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The Portage County Regional Planning Commission is spearheading an effort to connect local producers with local consumers through the creation of a food hub built around the aggregation, packaging and distribution of agricultural products. The goal of the project is to increase market access for local food producers, service local institutional and commercial buyers and satisfy consumer demand for fresh, locally grown produce.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ faculty member in the Chemical Physics Interdisciplinary Program and Liquid Crystal Institute® Antal Jakli, Ph.D., received an Outstanding Research and Scholar Award for his liquid crystal research.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ offers a year-round Weight Watchers at Work program to faculty, staff and students on all campuses and community locations. Earlier this year, Weight Watchers introduced a new monthly pass program that includes the Points Plus program and e-tools, to make losing weight easier while still enjoying many of the foods you like to eat.

The new program allows members the flexibility and convenience to attend a Weight Watchers at Work meeting or a meeting in their community. Members can also download the Weight Watchers mobile application on their smart phones at no charge.

Division of Human Resources Vice President Willis Walker announced last week that Â鶹ÊÓƵ will operate on a holiday schedule in December. The holiday schedule will run from Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, through Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2013. During that time, all nonessential operations will be closed at all Â鶹ÊÓƵ campuses. Normal business operations will resume with the first shift on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ at Geauga recently hosted three community events that brought students from Berkshire High School, community business owners and consumers, and senior citizens to the campus.

With all of the fashion students and professors at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, one might expect successful fashion designers, but not many people would have guessed Office of Continuing and Distance Education Outreach Program Manager Angie Stevens as one of those people.

The Ohio Third Frontier program recently made three separate grants to Â鶹ÊÓƵ researchers through the newly established Technology Validation and Start-up Fund, which promotes the commercialization of Ohio technologies developed by the state’s institutions of higher education.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s Supplier Diversity Program Manager Veronica Cook-Euell has received the 2012 Minority Business Enterprise Advocacy award from Black Pages Ohio.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ President Lester A. Lefton wears many hats—from graduation cap to the hard hat.