President Sidoti welcomed the group and led the Pledge of Allegiance
The Invocation was offered by Christie Anderson.
President Roger and David Dix led us in the singing of Home On The Range.
Todd Kamenash will be handling photos this afternoon with Shawn Gordon handling
Rotareminder duties.
Dr. Todd Diacon, Nick Gattozzi and Kelvin Berry, Kent State University
Elizabeth Burrows, student from Stanton Middle School, and her parents Casey and David Burrows
Dick McNeil, guest of Laing Kennedy
Announcements
Perfect attendance was Laura Martin Miller who was not present.
President Roger announced the need of poll workers for March 2nd. Two from each party needed.
Carol Crimi announced that she needs helps with providing meals for the homeless on March 28th. Sixteen members of the club have volunteered to serve on a committee for this purpose. They will meet February 18th. Carol will send out an email to all with bullet points for discussion regarding the effort.
Steve Dennis announced that our Every Rotarian Every Year campaign has raised $11,500 with ab average gift of $111. We are wrapping this campaign up this week. Please see Steve if you are one of the four members yet to participate.
Olivia Pilon announced that she and David McKeen will be hosting a social for the club members at Treno on Friday February 7th from 5-7 PM. Please come by and join in.
President Roger announced that he will not be in town next week so Randy Smith will be stepping in for him.
Student of the Month
Anthony Horton of Kent City Schools introduced the club to the Stanton Middle School student of the month Elizabeth Burrows. Anthony informed the group that Elizabeth is very involved at Stanton in the following activities: Soccer, Track and Field, Choir, Drama Club, Power of the Pen, and Student Council. She holds a 3.9 GPA and takes high school level classes including Advanced Algebra, Coding and Advanced French. She is involved in her community and volunteers for Kent Junior Mothers. She plans to study computer science or chemistry in college. She is joined today by her proud parents Casey and David Burrows.
Speaker
President Roger and David McKeen honored KSU president Dr. Todd Diacon with honorary membership into the Kent Rotary Club. President Roger shared with the group that Dr. Diacon, in his work, strives to foster very similar ideals to those of Rotary. He mentioned that Dr. Diacon works to build relationships and support the community. Dr. Diacon hold high ethical standards and in his role as the president of Kent State University, illustrates service above self. The group welcomed Dr. Diacon to the club.
Kathy Myers introduced Dr. Todd Diacon as the 13th president of Kent State beginning his term in July of 2019. Dr. Diacon’s background includes his work at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and his role at the University of Tennessee. His wife Moema is an artist. They have one son who works as an architect.
Dr. Diacon thanked Roger, David and Kathy for the nice warm welcome. He thanked the Kent State donors in the room for their support of university. He also thanked the club members and members of the community for making Kent such a warm and welcoming place where Kent State students feel a part of the community and enjoy calling Kent their home away from home. Dr. Diacon also congratulated Todd Kamenash on his recent award as the club’s Rotarian of the Year in 2019.
Dr. Diacon shared with us that KSU is now 38,000 students strong. The university has recently improved its rankings national and internationally rising three positions in the U.S. News and World Report ranking colleges and universities nationwide. He noted that the College of Architecture and Interior Design is ranked number 16 for architecture and number 14 for interior design. He noted that the Fashion School’s current rankings are number 5 nationally and number 14 internationally. Forbes recently ranked Kent State as a top 15 company for diversity. The university’s Center for Adult and Veteran Services was just recognized as the best adult learning program in the country. The Kent State community has much to be proud of!
Dr. Diacon shared that the new College of Business building on Main Street will be a transformational building with large spaces for community events and engagement. He mentioned that KSU’s first parking deck will be built soon. The building will cost $76MM, $11MM of which has been raised.
The University will celebrate its 50th anniversary of May 4, 1970 this year. Dr. Diacon detailed the various events that will take place during the dates of May 1- May 4, 2020. He mentioned a March 12th panel discussion entitled Leading Through Tragedy coming up soon and invited all to attend. The event will be moderated by Dr. Beverly Warren, KSU’s 12th president. The event will focus on how to encourage peaceful discourse and the dangers of political polarization.
Dr. Diacon mentioned that KSU has a proud history of engaging first generation college students and helping them obtain their college degree. He noted that one of his top priorities as president is ensuring that these students complete their degree. He mentioned that with the high cost of college, there’s nothing worse than having student loan debt without having completed the college degree. Completing the college degree can be transformative throughout the life of the individual, increasing one’s earning power by $1MM over the course of a lifetime.
Dr. Diacon fielded a variety of questions ranging from the challenges of students debt to declining enrollment. Kent State is well positioned to continue to grow with improvements that are being made across campus as well as through the expansion and success of online educational opportunities.
Nelson Burns served as the responder thanking Dr. Diacon for his commitment to Kent State and the greater Kent area community.
