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College of Applied Arts
School of Social Work

Dr. Kelly Clary, MSW

Associate Professor

picture of Dr. Clary in a classroom

E-mail: klc385@txstate.edu


Dr. Kelly Clary’s research program includes exploring and documenting developmental factors/causes and consequences related to high-risk health behaviors, particularly substance use among certain populations (e.g., adolescents, emerging adults, military members/ Veterans). Further, she works to develop/create, implement, and evaluate evidence-based interventions to reduce health problems (e.g., substance use, suicide). She has co-led first-year alcohol prevention programming at the University of Illinois, where over 9,000 students completed the in-person training over 2 months. To date, she has successfully led and co-led more than 15 funded grant projects ranging from $1,500 to $1,887,657. These research projects have been funded from a variety of entities including Texas State University, University of Illinois Veterans Center, American Psychological Foundation (APF), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA), Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), and National Institutes of Health (NIH). She integrates her clinical experiences in an inpatient psychiatric hospital and emergency department, extensive clinical training in motivational interviewing, and professional experiences conducting assessments and brief interventions for substance use and mental health in her scholarly work. Dr. Clary was recently awarded the Texas State University 2025 Presidential Award for Excellence in Research/Scholarly Activities, exemplifying her research with and alongside community members, and is a ​Texas State University Translational Health Research Center Faculty Fellow. Dr. Clary's current funded projects include leading a $1.9 million SAMHSA grant supporting Hays County in implementing fentanyl education for middle and high schoolers.She is also co-leading a $344,000 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs grant supporting the storytelling of Veterans who have passed away and are interred in a VA-funded Cemetery in Texas.