Kent State announced the appointment of three administrative positions at the main and regional campuses Friday.

In an email sent out to the university community, President Beverly Warren named alumnus Stephen Sokany as the new vice president for institutional advancement.

Sokany succeeds Jeff McLain, who held the position since last spring. McLain stepped down on Aug. 1.

As vice president for institutional advancement, Sokany will head the Offices of Advancement and Alumni relations, along with the KSU Foundation and Division of Institutional Advancement,  according to an Aug. 5 university news release.

“The division plays a critical role in building relationships with alumni and friends to support the vision and mission of the university,” the news release stated.

Sokany has been an employee of Kent State since 1993, according to the news release. He worked as the senior associate vice president for institutional advancement from 2002 to 2014, and served as the interim vice president for institutional advancement from 2014 until last spring.

He held the title of executive associate vice president for advancement from April 2015 until this summer.

Sokany earned his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in nonprofit management from Kent State.

He will take over his new duties on Aug. 8.

At the regional campuses, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost Todd Diacon named longtime employee Susan Stocker as interim dean and chief administrative officer of the Geauga Campus and Academic Center in Twinsburg.

Stocker has held the position of dean and chief administrative officer at the Ashtabula regional campus since 2001, as well as interim dean of the university’s Regional College since 2015.

She previously served as the interim dean of the College of Nursing in 2013, until a nationwide search appointed current Dean Barbara Broome.

Stocker is a registered nurse in the state of Ohio, earned her associate’s degree in nursing through Kent State’s Ashtabula Campus and received her Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction through the university’s College of Education, Health and Human Services.

She will assume her new role on Aug 20.

Nathan Ritchey, Kent State’s vice president for Kent State System Integration, will take over Stocker’s duties as interim dean of the Regional College.

Ritchey was appointed as the senior officer in charge of overseeing the university’s regional campuses last month, according to an Aug. 5 university news release.

He replaces Jarrod Tudor, who resigned after serving as interim dean and dean of Kent State Geauga and the Regional Academic Center since last year, the news release stated. Tudor’s resignation will take effect Aug. 19.  

Contact Alex Delaney-Gesing at [email protected].