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Plans For Growing Our Reputation As An R1 Institution

The best way to improve Kent State’s position within the group of institutions designated as R1 is to increase our external (federal, state, and industry) funding and consequent expenditures. While aiming to grow the research and creative activity of Kent State faculty, there are points at which we can make strategic investments that will better position Kent State during the next determination time period. The equations used to determine Carnegie Classification of Higher Education determinations can be reverse engineered to provide approximations of where an institution might invest to improve its position within a category. 

Below are the numbers used in the 2021 categorization along with the ranking of our specific values (ranked from 1-277 with 277 being the best):  

Criteria

The criteria for being designated an R1 (very high research) institution have been simplified to include expending at least $50 million in total R&D and awarding at least 70 research/scholarship doctorate degrees in a year. The best way to improve Kent State’s position within the group of institutions designated as R1 is to increase our external (federal, state, and industry) funding and consequent expenditures. We have made, and will continue to make, strategic investments that will better position Kent State during subsequent determination periods.  

Investments made in FY23

Data collected for FY23 inform the Carnegie classifications for 2025.  During FY23 we made a number of investments in our research infrastructure:

• Concerted Fiscal Management

  • Kent State is focused on ensuring that the university spends and appropriately counts expenditures. Historically, the university gives back ~$1 million in funds each year. The primary contributor to this is failure to appropriately pay personnel via grant accounts. It is critically important to focus on ensuring funds are being spent appropriately and in a timely manner. Thus, we hired a sponsored programs administrator charged with working closely with business managers, PIs, and grants accounting to ensure appropriate and efficient tracking of expenditures.

• Increasing Award Hit Rate

  • To improve Kent State’s hit rate on grants, the university is forming an Office of Research Development staffed with three individuals charged with working closely with faculty to ensure grants are of the highest caliber when submitted

• Game Changer Pilot Funding

  • In FY23, with support from the President’s office, we invested $1MM in the Game Changer Pilot Funding program. Applicants had to propose how the requested funds would have a direct impact on the number, and success, of research grants (federal, industry, and/or state) for multiple faculty in the next three years.  We received 33 proposals through this program requesting over $4.2MM. Through cost-sharing of applicants and commitments by other units, we were able to fund over $2MM ($2,061,791.55) in projects.
  • We have posted a summary of these efforts and listed the funded projects on the Game Changer projects page. 

• Post-Doctoral Scholar Funding Program 

  • We have identified the top 12 highest-funded individuals over the past three years and provided them with a post-doctoral scholar in exchange for a commitment to submit a large-scale (R01 equivalent) grant proposal per year for the two-year award.  
     

More Information

Find more details in the letter from Douglas L. Delahanty, Ph.D. Vice President for Research and Economic Development.

Watch the Video Discussion: