Kent State President Beverly Warren began her Listening Tour as a way to engage with the Kent State community. She will hold student-focused sessions for students throughout the remainder of the semester.

Warren began her Listening Tour on July 1, her first day as president, and held the first date for regional students Sept. 29. She will hold six more student-geared sessions to continue learning about the university.

“One of my most positive learnings to date is when I ask a faculty group what do they like about Kent State, their first answer is ‘the students,’ ” Warren said. “And when I ask students what they like best about Kent State, they will answer, ‘the faculty.’ ”

Warren also said students have told her they’re seeing more student involvement in organizations, but they want to see more across-group communication.

“They said, ‘Dr. Warren, we don’t need you to make that happen; we have to make that happen,’ ” Warren said. “So it was really great to hear the students talking about increased engagement and how they might enhance that even further.”

Five of the remaining Listening Tour dates are geared toward student groups, and the very last one will be open to all students.

Eric Mansfield, executive director of University Media Relations, said students in the specific organizations will likely be notified by email invitation, which has worked with past Listening Tour sessions as well. He also said, in the case of alumni, invitations can be sent out by mail.

“The wide variety of feedback we have received so far has shown the Listening Tour to be a great success in assisting President Warren with getting to know the university community on a personal level and to truly understanding and embracing the heart of Kent State,” Mansfield said.

Warren said she isn’t looking forward to any one session because all of the students are her top priority.

“I think every time I meet with students, whether there are five there or 500 there, it’s really, really invigorating for me,” Warren said.

The next Listening Tour event is focused on Kent Interhall Council and will take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 21 in the Governance Chambers located in the Kent Student Center.

Contact Marissa Barnhart at [email protected].

Editor’s note: Due to an editor’s error, the tour dates listed were incorrect. The dates have been changed to reflect the accurate dates.