KENT, Ohio (AP) — A top administrator at Virginia
Commonwealth University was selected Wednesday as the next president of
Kent State University.
Kent State trustees hired Beverly Warren, 65, provost and senior vice president at VCU. She takes office
July 1.
She
has held administrative and teaching jobs at numerous colleges and
universities, including Auburn, Smith and Appalachian State.
Warren
has doctorates in higher education administration from the University
of Alabama and in exercise physiology from Auburn University.
She will succeed Lester Lefton, who became Kent State’s president in 2006 and announced his retirement
plans in April.
During
Lester’s tenure, Kent State’s enrollment grew 25 percent to more than
42,000, and the university launched a $200 million campus improvement
project.
Warren said she sees similarities between Kent State and
VCU, including "the drive to be a hub of innovation and discovery, and
the value of meaningful community engagement and regional impact."
Elsewhere, Ohio State University and the University of Akron are searching for presidents.
Ohio
State is looking to replace Gordon Gee, who retired last year after
remarks he made jabbing Roman Catholics and Southeastern Conference
schools were made public.
A Mormon, Gee jokingly referred to
"those damn Catholics," lampooned the academic integrity of the
University of Louisville and Southeastern Conference schools, singling
out the University of Kentucky. He has since been hired as interim
president of West Virginia University.
Akron is looking for a
replacement for Luis Proenza, who will step down in June to take a
yearlong sabbatical and then return to teaching.
Akron’s national advertising campaign for a new president seeks a "consummate fund- and
friend-raiser" for the university.
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