BREAKING WEB EXCLUSIVE: Computers reported stolen from deans’ offices

Jessica Rothschuh

Four computers and six monitors were discovered missing from two deans’ offices in Taylor Hall this afternoon.

The doors to the deans’ offices for the colleges of Communication and Information and Fine and Professional Arts showed signs of forced entry.

The Kent State Police Department is currently investigating the matter, said Timothy Chandler, dean of the College of Fine and Professional Arts.

“The call came in as a theft from 204 Taylor Hall, but we cannot confirm it was a burglary,” said Paul Rothenbacher, dispatcher for the Kent State Police Department.

Chandler was the first to discover the computers missing when he got to the office at 12:45 p.m. today, he said. Prior to his arrival, no one had been in the office since 4 p.m. yesterday.

James Gaudino, dean of the College of Communication and Information, could not be reached for comment.

It was not immediately known what type of information was stored on the missing computers, Chandler said. The College of Fine and Professional Arts office will take an inventory tomorrow morning when the employees who used the missing computers arrive.

“There were no official records of any student material,” Chandler said. “Mostly, it is internal material to the dean’s office. Certainly no official records as far as I know.”

Taylor Hall may have been left unlocked overnight because architecture students and Daily Kent Stater staff were in the building, Chandler said.

Anyone with information regarding the missing computers should contact the campus police at (330) 672-2212.

Contact news correspondent Jessica Rothschuh at [email protected].