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Higher Education Administration & Student Personnel Newsletter, 
Kent State University
December 1st, 2014  
Volume 2014: Issue 3
Co-editors: Dr. Stephen Thomas & Damon Kimak
Winner International Alumni Award
Sabina Uzakova

Sabina Uzakova, a native of Kyrgyzstan, is a Kent State University alumna with a master's in Higher Education Administration and Student Personnel. Prioring to attending Kent State University, she attended Moscow Institute for Entrepreneurship and Law in Kyrgyzstan and Alabama A&M University for her undergraduate studies in English Language and Education. 

Sabina was inducted into the EHHS Hall of Fame on October 17th, 2014.  She won this years EHHS International Alumni Award.  
Sabina's work experience encompasses administering international student and scholar exchanges, rule of law programs, and community empowerment initiatives in Kyrgyzstan, assisting with research in international education in the US, as well as conducting student services work in Japan and Afghanistan. Additionally, she works on addressing global challenges such as human trafficking, women's development, and girls' education. 

Sabina is currently serving as a hall director at Hamad bin Khalifa University in Doha, Qatar. In this role, she works with students from around 60 countries living in the residence halls and attending five US and a few European universities at the Education City campus. 

Past Higher Education Administration inductees and awards can be found below.
  • Current Ph.D. student, Shakhnoza Yakubova won the Recent Alumni Award in 2012.
  • Dr. Kenneth Dobbins, who received his doctoral degree from HIED, won the Alumni Leadership Award in 2011.
  • Dr. Brandi Hephner LeBanc, who received her master's degree in HIED, won the Alumni Leadership Award in 2013.

New Certificate Program (Fall 2015)
Institutional Research and Assessment Certificate
 
The Institutional Research and Assessment certificate is focused on enhancing knowledge and skills development in the areas of higher education assessment, institutional research, technology, and the organization of higher education.  The certificate is intended to satisfy professional development needs as well as to prepare candidates to apply for employment in institutional research, student affairs assessment, or academic assessment.  It is an excellent choice for future student affairs or academic affairs professionals that want to stand out in their job search, as few programs provide a focus on assessment with this level of depth.
 
The course contents were designed in consideration of ACPA's ASK Standards, the NASPA Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Knowledge Community Assessment Education Framework, as well as competencies identified in publications by the Association for Institutional Research.  The certificate can be earned within the M.Ed. or Ph.D. in HIED programs by devoting elective credits to the coursework, or as a stand-alone certificate.

To see the Plan of Study, Click Here.  Remember, if you wish to sign up for this or any certificate program, you must first register for it here.
 
For more information about the Institutional Research and Assessment Certificate, contact Dr. Erica Eckert at [email protected].

New Certificate Program (Fall 2015)

Career Advising Certificate

 

The Career Advising certificate program was designed to offer knowledge and skills in the area of career development to meet the needs of students interested in learning more about academic and career advising and/or aspiring to work in academic advising or career services. Additionally, this certificate program is appropriate as professional development for those currently employed in career services settings including academic advisors, counseling supervisors, counselors, career advisors, career specialists, school counselors, workforce development specialists, and others. 

 

Required Courses:

 

CHDS 6/78182 Career Development and Guidance (3)

HIED 6/76492 Internship in Higher Education Administration (3)

HIED 6/76653 College Student Development (3)

HIED 6/76677 Workforce, Economic, & Community Development in Community Colleges (3)

HIED 6/76733 Interpersonal and Group Dynamics (3)

   OR CHDS 6/77531 Individual Counseling Procedures (3)

HIED 6/76679 Career Advising: Theory and Practice (3)

HIED 6/76680 Administration of Career & Advising Services (1)

 

Rememberif you wish to sign up for this or any certificate program, you must first register for it here.  For more information about the Career Advising Certificate, contact Dr. Tracy Lara at [email protected].

 

New Face, Our Place: Lillian Evans

Hello all you beautiful people!!! My name is Lillian Evans and this is my first semester in the Higher Education and Student Personnel Master's Program. I graduated from the University of Mount Union with a degree in Early Childhood Education.  After graduation I was a long term substitute teacher for Akron Public Schools in a kindergarten class.  I could tell you the most hilarious stories.  

 

While an undergraduate student, I was involved in every organization you could think of.  One accomplishment I am proud of is being the First Female African-American Student President at Mount Union.  All of these experiences made going into higher education the best fit for me.     

 

I am originally from Akron, OH and a graduate of Copley High School.  My family is made up my mom, dad, and younger brother Lee.  My parents were social workers, which means that helping people is a part of my DNA. 

 

Currently my graduate assistantship is at Cleveland State University.  I am the Assistant Resident Director for Euclid Commons.  Moving to Cleveland wasn't a huge change of scenery but it is exciting being in the "big city."  I love working with my resident assistants and being able to apply my classes to the real world.

