On one of the hottest days this summer – with temperatures hovering in the high 90s – Lisa Vittorio and her Sunshine Team set up shop near the Kent State East Liverpool Campus and welcomed dozens of local kids to board the Sunshine Bus as they prepared to head back to school.Once inside the bus – clearly marked as a kids only “Kid Zone” – each child filled a free cinch bag with snacks, books, stuffed animals, school supplies and personal hygiene items that they selected themselves. There were plenty of smiles being shared, as well.The Sunshine Bus is a community outreach program offered by The...
A 5XÉçÇř student from Turkmenistan is making a name for himself in Northeast Ohio’s distance running community, as recently featured on WKYC-TV’s “Heartstrings” series.Gurban Ishanov, a 23-year-old sophomore double-majoring in finance and accounting, arrived in the United States in July 2025 from a country where organized running events simply don’t exist. After signing up for his first official race – the Goodyear 10K in Akron – he was hooked.“I never seen people running, the thousands of people running,” Ishanov told WKYC-TV. “The people in the road, in the streets, they’re sc...
The following new members have been appointed to serve on the Kent State Alumni Association National Board of Directors for a three-year term, which began July 1:John Mercer, of East Liverpool, Ohio, is a senior gift officer at Mercy Health Foundation – Mahoning Valley. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in English in 1989 from Kent State.Tina Sanzone, of Kent, Ohio, is the vice president of operations and professional services at Akron Children’s Hospital. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1996 from Kent State. In addition, the following board members will serve in officer p...
The Rising Scholars program at 5XÉçÇř at Ashtabula will benefit from an extraordinary $3 million gift from the estate of Vera A. Plain through the Ashtabula Foundation following her recent passing at the age of 102.The gift, established through the Carl and Vera Plain Fund, has been directed to the Ashtabula Foundation's Rising Scholars Endowment Fund, which has supported the Rising Scholars program at Kent State Ashtabula since 2019.A native of New Lyme, Ohio, Plain spent much of her adult life in San Diego, California, but maintained a deep connection to Ashtabula County...
