Department of Psychological Sciences

Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett (left) on the Living For We Podcast

Angela Neal-Barnett, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences was recently honored with both a 2024 Webby Award and a regional Edward R. Murrow Award for her exceptional contributions on the Evergreen Podcasts and NPR Ideastream podcastLiving For We,” an impactful exploration of the health and well-being of Black women in Cleveland, Ohio.

The Kent State Student Study logo.

Researchers at Kent State University are beginning the second year of their largest and most ambitious study ever to track 10,000 university students and follow them throughout their lifetimes.  

Senior Hannah Fender graduates.

As a high school senior just three years ago, Hannah Fender was not overly excited about attending Kent State University. Now, she loves it so much, she’s staying for graduate school.

Angela Neal-Barnett, Ph.D. (right), is pictured at the Doula and Community Expo hosted by Birthing Beautiful Communities in April 2024. (Photo provided by Angela Neal-Barnett)

Kent State University’s Angela Neal-Barnett has been working diligently to build up the Spirit of Motherhood program with the goal of reducing trauma and stress symptoms experienced by its pregnant Black mother participants. Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Foundation recently awarded the program another $300,000 to continue its work over the next three years.

Senior Hannah Fender is preparing to defend her honor's thesis.

Hannah Fender is entering the home stretch.

She crunched her bachelor’s degree studies into three years, packed them full of research and other activities and now she is staring down the final 10 weeks of her undergraduate college career.

Student sits on Kent State campus

Angela Neal-Barnett, Ph.D., a psychology professor at Kent State University and an expert in the field, emphasizes that triggers for anxiety disorders vary depending on the specific disorder.

Hannah Fender, Kent State senior psychology major.

Soon after her decision to major in psychology at Kent State, someone had suggested to Hannah Fender that she should get involved in research as an undergraduate. So, she signed up to work in the research lab of Clare Stacey, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology, looking into how empathy changes over time in medical students. And that's when Fender was first bitten by the research bug. 

Kent State researchers are kicking off the Student Life Study, an ambitious project that seeks to follow 10,000 students throughout their lifetime to offer help in real time and create a data pool to help inform educational policy.

Kent State researchers are looking for 10,000 students to participate in an ambitious Student Life Study launching this semester. 

Honors College
Alena stands next to her thesis research poster "Translating Music into Words: Musical Expression of Figurative Words" at an exhibition in Portland, Oregon.

Photo of Angela Neal-Barnett, Ph.D., professor in Kent State’s Department of Psychological Sciences within the College of Arts and Sciences

Kent State University Professor Angela Neal-Barnett, Ph.D., from the Department of Psychological Sciences shares her expertise in a Deseret Magazine article about the quarter-life crisis. She discusses the stage of development called “emerging adulthood.”