Institutes and Initiatives

Picture of the front of Lowry Hall at Kent State

Ohio’s opioid epidemic is one of the worst in the country. One Kent State University professor and his team are aiming to change that. Deric Kenne in the College of Public Health received a five-year, $2.6 million federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to expand and enhance services for opioid use disorder treatment in Summit County, Ohio. A significant portion of the funding will go to CHC Addiction Services to enhance and expand medication-assisted treatment programming.

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The back-to-school season is in full swing, and students, faculty and staff are preparing to take on the increased workload once again. While the process is a fulfilling and rewarding experience, often the fast-paced lifestyle leaves little time for much else. However, Kim Laurene, Ph.D. and Deric Kenne, Ph.D., professors in the College of Public Health, and Senior Vice President for Student Affairs Lamar R. Hylton, Ph.D., are committed to prioritizing mental health upkeep by supporting and expanding pre-existing services and programs offered at Kent State. 

Division of Research & Economic Development
At left: image of a 3D printer by Karolina Grabowska from Pixabay At right: an image of excavation by JamesDeMers from Pixabay

The Farris Family Innovation Awards support the research of tenure-track faculty members who are not yet tenured at Kent State and who have shown promising drive for their field of study. In May 2021, Faculty Affairs announced the recipients of this year's Farris Family Innovation Awards: Michelle Bebber, assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology, and Elda Hegmann, assistant professor in the Materials Science Graduate Program. 

The image on the left features a computer scientist coding with code in the background and the image on the right is of a scientist researching with a vaccine in the background.

Kent State's Jonathan Maletic, Ph.D., in the Department of Computer Science and Tara Smith, Ph.D., in the College of Public Health are the winners of the 2021 Faculty Outstanding Research and Scholarship Awards (ORSAs). The ORSAs recognize the hard work and dedication of faculty members who have been with Kent State for more than 10 years. Read more about the winners and how they display the highest levels of scholarship.

Kent State University students make their way to the Integrated Sciences Building on the Kent Campus.

A research group in the College of Arts and Sciences at Kent State University is searching for potential treatments for men who have suffered spinal cord injuries and hope to regain bladder control and sexual functions.

Left image of stone tools by Peter Holmes from Pixabay and right image of a bowl of fruit from Couleur on Pixabay

Kent State has announced the winners of the 2021 New Faculty Outstanding Research and Scholarship Awards (ORSAs). The ORSAs recognize the hard work of junior faculty members who have been with Kent State for less than 10 years. The 2021 winners are Shana Klein, Ph.D., in the School of Art and Metin Eren, Ph.D., in the Department of Anthropology. 

Project Shield banner, woman and baby reading

A research team from Kent State University's School of Information working in partnership with Kent State’s College of Nursing received a National Leadership Planning Grant for Libraries from the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS) for $99,982. The funds will support the first stages of what investigators have named Project SHIELD (Supporting Healthy Infant Early Learning and Development).

Division of Research & Economic Development
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Environmental Science and Design Research Institute
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Researchers from Kent State University and the University of New Mexico determined how nitrogen-fixing plants and soil microbes contribute to the overall nitrogen availability in the Chihuahuan desert in New Mexico.

Division of Research & Economic Development
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