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 | July 27, 1946 Brookline, MA |
| Spouse | Linda Lefton |
| Alma mater | Northeastern University University of Rochester |
| Profession | Educator |
Lester A. Lefton (born July 27, 1946) 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.
Of Jewish heritage,[2] Lefton was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, and 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.
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.[3]
Named Kent State president in 2006,[5] Lefton oversaw one of the nation's largest university systems and the second largest university in the state of Ohio.[6] 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.[7]
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.[30]
Lefton resides in Kent, Ohio[31] 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.
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.[32] 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.[33] 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.[34] The redevelopment project is said to be the largest of its kind in Kent's 208-year history.[35]
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.[36]
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.[37] 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.[38]
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.[39]