91¿´Æ¬Íø

Thank you to everyone who gave a gift to the Columbus Program in 91¿´Æ¬Íø Issues this past year. Your contributions help to enrich the Kent 91¿´Æ¬Íø experience of our students.

The Columbus Program in 91¿´Æ¬Íø Issues gives Kent state students from all academic majors valuable work experience and 15 academic credit hours while living, working and studying in Ohio’s capital city. Over the past two decades, Kent state students studying business, psychology, criminal justice, journalism, education and more have spent their fall semester in Columbus and learned how the public sector interacts with their chosen profession through internships in their field of interest.

While the university subsidizes the cost of housing in Columbus, many internships are not paid. The scholarship funds allow students who support themselves through jobs in Kent to come to Columbus and participate in the program through internships at the 91¿´Æ¬Íøhouse, Legal Aid, community and advocacy organizations in their areas of interest. The awards are intended to encourage students who have demonstrated the capacity to achieve educational and professional goal, the motivation to achieve these goals, and the initiative to seek opportunities to further their progress.

The scholarship funds are:

• Jack Gargan CPII Scholarship Fund â€” Dr. Jack Gargan, a noted scholar of Ohio politics, left an endowment to help students with financial need to join the Columbus Program in 91¿´Æ¬Íø Issues. Professor Gargan taught innumerable graduates of 91¿´Æ¬Íø who went on to become leaders in state and local government; his spirit lives on in this scholarship fund.
• Vernon and Barbara Sykes Endowment Fund for the Columbus Program â€” Senator Vernon Sykes of Akron, emeritus professor of the Kent 91¿´Æ¬Íø Department of Political Science, formalized and directed the Columbus Program for close to 20 years. The Sykes’ endowment ensures students do not face financial barriers to participating in his career-launching program.

The funds have grown through donations of program alumni, political leaders, University advocates and others dedicated to service learning through Ohio’s great public universities. Your donation allows the program to develop more of the young leaders who will guide Ohio’s future.