New Face, Our Place: Matt Yako

My name is Matt Yako and I am in my first year in the Higher Education Administration Program. I graduated from Ashland University in 2011 with a degree in Middle Grades Education. Since then I have taught in two different K-12 public school districts in Northeast Ohio and loved working with my students. However, I felt called to continue working in education in a different light. When I was deciding on what to pursue, I thought back to my experiences in colleges working as a Resident Assistant and an Assistant Resident Director. I made many life-long friendships and worked with many remarkable staff members through those experiences. In my future career I hope to become a mentor to students like the staff members I worked with in college were for me.

 

I have a graduate assistantship in the Office of Student Success Programs. Currently, I am recruiting over 250 undergraduate students to take part in our Peer Leader Training Workshop in the spring semester. I am also training 18 incredible students that will co-teach their peers in one of the nine different workshop sections we offer.

 

Kent State has been great to me thus far, but I am most proud of having been able to marry my best friend Mackenzie this past August. We are settling down in our new apartment with our kitten Elsa and recently found out that we are expecting our first child this coming summer! Needless to say it has been the best year of my life and I am enjoying meeting so many intelligent and interesting people in our program. I cannot wait to see what other doors this program opens for me and my classmates in the future.


New Face, Our Place: Kelly Levine

Hi! My name is Kelly Levine, and I am a new masters student in the HIED program. My GA is at Case Western Reserve University in the Student Activities and Leadership Office. Specifically, I work on leadership programming such as the Emerging Leaders program, Leadership Conference, and the Second Year Institute. I am also working for the Greek Life Office at CWRU as the House Director

for Delta Gamma and Beta Theta Pi. 

 

Not only am I new to the program, I am also new to Ohio. Before arriving at Kent, I spent the majority of my time in New York. I was born and raised in the Bronx. I spent the last four years in Western New York at the University at Buffalo, where I earned a BS in Psychology and a BA in Health and Human Services. I've also spent several summers working outside of New York. I worked at a camp in Washington, Maine for a few summers, and this past summer, I was an ACUHO-I intern at Brown University in Rhode Island.

 

I am very excited to be a part of the program here at Kent State, and I look forward to getting to know everyone better over the next two years! 


 New Face, Our Place: Courtney Wade


Hello, my name is Courtney Wade and I am a first-year M.Ed. student in the Higher Education Administration program. I graduated summa cum laude from Hiram College with a B.A. in Communication and minors in Management, Public Leadership, and Educational Studies. I discovered my passion for higher education through extensive on campus involvement. While an  undergraduate student, I worked in admissions and college relations, as well as participated in student ambassadors.  I was also a member of a leadership program that took me to Cuba to study U.S. international policy. It was through experiences such as this that I decided to alter my career path and further my education. 

 

I have a graduate assistantship at Kent State University where I advise undergraduate education majors in the Vacca Office of Student Services. I am excited to explore my interest in research and assessment through the HIED master's program. I hope to see you all around campus!


New Face, Our Place: Adam Wood

Greetings! My name is Adam Wood and I am a first semester student within the Higher Education Administration Master's Program. I graduated from Mansfield University of Pennsylvania in 2013 with my B.S. in Organizational Communication, with a minor in Public Relations. During my time at Mansfield University, I worked as a Resident Assistant for two years and was also involved with their Residence Hall Association. After I graduated in 2013, I still wasn't sure what I wanted to do as a career, so I decided to go back to Mansfield University and start working on an M.A. in Organizational Leadership, while working as a Graduate Assistant for the Office of Residence Life and Housing. It was while I was working as a GA that I knew I wanted to pursue a career in Higher Education, with my main functional area focusing around Residence Life and Housing.

 

Currently, I work as a Residence Director at Westminster College in Pennsylvania and supervise six Resident Assistants and all programming that occurs within the building. Working with my RA Staff and with the entire Residence Life Team has been a blast and I'm so grateful to have gotten to know them and to work with them these past few months. 

 

On another note, I'm originally from North Eastern, Pennsylvania near the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Area. I like to travel, read, ski, meet new people, hang out with friends, and watch American Horror Story, Doctor Who, and The Walking Dead. I've enjoyed my classes in HIED Program so far and I'm so happy that I've had the opportunity to know some amazing people through this program.



New Face, Our Place: Kirstin Toth

Hello, my name is Kirstin Toth, Senior Vice President of GAR Foundation in Akron. As our chief operating officer, I manage our grantmaking which totals more than $6 million per year in Summit County. I also serve on the boards of Summit Education Initiative and the Development Fund of the Western Reserve. In my seven years at the Foundation, I have gravitated towards the education sector as my area of expertise for our grantmaking. I consider HIED the place from where all other education evolves, since it is in HIED where the future teachers/leaders/policymakers are trained, that's why I'm studying in this program. I'm thrilled to be in the company of so many HIED professionals. I have two sons in college and my husband and I live in Hudson with our three cats. 

