Dear Members of the Kent State University Community,
I am writing to announce the retirement of Paul DiCorleto Ph.D., vice president for research and sponsored programs, effective May 31.
For nearly six years, Dr. DiCorleto’s strategic and steady guidance has elevated Kent State’s standing as a national research university.
Dr. DiCorleto has cultivated a culture of research and innovation among our faculty, students and staff. He has increased research opportunities for students – particularly undergraduate students – and has fostered significant growth in our research funding.
Under his guidance, the Office of Student Research was established to oversee numerous initiatives, including the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience, which has more than doubled its number of participants since the program was created five years ago. In the same time frame, the Undergraduate Symposium on Research, Scholarship and Creative Endeavors grew to 450 student participants.
During his time at Kent State, Dr. DiCorleto has worked with the faculty and deans of many colleges and departments to support efforts to create a significant number of university-wide institutes and initiatives, including the Brain Health Research Institute; the Advanced Materials and Liquid Crystal Institute; the Environmental Science and Design Research Institute; the Healthy Communities Research Initiative; the Global Understanding Research Initiative; the Design Innovation Initiative; the Human Performance Education, Research and Outreach Initiative; and the Anti-Racism and Equity Institute, which begins in September.
Within Northeast Ohio, Dr. DiCorleto has cultivated partnerships with regional universities and the corporate community, and he has worked to establish the Northeast Ohio Public University Research Alliance (NEO-PURA), bringing together research leaders from Cleveland State University, Kent State, Northeast Ohio Medical University, the University of Akron and Youngstown State University to collaborate on multiple activities, including research grants and workshops for faculty.
Dr. DiCorleto encouraged faculty and created an environment of support services for them to apply for and achieve new levels of external funding for research. During his tenure, our research expenditures doubled from $25 million to $50 million, and the university established the Kent State University Research Corporation as a nonprofit entity that complements the research division by providing increased flexibility in obtaining corporate and international grants and contracts. Over the past year, Dr. DiCorleto has provided steady leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and the seamless transition of researchers to virtual and remote formats.
A special thanks to Doug Delahanty, Ph.D., associate vice president for research and professor of psychological sciences, who has agreed to serve as interim vice president for research and sponsored programs after Dr. DiCorleto’s retirement and until a new vice president is hired.
We offer our most sincere thanks to Dr. DiCorleto for his exceptional service to our university, and we extend our best wishes for a happy, healthy retirement.
Sincerely,
Todd Diacon
President