Ohio University alum Robert Kahle ’81, ’83M is a sociologist and qualitative research expert who works for Fortune 50 manufacturers and service providers, as well as non-profit and governmental organizations, tackling today’s tough social problems.
Put Detroit on the list of tough problems. And put Kahle on the list of city stakeholders and professionals who worked on ensuring that the Detroit Future City plan would come to life.
Robert Kahle
Kahle earned an AB in Sociology in 1981 and a master’s in Sociology in 1983 from the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University, followed by a Ph.D. in Sociology from Wayne State University.
In 1994 he started Kahle Research Solutions, a highly experienced research and evaluation firm with a broad array of capabilities that help solve clients’ problems. He conducts focus groups and individual depth interviews in-person at facilities nationwide and virtually, using the latest technology and research tools to uncover critical input from customers, suppliers, and thought leaders.
“The last year has been hectic and rewarding. I completed a major assessment and led the reorganization of Detroit Future City for the Kresge Foundation. I facilitated a new comprehensive strategic plan for the Food Bank Council of Michigan and consulted with the Hudson-Webber Foundation on criminal justice reform initiatives.
“As has become my pattern, I balanced this research, evaluation and facilitation in the philanthropic and non-profit sectors by completing major marketing research projects for Classified Ventures, the parent of Cars.com,” he says.
“I most enjoy the analytical problem solving process and helping my clients succeed.”
Moving from Michigan to South Carolina
“Now in our 22nd year, I continue to practice as an independent sociologist through Kahle Research Solutions. In 2015, my wife and I relocated from southwest Michigan to Charleston, South Carolina,” he says.
“Looking forward, my wife and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in August 2016. We have plans for a wildlife viewing expedition to Alaska.”
“Methodologically, I continue to hone my qualitative research skills specializing in web-enhanced telephone focus groups, enabling collection of rich data remotely.
“Thanks to Dr. Bill Harlan for introducing me some 35 years ago as an aspiring sociologist at Ohio University to the importance of language in everyday life.”
And Writing About Mass Incarceration
Kahle is also an author. In 2015, he wrote a Bridge magazine commentary about mass incarceration in Michigan titled “To repair racial wounds in criminal justice, start with language.”
Sometimes insults are direct and overt. Other times, they’re delivered with nuance and apparent absence of malice, articulated by a system, embedded in a culture, rather than coming from the tongue of any single person. The other N word, “non-white,” is just that….
Today, when looking for evidence of discrimination and fairness in the Michigan Department of Corrections, the most recent and only data available about race of incarcerated offenders is categorized as “white” and “non-white.”
In Department of Corrections reports in recent years, inmates in Michigan’s prison are categorized as white and “non-white.” If you are non-white, you are more than twice as likely to be incarcerated in Michigan than if you are white.
Until the legislature and governor openly and directly address racial inequities in the criminal justice system, we will not have comprehensive, meaningful criminal justice reform in Michigan.
Exploring data by race on factors like length of sentence, time served prior to parole, type of offense, etc. would help shine a bright light on the role of race in Michigan’s criminal justice system.
Read the rest of his column: “To repair racial wounds in criminal justice, start with language.”
“As time allows, I am working on an update of my book Dominators, Cynics and Wallflowers: Practical Strategies for Moderating Meaningful Focus Groups (Paramount Books 2007),” adds Kahle.
Follow Bob Kahle’s Three Good Reasons blog.
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