The Board of Trustees approved four new majors for Fall 2024 at its meeting Wednesday, pending approval from the Ohio Department of Higher Education.

The majors include a Bachelor of Arts in Applied Media and Master of Arts in Journalism Education within the College of Communication and Information, as well as Masters of Public Health in Biostatistics and Epidemiology within the College of Public Health, according to Kent State Today.

The Epidemiology M.P.H. degree within the College of Public Health teaches students how to analyze data relating to spread of diseases and how to track causes and trends relating to disabilities and death within populations. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports an average of 800 epidemiologist jobs open every year, with a 27% growth in employment projected between 2022 and 2032.

Also within the College of Public Health is the Biostatistics M.P.H. degree, which teaches students how to use and analyze public health data to identify public health trends according to Kent State Today.

The Applied Media major prepares students for media professions from a wide range of topics such as sports, education and entertainment, among others, according to a press release from the university. This major allows students who earned credits within CCI but left the university or discontinued their current program to earn a degree, according to Kent State Today.

Originally offered as a concentration by the College of Communication and Information, the Journalism Education M.A. degree specializes in journalistic teaching methods in high school and beyond. Graduates of the program may receive the title “certified journalism educator” after applying for certification. 

Other business

The Board also voted to inactivate the Executive Master of Business Administration degree for Fall 2024, citing decreasing enrollment in recent years.

The Board also recognized the 2,175 degrees earned during Fall 2023.

The Board of Trustees approved the transfer of jurisdiction of university property along East Main Street to the Ohio Department of Transportation. The board also gave the city of Kent temporary control over approximately 1.5 acres of land as part of the greater East Main Street project that seeks to improve driving conditions along East Main Street, according to Kent State Today.

A naming action was approved, naming the Rollie and Frances Layfield classroom in the upcoming Crawford Hall. 

The classroom is named after Rollie and Frances Layfield, who gifted the university $175,000 to the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship’s capital endowment. Rollie Layfield graduated from Kent State in 1964 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and has been a donor to the university’s ROTC program. 

A new contract making Kimble Recycling and Waste Disposal the university’s waste disposal service was approved. The contract lasts over three years with the addition of optional years. The contract is not to exceed $2.66 million in value.

The Board also approved a contract with Building Management Consultants that lasts three years with two optional years valued at $1.3 million. The two optional years include a 1.3% increase to account for inflation.

Centennial Courts A and B will have their roofing systems and HVAC units replaced along with repairs to their exteriors. The project is estimated to be cost around $3 million.

Ahead of their terms as trustees ending on May 16, the board recognized the contributions of trustee Robin Kilbride and undergraduate trustee Haley Dees.

Dees, a junior aerospace engineering major, was appointed by Ohio governor Mike Dewine to the board as an undergraduate trustee June 17, 2022.

“Of all the schools that I had looked into, of all the schools I had toured, nowhere felt like home like Kent State,” Dees said.

Robin Kilbride was appointed by then-Ohio governor John Kasich on April 18, 2016. 

“When you serve in these type of positions, I really believe you get more than you’re giving them,” she said. “It’s been such an honor to help the university and to learn.”

Kilbride adds her experience serving as a trustee has helped her operate her own company.

The Board of Trustees also recognized Undergraduate Student Government president Julie Buonaiuto, who is graduating in May with a major in marketing

“I just want to publicly salute your leadership and look forward to celebrating your graduation,” President Todd Diacon said. 

The new Board of Trustees meeting is May 22.

Michael Neenan is a beat reporter. Contact him at [email protected].