Kent State Works

More than 60%  of rural Americans live in areas the National Institute of Health deems to be underserved by mental health professionals and only about 20% of social workers nationwide are employed in rural areas, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These stats, coupled with the high demand for licensed social workers — especially in areas like those surrounding Kent State University’s Regional Campuses — produce significant disparities and gaps in care for people needing social services.

Filling in those gaps is the primary aim of program director Matt Butler and the Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) program through Kent State’s College of Applied and Technical Studies (CATS), which will have an emphasis on rural social work.

Franck Steve Guepjop Fotso of Cameroon, Africa, chose to attend Kent State because of its impressive engineering curriculum, which matched his career aspirations and had a robust program for international students, at an affordable price that fit into the family budget. 

Her journey into the world of healthcare began on the Kent State Salem Campus and now Tabitha Lockhart is using that foundation to care for patients as a certified physician assistant (PA-C) at the Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut.