Dear Members of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Community,
With profound affection for the Kent State community and after deep reflection, I share the news today that I will depart my position as president of Kent State on July 1, 2019, at the end of my current contract term. I will not exercise my option for an additional year as president through 2020.
The years since I assumed this office in 2014 have been the most exciting and fulfilling of my professional life. Together we have created a Strategic Roadmap to a Distinctive Kent State in which we defined what it means for a public university to be a student-focused center of excellence and a force for positive change. We launched collective efforts to transform our campuses into beacons of learning for our communities, accelerated fundraising to record-breaking levels and strengthened our collective work as one university with eight unique and distinctive campuses.
Throughout my professional life, I have been driven to make a difference and to contribute to the transformative power of education to change lives. After spending my career making work my life's priority, I realize the time has come for me to shift my focus to family and personal considerations. This has not been an easy decision. I continue to be energized by the spirit of this community and the important initiatives we have advanced in recent years. I know that our leadership team will ensure that our momentum continues during this transition and beyond.
Much remains for us to do together in this academic year, and I will continue to work tirelessly toward the goals and objectives that will frame our work in the coming months. I am thankful for the support of all of you who lead and define this unique place of learning and discovery, and I look forward to supporting the Board of Trustees in the search for the next leader of Kent State.
The heart and soul of Kent State is bigger than any single individual. Here we embrace the diversity of people and ideas, defend creative expression, convene with respect and work together for the greater good. Our shared values live within all of us and will surely outlast me.
I will be forever grateful for this opportunity to lead such a loving and welcoming institution -- a university where all are valued and where the future of higher education is being transformed today for a brighter tomorrow. From the bottom of my heart, I thank you for allowing me to share these special years together with each of you. Together, we are Golden Flashes Forever!
With warmest regards,
Bev