Lester Lefton

Lester Lefton

Lefton Photo Taken in 2012
11th President of
Kent State University
In office
July 1, 2006[1] – July 1, 2014
Preceded by Carol Cartwright
Succeeded by Beverly J. Warren
Personal details
Born (1946-07-27) July 27, 1946
Brookline, MA
Spouse(s) Linda Lefton
Alma mater Northeastern University
University of Rochester
Profession Educator

Lester A. Lefton is an American academic and higher education administrator. He was the President of Kent State University (2006–2014). He has 35 years of experience in higher education, having served for 25 years at a public institution and nine at private institutions. During his career, he has been a psychology professor, dean and provost, as well as a psychology textbook author.

Born in Brookline, Massachusetts, Lefton completed his bachelor's in psychology from Northeastern University in Boston in 1969. He earned his doctorate in experimental psychology, specializing in visual perception and focusing on cognitive psychology in 1974 from the University of Rochester, where he held a U.S. Public Health Service Predoctoral Fellowship.

Academic career

In 1972, he became an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, associate professor in 1975, and full professor in 1980. Lefton served as chair of the psychology department (1986–1994) and dean of the College of Liberal Arts for three years (1994–1997).

He moved to George Washington University in Washington, D.C., where he served as dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences for four years (1997–2001).

Lefton was senior vice president and provost of Tulane University for five years (2001–2006).

Lefton has published dozens of peer-refereed research articles. He has been a fellow of the American Psychological Association. He is known nationally as a passionate advocate for undergraduate education. An award-winning teacher with 36 years of university teaching experience, Lefton’s introductory psychology textbook, now in its ninth edition, is used in college classrooms nationwide.[2]

Kent State President

Named Kent State president in 2006,[3] Lefton oversaw one of the nation's largest university systems and the second largest university in the state of Ohio.[4] Kent State's eight campuses provide more than 280 academic programs to a record 41,300 undergraduate and graduate students. He earned $520,000 a year, plus up to 20 percent bonus, retirement benefits, a housing allowance, automobile, entertainment, deferred annuity, etc.[5]

Among the highlights of his presidency he:

Besides having served as Kent State president, Lefton is active on the boards of NorTech and the Greater Akron Chamber, and is a member of Leadership Cleveland’s Class of 2008. During 2007, he served on the Northeast Ohio Universities Collaboration and Innovation Study Commission, which was created by the Ohio General Assembly. The Commission submitted a wide range of recommendations to the Ohio Legislature and the Ohio Board of Regents about ways to improve quality, collaborations and efficiency among the region’s public colleges and universities.

Lefton also upholds the university’s role as a regional cultural resource through service on the boards of public television station Channels 45/49 and the Musical Arts Association of the Cleveland Orchestra.

Lefton has been active in a number of national higher education organizations.

At the national level, Lefton serves on the American Council on Education’s (ACE) Commission on Effective Leadership. The commission advises the ACE’s Center for Effective Leadership, which provides a variety of leadership and professional-development programs for presidents and other higher education administrators.[28]

Lefton resides in Kent, Ohio[29] with his wife, Linda. They have two grown daughters and three grandsons. Mrs. Lefton is an attorney who served as a state prosecutor in South Carolina and was an academic advisor for pre-law majors at George Washington and Tulane universities. She serves on the board of the Pediatric Palliative Care Center at Akron Children’s Hospital and is a member of the Women’s Committee of the Cleveland Orchestra. Mrs. Lefton is a 2008 graduate of Leadership Portage County.

Downtown Kent redevelopment

Shortly after beginning his presidency, Lefton, working with city manager of Kent, Ohio, Dave Ruller, began an ongoing effort to redevelop the City Kent's, with the goal of drawing the city and the university closer and encouraging economic growth. Lefton and Ruller's $110 million mixed-use development efforts have spurred new office, retail, entertainment and residential spaces, targeted to the 28,000 students and 3,000 faculty members from the university.[30] The downtown redevelopment also includes new facility spaces for the university, including a $16 million, 80,000-square-foot hotel and conference center, scheduled to open in June 2013.[31] Additionally, a new multimodal transit facility, providing a transfer point for buses and visitors in the area, the Kent Central Gateway, is scheduled to be completed in July 2013.[32] The redevelopment project is said to be the largest of its kind in Kent's 208-year history.[33]

Lefton has also influenced Kent State University's campus-edge development, with plans to construct a cross-campus pedestrian esplanade leading from campus to the center of the city of Kent. Plans are underway to construct a new $45 million College of Architecture and Environmental Design building along one section of the esplanade.[34]

