Dr. Kelle Deboth Foust, associate professor of occupational therapy, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Cleveland State United Vision Thrive Award.

The award recognizes a faculty or staff member who consistently goes above and beyond to foster a sense of community and belonging among students, faculty and staff; supports initiatives that advance collaboration and well-being; models integrity, respect and accountability in daily interactions; and strengthens student success, faculty and staff development, and instructional excellence.

President Laura Bloomberg said they received more than 40 nominations for the award.  

“After a thorough review of all of those nomination packets, I am so proud to announce that the inaugural 2026 Cleveland State United Vision Thrive Award will be conferred on Dr. Kelle DeBoth Foust,” she said during the award presentation. “You are a role model for all of us, Dr. Foust.”

Foust said the award means a great deal to her.

“Being recognized with this award is truly one of the highlights of my career at CSU. While faculty are recognized in many ways, the Cleveland State United Vision Thrive Award stands apart by honoring efforts that extend far beyond the traditional scholarship, teaching and service metrics we're typically evaluated on,” she said. 

“Faculty do so much to build community at CSU, and those connections—whether with local organizations, colleagues, university centers or students—are what make our core work most successful and most rewarding. I feel deeply honored that my colleagues and a former student assembled a nomination packet highlighting this 'other' work I do.” 

Foust has secured and managed millions of dollars in external funding at CSU, including a $2 million National Science Foundation National Research Traineeship. Through partnerships with the YWCA of Cleveland, RePlay for Kids and community advisory boards, she has advanced trauma-informed care, digital equity, disability inclusion and STEM pathways for under-resourced populations, strengthening student learning, faculty research and community well-being.

She said from her very first day on campus as a newly hired faculty member in 2016, the goal was always to connect with faculty across the University.

“As a clinical occupational therapist, I’ve always been dedicated to interprofessional practice, and I wanted that to translate into my research agenda,” said Foust. “I’ve had the privilege of working alongside incredibly talented colleagues, learning with and from them in many capacities. As I’ve moved into different roles, cultivating my leadership skills has been a priority, and I’ve applied lessons from interprofessional clinical practice to cross-disciplinary work across campus.”

Foust said CSU has played a major role in her career by providing new opportunities and connections. Although she is affiliated with the Center for Human-Machine Systems, she did not anticipate that it would lead to her serving as co-principal investigator on a prestigious National Science Foundation Research Traineeship award. The project allowed her to work with a diverse group of faculty to develop a cross-disciplinary curriculum that later became the foundation of the Ph.D. in Transdisciplinary Health, Sciences and Technology program.

“I've had tremendous support from the Office of Research and administrators in the College of Health who genuinely believed in me and saw my potential,” she said. “Rather than holding me back or requiring that I stick to 'typical' faculty research and scholarship, they facilitated my ability to follow my passions, explore new opportunities, build unique collaborations with faculty and students, and truly establish meaningful connections within the Cleveland community.”

Foust added that she’s thrilled CSU created this award, and believes it will honor many other 'movers and shakers' on campus who do so much to build a sense of belonging and community, both on campus and extending into the broader Cleveland area. 

“To me, this embodies CSU's mission to regard the City of Cleveland as our campus,” she said. “Achieving that mission successfully requires that faculty, staff, students and Cleveland residents feel they equally and jointly belong to the work we do here. When we create authentic partnerships and shared ownership of our work, we don't just serve the community – we become part of it, and it becomes part of us. That reciprocal relationship is what makes community-engaged work so powerful and what makes CSU's impact so meaningful.”