L – R    Dr. David Mohan (Dean), Bishop William B. Smith Sr. (Pastor of The Sanctuary of Praise ), Mr.Tom Hoilies (Director of Enrollment)

Several local community leaders gather recently at the Kent State University Regional Academic Center in Twinsburg. On Friday, March 18, pastors representing churches from Twinsburg, Aurora, Macedonia, Cleveland, and Northfield, together with delegates from the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio, Mocha Moms, the Salvation Army, and the YMCA joined Kent State staff for an appreciation breakfast. Dr. Alfreda Brown, V.P. for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Kent State University and Reverend Ronald Fowler, consultant to the university, represented the Kent Campus.  All of the guests have participated in promoting the Regional Academic Center to their constituents or endorsed the university in some venture.  As a result of this assistance, Constance Longmire, professor and special assistant for the Regional Academic Center, has had the opportunity to engage new groups of potential students and educate the community about the advantages of receiving a college degree.

Dean of the Kent State University Geauga Campus and Regional Academic Center, Dr. David Mohan, was host to this event.  Student Services personnel, Tom Hoiles, Vania Alvarez-Minah, Jennifer Sayre, and Barbara Melboure, shared pertinent information about the importance of higher education. They explained how the university can assist students in finding financial aid, opportunities for high school students in the post secondary education option, and the degrees currently offered at the Regional Academic Center, as well as the additional upper level classes that will be accessible in the near future.

Dr. Mohan gave a brief history of the Twinsburg Center and its transformation into the new Kent State University Regional Academic Center that will be completed in the fall of 2012. Classes at the Twinsburg Old School were started for Chrysler employees and taught by a Kent professor who carried the text books and materials in his car. Years later, when Dr. Mohan became dean of the Geauga Campus and Twinsburg Center in 2005, there were 200 students attending the Twinsburg Center. Today the center serves more than 900 students and it is projected that the new Regional Academic Center will attract 1500 students within the first years of operation. The new Regional Academic Center will offer several associate degrees as well as some upper level classes. Additionally, it is expected that a select number of graduate degrees will be accessible at the center.

The Kent State University Twinsburg Center has been serving the Twinsburg and area populations for several years. The new Regional Academic Center will continue to represent Kent State University in the high tech, modern facility to be built in Twinsburg and opening in 2012. For more information about the Kent State University Regional Academic Center call 330-487-0574 or visit the website www.geauga.kent.edu.