Spending controversy

Lefton has come under scrutiny for his expense accounts charged to the university. Between July 2006 and July 2007 Lefton expensed $36,741.93 on entertainment and $44,249.34 on travel.[35] In a Sep 26, 2007 editorial in the Akron Beacon Journal Lefton was criticized for extensive travel to Europe a portion of which was charged to the University, as well as hiring two additional vice presidents during a time when university tuition and fees increased for students.[36]

Other controversy

Further controversy in 2007 included an agreement to pay $88,000 for a Vice President to pursue a doctorate at Case Western Reserve University. This came at a time when the university was raising student tuition and was of further concern because the same degree could be earned at Kent State University.[37]

References

  1. ↑ "A time to dream new dreams". The Daily Kent Stater. 2006-05-10. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
  2. ↑ Psychology (9th Edition)
  3. ↑ "A time to dream new dreams" - Board of Trustees approve Tulane Provost Lester Lefton as Kent State's president-elect - Daily Kent Stater, May 10, 2006
  4. ↑ Second largest university in the state of Ohio - Record Courier, Oct. 16, 2010
  5. ↑
  6. ↑ Lefton outlines long-term goals for KSU - Daily Kent Stater, Aug. 27, 2008
  7. ↑ Lefton creates vice president for new diversity position - Daily Kent Stater, March 10, 2009
  8. ↑ KSU has pact with King Saud University - Record Courier, Feb. 4, 2009
  9. ↑ Kent State looks to increase Chinese enrollment - Daily Kent Stater, April 1, 2009
  10. ↑ Kent State expands its global network - Daily Kent Stater, June 21, 2011
  11. ↑ RCM Committee unveils proposals at faculty forum - Daily Kent Stater, Dec. 4, 2007
  12. ↑ Kent State making move downtown; university to lease space for offices, student-run retail in Phoenix Project - Record Courier, March 29, 2009
  13. ↑ [(http://www.ohio.com/news/ksu-kent-collaborate-on-walkway-extension-1.215625 redevelopment of downtown Kent] - Akron Beacon Journal, June 22, 2011
  14. ↑ Kent State makes efforts to retain students in need of assistance - Crain's Cleveland Business, June 5, 2009
  15. ↑ Welcome news: AlphaMicron's grand opening triple win for KSU, community, economy - Record Courier, Sept. 16, 2009
  16. ↑ - Daily Kent Stater, Sept. 23, 2010
  17. ↑ Kent State unveils College of Podiatric Medicine (with gallery) - The Record-Courier - August 9, 2012
  18. ↑ Kent State broke the institution’s fundraising record three years in a row and raised more than $40 million from donors in single year for the first time - Akron Beacon Journal, July 12, 2011
  19. ↑ Recent facilities improvements include the Roe Green Center - Record Courier, November 14, 2010
  20. ↑ $22 million renovation of historic Franklin Hall - Daily Kent Stater, April 18, 2008
  21. ↑ Air Traffic Control Center - The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Dec. 7, 2009
  22. ↑ Established a College of Public Health, the second one in Ohio - Crain's Cleveland Business, Aug. 3, 2011
  23. ↑ Graduated its first class of students from the College of Public Health in May 2011. - Kent Patch, May 3, 2011
  24. ↑ Named one of the top 200 universities in the world by Times Higher Education of London - WEWS, Sept. 29, 2010
  25. ↑ Received a coveted spot in the first tier list of Best National Universities by U.S. News.- U.S. News & World Report
  26. ↑ Lefton hopes to bring big-name speakers to campus - KentWired.com, March 4, 2012
  27. ↑ HOLOCAUST SURVIVOR, NOBEL WINNER ELIE WIESEL VISITS KENT STATE AS PART OF SPEAKER SERIES - Streetsboro Gateway News, April 4, 2013
  28. ↑ Member list for American Council on Education's Commission on Effective Leadership
  29. ↑ Portage County property records. Accessed 5 January 2009.
  30. ↑ A Partnership Seeks to Transform Kent State and Kent - The New York Times, February 5, 2013
  31. ↑ A Partnership Seeks to Transform Kent State and Kent - The New York Times, February 5, 2013
  32. ↑ KCC Kent Central Gateway website
  33. ↑ A Partnership Seeks to Transform Kent State and Kent - The New York Times, February 5, 2013
  34. ↑ Kent's new college town is remaking the city by joining it to Kent State University The Plain Dealer - October 12, 2012
  35. ↑ Presidents' expense reports skew comparison - News
  36. ↑ Ohio.com - Travels with Lefton
  37. ↑ Kent pays . . . Akron Beacon Journal
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 6/22/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.