By day, Will Kalkhoff, Ph.D., is a professor in Kent State's Department of Sociology and Criminology, teaching courses on criminal justice, researching police officer performance and mentoring students on their path to careers in sociology, law enforcement and public safety. On weekends and evenings, he's a Reserve Sergeant with the Stow Police Department, working side-by-side with commissioned officers, designing training scenarios and helping shape the next generation of law enforcement professionals. And at any hour—day or night—he might get the call to respond as a member of the Portage County Water Rescue Team, where he puts his scuba divemaster certification to work alongside first responders from fire and law enforcement agencies across the region.
When You Get That Call
It's 10:30 on a weeknight. Kalkhoff has just settled in after a long day. Then his phone goes off.
A possible drowning. A local lake. The clock starts ticking.
Within minutes, he's on his way. And in that moment, everything he teaches in the classroom becomes something else entirely.
"You can read about emergency management and multi-agency teamwork," Kalkhoff says. "But until your phone goes off, and the clock starts ticking, and it's 10:30 at night and you're on your way to a lake in the middle of the night to try to find a person who's gone missing under the water—you have no idea what that feels like."
For Kent State students, learning from someone like Kalkhoff isn't just an educational advantage. It's a window into what their future careers could actually look and feel like.
A Winding Road to Service
Kalkhoff's path to service didn't begin in a squad car. It began over coffee.
A few years ago, he sat down with Lt. Mike Lewis of the Kent Police Department (PD). Kalkhoff had recently created the Electrophysiological Neuroscience Laboratory of Kent (ENLoK), and Kent PD was in the process of equipping its officers with body cameras. The two decided to collaborate on applied research—studying how camera monitoring might affect police officer performance in high-stress, critical incident situations.
That research partnership led to work with the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy and eventually with MILO, an international law enforcement and military training company. Kalkhoff found himself spending significant time alongside police administrators, officers and training professionals.
"By working so closely with law enforcement administrators and police officers as well as training professionals, I came to see things from their perspective," Kalkhoff said. "I gained a scientific and personal understanding of the complex challenges that police departments and police officers face today, and I became gripped by a drive to serve however I could."
That spirit rubbed off on him from the officers he got to know.
"Few possess the courage to devote their lives to the service of strangers, placing themselves in harm's way daily for a cause that often goes unthanked," he says. "Spend enough time around those kinds of people, and you'll catch the fever."
When he saw the advertisement to join the Stow Police Department Reserve Unit, he didn't hesitate. When the opportunity arose to join the Portage County Water Rescue Team—putting his scuba divemaster certification to use—he jumped at that too.
The decision was also shaped by the weight of the times. "Political polarization and unrest had reached new heights, and then on top of that we had to deal with the COVID pandemic," Kalkhoff said. "In overwhelming circumstances where it feels like the world is coming apart, there's always the temptation to bury your head in the sand and hope it all just goes away. Life's challenges have taught me that action is the best antidote to despair. If the world feels heavy, go out and do something—physically and tangibly—to make it better. No effort is too small."
What the Reserve Sergeant Brings to the Station
Ask Sergeant Kasey Olesinski of the Stow Police Department what Kalkhoff contributes to the Reserve Unit, and she doesn't hesitate.
"He's really taken on more responsibility as a sergeant," she says. "He communicates with new applicants, helps with recruiting, assists with interviews—and his background working with students and people really helps him have a viewpoint of whether he thinks they'll work out for us."
What strikes Olesinski most is how Kalkhoff's academic and technical skills translate directly into police work. He's helped develop training curriculum, streamlined the department's backend systems, and brought a level of instructional precision the unit hadn't had before.
"He's very good at streamlining the training plans," Olesinski explains. "We don't have that kind of background to put together that kind of class. So, he's been really helpful."
His role in scenario-based training is where the exchange between professor and reserve officer becomes most vivid. Kalkhoff doesn't just design the scenarios—he acts in them, playing individuals in mental health crises, people who've committed offenses and uncooperative subjects. He brings props: a rocks glass filled with apple juice standing in for bourbon or fake blood spatters to provide visual realism. Details like these, brought together with stressful scenarios, recreate the sensory overload that helps officers learn to process the messy complexities that enter into split-second judgement.
