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�������� President Beverly Warren recently joined U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan in a meeting with regional leaders about the state of Ohio’s infrastructure and the need for increased funding to improve deficiencies.  The group met Sept. 5 in Kent at the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority’s Kent Central Gateway multimodal transit center. Ryan discussed a report that awarded the United States an overall D+ grade in infrastructure and suggested that the nation needs to invest trillions of dollars in future transportation.

�������� is embarking on a campaign to motivate and assist students toward timely graduation. The university’s “Formula to Finish” initiative encourages students to register for and pass at least 15 credit hours per semester in order to graduate in two years to get their associate degree or four years for a bachelor’s degree, and save time and money in the process. ��������’s Undergraduate Studies oversees the “Formula to Finish” initiative for all students at ��������’s eight campuses.

�������� continues to set records and reach its enrollment goals. The university released its official 15th day census data for the 2014 Fall Semester, reporting the highest retention rate for the Kent Campus in the university’s 104-year history. Retention of Kent Campus freshmen has increased to 81.7 percent, up from last year’s record retention level of 77.6 percent. This represents the percentage of freshmen who continue their studies at the university for their sophomore year. 

Transforum Theatre, a student organization in ��������’s School of Theatre and Dance, performed last month at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Edinburgh, Scotland. Dedicated to helping students pursue their passions and explore their creativity through art, Transforum Theatre was invited by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe to perform an original work, “A Collection of Grimm’s Fairy Tales,” at the Greenside @ Nicholson Square venue Aug. 18–23.

A �������� tradition for 33 years, the annual Black Squirrel Festival took place Friday, Sept. 5, from 12-6 p.m. on the Student Green and Risman Plaza. The Black Squirrel Festival, which is hosted by Kent Student Center Programming, attracts more than 3,000 students, faculty and staff, as well as members of the Kent community. The event included live music, inflatables, rock climbing wall, photo booth, food, local vendors, student organizations and thousands of giveaway items.

�������� has established a new �������� tradition called Blue and Gold Friday.

�������� congratulates its new graduates. The university held its fall 2013 Commencement ceremonies for the Kent Campus on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14 at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center (MAC Center). �������� conferred 1,984 degrees, including 1,544 bachelor’s degrees, 390 master’s degrees, 47 doctoral degrees and three educational specialist degrees.

Previous research says female members of Generation Y are likely to have low self-esteem, resulting in negative behavior because of how women are portrayed in the media, but on the contrary, three undergraduate students from �������� have found this is not always true.

Six recent high school graduates who will be starting classes at �������� this fall got a head start on their college education by studying abroad at ��������’s Florence Summer Institute in Florence, Italy.