Julie Bland

Contract Services Coordinator
jbland2@kent.edu
330-244-3515

Julie is the contract services coordinator for The Corporate University at Kent State Stark. She works with area companies to customize training programs and research projects to help organizations and their employees succeed. Her goal is to respond to client needs by helping to provide solutions in a timely fashion.

Julie came to Kent State Stark with more than 12 years of experience in the field of human resources, which included training and development needs for adult learners. She is a national member of SHRM and ASTD, and is actively involved in the Stark County Human Resource Association. She is a PHR (Professional in Human Resources).

Julie Cremeans-Smith
 

Research and Evaluation Consultant,                                       Tenure-track Psychology Faculty
jcremean@kent.edu
330-244-3459
 

Julie holds a Ph.D. in experimental psychology from Kent State University. As a tenure-track faculty member at Kent State, she co-authored several publications and presented at numerous regional and national conferences. She possesses a wide variety of expertise in focus group facilitation, survey development and implementation, quantitative and qualitative analysis, interpretation and reporting.

As research and evaluation consultant, Julie utilizes a vast array of resources and research methodologies to connect organizations with beneficial information to assist in strategic planning, performance improvement, marketing, economic development and other decision-making initiatives. Julie also teaches psychology courses as a tenure-track faculty member at Kent State Stark.

 Marshall Hill

Research Associate

mhill6@kent.edu

330-244-3530

Marshall Hill is the research associate in The Corporate University, Kent State University at Stark. His duties include developing and delivering customized online survey, research and consulting services to provide organizations with the information they need to make data driven-decisions. In this position, he utilizes the latest research technologies in survey development, deployment, data collection and analysis in the completion of research projects. Marshall has been involved with various aspects of research and technology during the past 17 years. His diverse background has spanned survey research, product deployment, customer feedback, quality control, systems analysis and technological support. Marshall holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Kent State University and received the departmental award for academic achievement. Marshall is currently completing a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology.

Willie Shoemaker

Public Program Coordinator
wshoemak@kent.edu
330-244-3517

Willie holds a bachelor’s degree in medical technology from Kent State University and a master’s in technical education from the University of Akron. Formerly a member of the adjunct faculty at Stark State College of Technology, she has 15 years of teaching experience. Before entering the classroom as an instructor, Willie was the assistant director of clinical chemistry at a local hospital.

Willie coordinates the public professional development programs for The Corporate University at Kent State Stark. With input from working professionals, Willie oversees and manages the supervision and management certificate programs.

Lillian Morrison

Contract Services Manager
lmorri14@kent.edu
330-244-3514

Lillian holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Air Force Academy. She has a master’s degree from Central Michigan University. She served eight years in the United States Air Force as a program manager, flight test manager and assistant chief of minority enrollment at the Air Force Academy. For two years, she was a store manager for an electronics retailer and home-schooled her children for 10 years.

At The Corporate University at Kent State Stark, Lillian works with the contract services team to serve as a liaison between the university and the business community to bridge the expertise of the university to the business world in a real-world, practical manner. Essential to this process is our team’s ability to articulate the value-added services offered by our office and align those services to meet the individual needs of our clients.

Tami Huff

Client Relations Associate
thuff3@kent.edu
330-244-3512

Tami assists the contract services team by providing support for customized human performance improvement projects, professional development programs and conferences developed through The Corporate University at Kent State Stark. She serves as the liaison for corporate clients and program consultants during the planning, execution and post-evaluation phases of each project. Tami is responsible for coordinating various aspects of training projects including contracts, materials, logistics and financials. She also assists with data/research collection, analysis and reporting on research projects. Tami utilizes her skills in the area of organization, administration and customer service to ensure the continuous delivery of premier programming and related services to our clients and partners.

Tami received her bachelor's degree in communication arts from Eastern Nazarene College in Boston, Mass.

Mona Zink

Information Specialist
mzink@kent.edu
330-244-3508

Mona serves as the customer information specialist for The Corporate University at Kent State Stark by assisting program participants in the registration process and providing clients with all necessary program information. Mona assists the contract services team and public programs coordinator in providing support for open enrollment programs by processing participant registrations, maintaining program class files and coordinating program details. Mona is committed to providing excellent customer service to each client.

Ruby Groves

Administrative Assistant
rbgroves@kent.edu
330-244-3504

Ruby provides clerical support to the director of The Corporate University at Kent State Stark. She works with the contract services team and public programs coordinator to design brochures, postcards and promotional pieces for public programs, customized human performance improvement projects, professional development programs and conferences developed through The Corporate University at Kent State Stark. Ruby also assists the department of External Affairs as needed. Her goal is to provide the best-quality customer service to both internal and external clients.

Victor Pavona

Director, Small Business Development Center
vpavona@kent.edu
330-244-3295

Victor C. Pavona is the director of the Ohio Small Business Development Center, Kent State University at Stark. With 40 years of experience in all facets of business management and ownership, Victor is a valuable asset to the Stark and Wayne County areas. His career began at Westinghouse where he held marketing positions which required him to handle all phases of product pricing, promotion, distribution. In this position, he also participated in a White House conference on Energy, a Harvard Business School Study on improving industry and consumer relations, and in a research project that established and published a guiding set of entrepreneurial principals.

Since leaving Westinghouse, Victor has been an entrepreneur primarily in the sound systems industry. He has successfully purchased distressed companies, returned them to health, and sold them to larger conglomerates. His career has taken him to many countries worldwide. Victor is a past president of The Advertising Federation of Akron . He has received the American Advertising Federation’s prestigious “Silver Medal Award” for outstanding achievements in advertising and contributions to the community. He has also earned several “Addy Awards” that recognize creativity in advertising that produce sales results.He currently serves as chair of ProAudio Manufacturers Alliance’s Global Market Research Program; this organization is an International association of sound and recording equipment manufacturers.A Canton native and Kent State alumnus, Victor and his family currently reside in Akron.
 

Holly Bolinger

Outreach Program Officer, Small Business Development Center
hbolinge@kent.edu
330-244-3296

A current business owner and a 16-year veteran of commercial lending, Holly acts as a small business advisor to current business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs. Holly is a Michigan native who has called the Canton area home for the last ten years.