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Kent State University Capital Plan

Kent State University Capital Plan 2013 - 2018Kent State University Capital Plan 2013 - 2018

Founded in 1910, Kent State University began as a handful of buildings on a wooded hill east of downtown Kent. The campus grew at a measured rate for the first 40 years, but similar to virtually every state university in the country, the campus growth boomed in the 60s and 70s. Between 1950 and 1979, the campus grew by more than 4.2 million square feet. The most recently-built freestanding academic building on the Kent Campus, the Liquid Crystals Materials Science Building, was constructed in 1996. Kent State University has and is experiencing solid growth enrollment and an increasing demand for new and technologically advanced programs in the sciences, at a period when its facilities and infrastructure are faced with block obsolescence. Strategic renovation and expansion of key facilities will support our STEM and Centers of Excellence academic programs.

Kent State University is embarking on an exciting new program which will invest in research expertise and new facilities with the goal of broadening and deepening our partnerships with Ohio industry. Through discussions with regional industry, Kent State is growing its research capacity in both technical and non-technical fields that directly serve Ohio commercial and industrial needs. Investments in new programs like Bioengineering and photovoltaics are placing Kent State at the core of Ohio's new innovation economy, thereby ensuring that the university will remain a relevant and important asset to the economy and people of the region and state. These new research programs are coupled with innovative new educational programs that will train the workforce that industry needs.

Kent State University will be investing in facilities improvements across the campus and in all academic areas, but none as important as within the sciences. In addition to major upgrades to the existing biology, chemistry and physics facilities, the university will be expanding and interconnecting the buildings in order to create a multidisciplinary research component. This new facility, although small when compared to the existing base buildings, will have a great impact on the research activity already underway at Kent State University. The research laboratories will be used to maximize the productivity across numerous areas of study, including but not limited to, chemistry, biology, nursing, public health, liquid crystals, physics, advanced energy systems and material sciences. The research conducted within the sciences will be targeting key areas already becoming the economic engine for Ohio especially in areas associated with healthcare, bioengineering, advanced materials, and energy/sustainability services.

This proposed investment in STEM programs will provide numerous benefits to the university and the state, including:

  • Attract world class faculty and students to the university and to Ohio and ultimately supply well-qualified graduates to the growing businesses in the bioengineering, medical technology, advanced energy systems and advance material design fields.
  • Expand the university’s degree programs in key STEM areas, as well as in neuroscience, advanced material designs, medical technology bioengineering, heath information, public health sciences and industrial hygiene.
  • Stimulate job growth within the region as the new research facilitates new opportunities for regional businesses.
  • Attract new partners in the medical and advanced material industry.
  • Increase the university’s ability to receive federal and international grants and investments.
  • Provide students, both undergraduate and graduate, relevant and demanding educational opportunities necessary to meet the demands of the private sector businesses within the region.
  • Facilitate relationships with industries and create opportunities for students to have hands-on experiences with local businesses and industry.
  • Expand opportunities to collaborate with other northeast Ohio academic centers such as NEOMED.
  • Substantially increase the operational and energy efficiency within the sciences.
  • Address deferred maintenance and safety concerns within the existing 40+ year old structures.
The university’s and state’s investments in the sciences are keys to both the university and the state and will provide the facilities needed to support the growing industries in Ohio.

An Adobe Acrobat .pdf file copy of the Kent State University Capital Plan 2013 - 2018 is available for your review.