 

Old Face, New Place: Erica Eckert

 

 

My name is Erica Eckert and I am a proud alumna of both the Ph.D. and M.Ed. programs in Higher Education Administration at Kent State University.  I began my program upon the realization that as much as I respect the field of accounting (my first career), it was not a good fit.  My graduate assistantships and internships were varied--I worked in an academic advising office, two provost's offices, institutional effectiveness, graduate admissions, and as a research assistant for Dr. Thomas.  Although these experiences may seem overly varied, they set me up for a great experience in my first full-time position at Kent State University (admissions for the College of Business graduate programs).  


 

I, then, was drafted to work on the Banner (computer system) implementation for the Provost's office before leaving for a short period of time to work in the operations and logistics side of undergraduate admissions for the University of Akron.  Ultimately I returned to my accounting roots, but in a very different context--by becoming heavily engaged with assessment and data collection for accreditation. 

Read More



Been There, Done That
 
National Conference:
  • Allison Smith (Ph.D. HIED) was a panel member discussing Business Operations, Finance, and Administration Committee panel presentation regarding the funding of projects and initiatives in college/university housing at the 2014 ACUHO-I Business Operations Conference in Kansas City, MO.
Local Conference:
  • Brad Zucco (M.Ed. HIED) presented on "Orientation: It's Not Just For A Summer, It's For Life" at the OCPA Career in Student Affairs Conference on October 11, 2014 at Kent State University.
  • J.D. Chancellor (M.Ed. HIED) co-presented on "STARS College: Experiences, Strategies, Applications and Benefits" at the OCPA Career in Student Affairs Conference on  October 11, 2014 at Kent State University.
  • Kaylene Carpenter (M.Ed. HIED) presented on "The Advantages of Living and Working Abroad before Graduate School" at the OCPA Career in Student Affairs Conference on October 11, 2014 at Kent State University.
  • Naadiya Hopkins, John Hardesty and Mary Maruggi (M.Ed. HIED) co-presented on "Hamburger!!! It's GA Day!" at OCPA Career in Student Affairs Conference on October 11, 2014 at Kent State University.


 

On the Lighter Side: Working in White Hall 
by Stephen Thomas 

 You have worked in White Hall too long when: 
  • You view the concrete block walls as soothing and comforting. 
  • You have replaced the oak, maple, walnut, and cherry furniture in your home with green metal. 
  • You put bathroom tile in the hallways of your home. 
  • Your preference in furniture has become eclectic. 

You know you work in White Hall when: 

  • You have to take your coat off before entering your office (i.e., too small). 
  • You receive a hunting permit rather than a parking permit. 
  • You take the stairs to save time. 

What you have learned while working in White Hall: 

  • You should dress in layers prior to entering the classroom or office as you could freeze or burn, summer or winter. 
  • That stopped clocks are more often accurate. 
  • That parking underneath the building is no guarantee that your car will not get wet or be hit by falling debris. 
  • That those who work here, teach here, and learn here are pretty good folks.
Which Way Did They Go?  Which Way Did They Go?
  • Amber Weaver recently accepted a position working as a Graduate Admissions Counselor at the University of Findley in Findley Ohio.
  • Justin See has accepted a position working as a Recruiting Coordinator for the Department of Art Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio.
Which Way Did He Go George?
Which Way Did He Go George?

Theory to Practice: JOBS!

You Do Not Have to Go Through 
Life Not Knowing

Did you know that:

 

College is more affordable than you might think: "Last year half of all four-year public-college students attended an institution where the annual in-state tuition rate was below $9,011. And the average tuition at community colleges, where about four out of ten undergraduates now attend college, was about $3,300 a year."

 

Student debt is less in the public sector: "Students who attended four-year public colleges had an average debt burden of $25,500. The average debt level for graduates from four-year private colleges was $32,300." 

 

Faculty are not to be blamed for the increase in the cost of college: "Factors that are responsible for driving up costs and prices include: growing numbers of administrators, new facilities, major reductions in state support, and the costs for student aid." 

 

Source: True or False: facts and myths on American higher education by Goldie Blumenstyk (2014).


All HIED Student Information
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Spring 2015 - Fall 2017

Click Here 

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Plan of Study

HIED FACULTY

 

Dr. Paul Gaston

[email protected] 

213 Moulton 330-672-6003

 

Dr. Susan Iverson

[email protected]

411 White Hall 330-672-0653

 

Dr. Mark Kretovics

[email protected] 

300 White Hall 330-672-0642

 

Dr. Tracy Lara

[email protected] 

411 White Hall 330-672-0626

 

Dr. Martha Merrill

[email protected] 

411 White Hall 330-672-0646

 

Dr. Stephen Thomas

[email protected] 

401 White Hall 330-672-0654

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