The Kent State’s Board of Trustees extended the tenure of President Beverly Warren for three years during a May 11 board meeting at the new Center for Philanthropy and Alumni Engagement.

“We got a good thing going … and we just want to keep it,” said chairman Dennis Eckart.

The board unanimously approved the contract extension during the meeting.

“I have only modest words to offer,” Warren said. “Those are words of true gratitude and gratefulness to be a part of this university. I’m just overwhelmingly grateful for the confidence you’ve shown in me.”

Warren is finishing her second year in her current three-year contract. The new contract will last through 2020.

The board also approved a July 1, 2017 date for a smoking and tobacco ban on campus.

“We work toward that date (because) in our university environment, it is easier to make big changes in the new fiscal and academic year,” said Shay Little, interim vice president of student affairs.

The later start date will give the university a new group of incoming students to train and educate on the new smoke and tobacco free regulations. Little said the number one question she receives about the ban is enforcement.

Little recommends that the community work together to enforce the regulations. Repeat offenders will be subject to rules laid out in the Code of Student Conduct, university employment procedures or administrative action.

Little said that the largest cost for enforcement will come from signage. She estimated $150,000 for signs around campus. Implementation costs will also cover cessation programs and communications.

A resolution to increase fees for non-Ohio students was also unanimously passed by the board.

While there is a tuition increase freeze on in-state undergraduate tuition, the board does have the ability to increase non in-state undergraduate tuition.

Mark Polatajko, vice president for finance and administration, proposed a 2 percent increase in non-Ohio surcharges, which was approved by the board. Full-time rates would increase by $82 per semester.

A 2 percent increase to graduate tuition will equate to a $10 per credit hour increase.

Editor’s note: President Beverly Warren is in her second year of a current three-year contract. It was incorrectly reported as her third year.

Karl Schneider is the administrative reporter for The Kent Stater. Contact him at [email protected]