A look at what went on while you were away

&bull Beginning today, new students who have been laid off from a full-time job since Oct. 1, 2008 can take classes for free at Kent State Trumbull campus. The pilot program is open to Ohio and out-of-state residents but is only available at that campus.

Applicants must provide proof that the layoff was the fault of the economy and not the employee, either in a letter from their former employer or documentation of unemployment benefits. Those interested must also be new students or students who have not attended any college or university during the past three years. They also must complete a Federal Application for Student Aid to be eligible.

The program covers up to 12 credit hours worth of classes. Tuition-paying students will have first choice of open seats, and then students admitted to the program can enroll in classes with available spots.

For more information, students can call Student Services at 330-675-8860. Read tomorrow’s Daily Kent Stater for the full story.

&bull Timothy Chandler, dean of the College of the Arts, took the post of senior associate provost Jan. 15. The university will launch a national search to fill his previous position soon. As senior associate provost, Chandler will work with the provost and vice president for academic affairs. Read the full story on Page 3.

&bull The College of Technology received a $13.5 million software gift, the largest in Kent State history, from Texas-based Appropriate Technology on Dec. 16.

The gift will help manufacturing students plan projects from the concept to the manufacturing phase, John DeCola, the college’s director for advancement, said in December.

&bull Bowling Green University named Carol Cartwright its first female president in December. Cartwright retired in June 2006 after serving as Kent State president for 15 years and was named interim president of Bowling Green in June 2008.

Cartwright, who said in an interview shortly after her appointment as interim that she wasn’t interested in a long-term position, succeeds Sidney Ribeau, who is now president of Howard University.

&bull Rev. John Simmons, 77, former chaplain for the National Guard’s 107th Calvary in Cleveland, died Dec. 30. After the May 4 shootings at Kent State, he used his pulpit to denounce the actions of his unit, saying, “Some people wanted it to end that way: the radicals on the left, who want to turn this tragedy to their own use, and reactionaries on the right, who want to do away with the Bill of Rights to save the flag. A pox on both houses.”

He even called for indictments against some of his fellow guardsmen, but backed down in 1974 when a federal grand jury investigated. His son told the Plain Dealer that he was denied promotion for his remarks and quit the National Guard.

&bull James Gaudino, dean of the College of Communication and Information, left Kent State to take the post of president at Central Washington University, arriving Jan. 3.

Gaudino attended the Air Force Academy in Colorado and served in Turkey and Germany before returning to school for his Ph.D. He became CCI dean at Kent State shortly after.

Gaudino told the Daily Record Jan. 10 that his new post at Central Washington is his last job. “I plan on making a career out of this place,” he said.

Contact news correspondent Theresa Bruskin at [email protected].