Kent State University is hosting the first Presidential Symposium on Research, titled “Hypervigilance: Fact, Fiction or Fault?”, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 22, at the Kent Student Center. The topic focuses on the looming nature of mass casualty circumstances in society today, especially the occurrence of unexpected violent incidents and natural or man-made catastrophes.

“This symposium addresses one of the most complex and compelling phenomena of our time: the state of ‘hypervigilance,’” says Kent State President Lester A. Lefton. “I am very proud that the symposium showcases the outstanding research of many Kent State faculty members and students, including work that spans multiple disciplines and engages institutions and organizations far beyond campus boundaries.”

Highlights will include two keynote speakers: Dr. John Mueller, Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies and Professor of Political Science, Ohio State University, and Dr. Brian W. Flynn, associate director of the Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress and Adjunct Professor of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services, University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, Md.

Mueller will be discussing “Reacting and Overreacting to Terrorism” at 9 a.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom. Author of the book Overblown: How Politicians and the Terrorism Industry Inflate National Security Fears, and Why We Believe Them, Mueller also was a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution and served as a visiting professor at the University of Alberta, Canada and Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.

At 1 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom, Flynn, Former Rear Admiral and Assistant Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, will speak about “Issues and Models to Promote Integration in Extreme Situations: Prevention, Intervention and Policy.” Flynn is a consultant, writer, trainer, and speaker specializing in preparation for, response to, and recovery from, the psychosocial aspects of large-scale emergencies and disasters. He has directly operated, and supervised the operation of the federal government’s domestic disaster mental health program (including terrorism), programs in suicide and youth violence prevention, child trauma, refugee mental health, women’s and minority mental health concerns and rural mental health.

In addition to the two keynote addresses, symposium participants can attend morning and afternoon breakout sessions on the following topics: schools and violence, studies of terrorism, public health preparedness, hypervigilance as a response to sexual violence, how trauma interferes with the judgment and physiology of vigilance, hypervigilance in law enforcement and the judicial system, hypervigilance and the penitentiary survival, and preparedness payouts.

The symposium is free and open to the public, though registration is required. To register or for a full schedule of events, visit www.kent.edu/rags/PSR. Continuing education credits may be available; for more information, e-mail kretherf@kent.edu.