative officer of ����ɬ���� at Trumbull. Ayres is currently a professor of political science at the University of Toledo, where he previously served as senior vice provost for academic affairs from 2018 to 2020 and vice provost for academic affairs from 2017 to 2018.

����ɬ����’s Class of 2025 stands tall – more than 3,982 stories tall. Each of our new, first-year students offers a unique and engaging story.

This year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade will include a choreographed jump rope routine from a member of ����ɬ����’s Class of 2025.

Timothy Assal, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Geography, was awarded a grant as a co-principal investigator on a multi-institutional project, “Vulnerability of lower-ecotone aspen forests to altered fire regimes and climate dynamics in the northern Great Basin” (a three-year $299,842 total award with $89,600 going to ����ɬ����), which is funded by the . This collaboration includes the United States Geological Survey in Boise, Idaho, Utah State University, and the United States Bureau of Land Management.

The Kent and ����ɬ���� communities can head downtown to go ice skating starting Nov. 20, courtesy of Kent Skates presented by AMETEK. This special attraction has been created through a partnership between the city of Kent, the ����ɬ���� Hotel and Conference Center, the Kent Area Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Kent and ����ɬ����.