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The ����ֱ�� State University alumni family will grow by more than 2,500 new graduates as the university holds its fall commencement. The accomplishments of the Fall Class of 2020 will be recognized with a virtual commencement recognition ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 19.

While colleges across the country have worked to find ways to recruit the next class during the pandemic, ����ֱ�� State is being recognized for its unique and innovative techniques to find the class of 2025. In lieu of typical on-campus events, the ����ֱ�� State admissions team has traveled across Ohio and hosted “KSU2U” drive-in presentation experiences for prospective students and families.

����ֱ�� State University’s College of Business Administration offers one of the nation’s most outstanding online Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs, according to The Princeton Review. The education services company profiles the college in its Top 50 Online MBA Programs for 2021 ranking.

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder sometimes have a difficult time with social interaction and building relationships. The Autism Society of Greater Akron wanted to help those on the spectrum socialize with others freely and make friends by creating an adult social club. The club was then made possible with two ����ֱ�� State affiliates and Wendy Cline, a support specialist and licensed social worker at the Autism Society of Greater Akron.

����ֱ�� State University has named Margaret (Peggy) Shadduck, Ph.D., of Richardson, Texas, as its new vice president for Regional Campuses and dean of the College of Applied and Technical Studies. Shadduck was selected following a national search.

When the order came in the spring of 2020 to go remote, faculty and students in ����ֱ�� State Ashtabula’s nursing program were concerned. How would they stay connected in a remote environment? How would the students stay engaged? Enter “The Net,” a virtual community for nursing students, faculty and nursing support staff at ����ֱ�� State Ashtabula. 

����ֱ�� State University President Todd Diacon recently notified 23 ����ֱ�� State staff members that they are the 2020 recipients of the President’s Award of Distinction. The award was created as a recognition program to reward staff members who have demonstrated outstanding achievements, service, leadership and dedication to ����ֱ�� State in advancing the university’s strategic priorities and core values.

Dane Paris, a junior biology pre-med student in ����ֱ�� State University’s Honors College, has already left his mark at ����ֱ�� State despite facing challenges along the way. His outstanding leadership has not gone unnoticed, and he credits the support he has gotten through ����ֱ�� State for his growth and successes. 

The ����ֱ�� State University Board of Trustees ratified the university’s Fiscal Year 2020 Efficiency Report and Master Recommendations report, which showed an effectiveness and efficiency savings for Fiscal Year 2020 of $31,286,881. The savings is $6.2 million more than originally estimated.

A year before Timothy Griffin graduated from ����ֱ�� State University at Tuscarawas in 2017 with an Associate of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering Technology degree and a certificate in computer-aided design for manufacturing, a single phone call would launch his career and have him designing life-saving firetrucks before he graduated.

����ֱ�� State University has announced the recipients of the 2020 Outstanding Research and Scholarship Awards (ORSA). Sponsored by the University Research Council and the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs, this award honors ����ֱ�� State’s exceptional researchers and scholars.

����ֱ�� State University has announced the recipients of the New Faculty Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award. These awards recognize the hard work and dedication of faculty who have been at ����ֱ�� State for 10 years or less and are sponsored by the University Research Council.

����ֱ�� State University is marking the promotions and tenure of 135 faculty members during the 2019-2020 academic year.

����ֱ�� State University has inducted 53 employees into its 20-Year Club Service Awards Program for 2020.

����ֱ�� State alumna 1st Lt. Ashley White-Stump is featured along with other American heroes in the new National Museum of the United States Army, which just recently opened in Virginia.

����ֱ�� State’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA ����ֱ��) Chapter, along with two School of Media and Journalism (MDJ) alumnae, earned national recognition at the 2020 PRSSA Annual International Conference. Public relations alumna Jill Golden, won the highest individual award, the National Gold Key award, and alumna Carrie Kandes, APR, earned the Teahan Professional Adviser award.

����ֱ�� State will recognize the accomplishments of its Fall Class of 2020 graduates with a virtual commencement recognition ceremony. Students, faculty, staff, parents and friends are invited to tune into the virtual ceremony on Saturday, Dec. 19, at 11 a.m.

While it's no secret that many college students drink alcohol, how COVID-19 affected these behaviors and patterns is the focus of recent research published in the journal Addictive Behaviors by the collaboration of William Lechner from the Department of Psychological Sciences and Deric Kenne from the College of Public Health. The pair sought to study the effects that a major stressor such as the pandemic could have on addictive behaviors and how vulnerabilities such as anxiety and depression played a part in the coping process of college students. 

In preparation for honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, ����ֱ�� State’s Martin Luther King Jr. Planning Committee is requesting that university divisions, departments and student organizations submit programming, activities and events (scheduled Jan. 25-Jan. 31, 2021) to the MLK Events Calendar by Friday, Dec. 4, 2020.

Through multiple organizations and collaborations on and off campus, ����ֱ�� State University ended 2019 as a more sustainable campus. Those who contributed to sustainable efforts worked hard to reduce the university’s carbon footprint leading to the university being honored as a finalist for the 2020 Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) Campus Sustainability Achievement Award  along with the 2019 Keep Ohio Beautiful award for Colleges and Universities.