Kent State University recently welcomed home a living legacy of its past when Ellen Engleman Conners, former chair of the National Transportation Safety Board and great-granddaughter of Kent State’s third president, visited campus for the first time.  Engleman Conners visited Kent State to learn more about the legacy of her great-grandfather, James Ozro Engleman, who led Kent State from 1928 to 1938, and his wife, Anna Ulen Engleman, a poet, for whom Kent State’s Anna Ulen Engleman Creative Writing Award is named.Kent State Today was present when Engleman Conners made her first stop:...

When Emily Rider walked into her first in-person class after the COVID-19 shutdown — “How the Earth Works” at Kent State University’s Stark Campus — she didn’t know it would set her on a path that would take her across the country, deep into fossil beds and high into the mountains.That first geology course led Rider to join Geodes, the Stark Campus geology club. She started as a quiet member, then became secretary, vice president and finally president during the 2024–2025 school year. In August, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in geology and is now pursuing a Master of Science in geo...