"He kind of plays all those different ends of the spectrum," Olesinski says. "He gets to see how the same officers handle different scenarios, and he changes his behavior based on how they respond—and they respond based on how he changes his behavior. It's a give and take."
For Olesinski, that loop runs in both directions. "I think it really gives him a better understanding of what his students will actually face in real life."
From the Field Back to the Classroom
Kalkhoff uses everything he experiences in the field to enrich what his students learn. The most powerful example, he says, involves use-of-force policy.
"When I first joined the Reserve Unit, we had to learn the department's use-of-force policy. This policy and related policies take up a significant chunk of the entire policy manual, which is over 800 pages," he explains. "I think most people have no idea how long and detailed these policy manuals are."
That knowledge transforms how he teaches. "You can teach students relevant case law from a textbook, but it's a lot more meaningful when you can discuss how that case law is reflected in different standard operating procedures that some departments make available online. By pairing Supreme Court precedents with the specific policies used by real police departments, students gain a ground-level understanding of use-of-force that transcends the textbook. This empowers them to evaluate use-of-force incidents with fairness and precision."
He's also brought a screen-based simulator system into the classroom, giving students direct experience with realistic scenarios that police officers encounter regularly. "Having hands-on experience helps you explain content from a vantage point that college professors don't always have," he says.
There's a concept Kalkhoff returns to when helping students understand what multi-agency emergency response actually feels like: "flow." It's the sensation of being fully in the zone—when skills, trust, and communication come together so seamlessly that individual effort disappears into collective purpose.
"When lives are on the line and minutes or even seconds count, members' skills, their unspoken trust for one another, their lack of ego and their ability to communicate with something as subtle as a glance are the things that come together to optimize outcomes," he said. "The water rescue team trains often. And while we don't say out loud that we train in order to achieve team flow when it counts, that is, in large part, exactly what's going on."
A Lesson for Students
Kalkhoff's story carries a direct message for students considering careers in criminal justice, law enforcement or public safety: don't wait for your career to give you experience. Go get it now.
"Get involved," he said. "At the very least, contact your local police department or sheriff's office and ask about doing a ride-along. For those seriously considering a career in law enforcement but are on the fence, apply to become a reserve officer or an auxiliary officer."
He points to a pair of former students as proof of what's possible. Martin and Miles Ashbaugh, identical twins who graduated from Kent State in 2025, each took a different path through Kalkhoff's world. Martin enrolled in Kalkhoff's class to become a Reserve Officer. Miles became Kalkhoff's first trainee when he was designated a Field Training Officer. Today, Martin is a police officer with the Richfield Police Department. Miles is a deputy with the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
"Martin and Miles are among the finest, most upstanding Kent State students and people I've ever met," Kalkhoff said. “And they are on their way to becoming model law enforcement professionals. Both Martin and Miles credit their success to their experiences at Kent State, at the Kent State Police Academy and at Stow PD."
But the impact, he's quick to point out, ran both ways.
"They helped me see that at its best, teaching is really a mutual process where you learn for, from and with your students and trainees."
The Spirit of Service
Across all three of his roles—researcher, reserve sergeant, water rescue team member—the thread connecting everything for Kalkhoff is a simple but powerful belief.
"Struggle and suffering can't be eliminated from the world, but there's something to be said for trying," he said. "You never know what greater good might result from a seemingly trivial act of assistance. A typical vehicle lockout call lasts only a couple of minutes. But by responding promptly and getting the person on their way, maybe they make it to a job interview they otherwise would have missed. A small act of service can ripple outward in ways you may never foresee or fully comprehend."
There's a motto on the Portage County Water Rescue Team that Kalkhoff tries to carry with him into the professional spaces he occupies: No egos. After every operation, the same question is asked: "What could we have done better?"
For Kent State students beginning to imagine careers in criminal justice and public safety, that question—asked honestly, asked often—might be the most important lesson of all.
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Media Contact:
Jim Maxwell, JMAXWEL2@kent.edu, 330-672-8028