The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education has awarded Kent State University the esteemed R1 status for research, which is the highest recognition that doctoral universities can receive. The prestigious designation affirms Kent State’s place as an elite research institution and puts the university in the company of universities such as Yale, Harvard and the University of California-Berkeley.
Kent State becomes one of five universities in Ohio to be designated R1, joining Ohio State, the University of Cincinnati, Case Western Reserve University and Ohio University. Institutions with the R1 designation are considered to have “very high research activity.” Only 146 universities in the nation have R1 status. Kent State, Ohio University and the University at Buffalo are the only Mid-American Conference schools to carry this coveted and esteemed designation.
“This recognition underscores the excellence and the breadth of research and scholarship at Kent State,” said Kent State President Todd Diacon. “This is an amazing accomplishment and a testament to the hard work of our faculty, staff and leadership at Kent State. It is, along with attaining a record-high graduation rate on the Kent Campus and the growing diversification of our student body, one of three signature achievements of the last decade.”
The R1 classification is based on several data points, including the amount of research funding, the number of faculty members, the number of postdoctoral researchers and non-faculty researchers, and the number of doctoral degrees awarded in four main areas.
Over the past five years, Kent State has established five research institutes charged with continuing to build Kent State’s grant funding in areas of particular research strength. These investments combined with a focus on mentoring junior faculty and growing interdisciplinary, collaborative projects have resulted in continued growth in federal funding.
“The R1 designation brings added prestige to Kent State, making the university more attractive to faculty members, postdoctoral researchers and students,” said Doug Delahanty, Ph.D., Kent State’s interim vice president for research and sponsored programs. “It also opens up other funding avenues.”
The Carnegie Classification has been the leading framework for recognizing and describing institutional diversity in U.S. higher education for the past four and a half decades. Beginning in 1970, the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education developed a classification of colleges and universities to support its program of research and policy analysis. Classifications are updated every three years. For more information about the Carnegie Classification, visit https://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu.
For more information about research at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/research.
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Media Contacts:
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595