President Beverly Warren announced the appointment of Jeff McLain as the new vice president for institutional advancement in a university-wide email Monday.

“I believe that Jeff is an outstanding choice for Kent State at this time,” Warren wrote in the email. “Jeff brings deep experience from three prior institutions, and I believe he will leverage that experience to advance our goals of increasing fundraising and alumni engagement.”

Prior to his upcoming role at Kent State, McLain served as the senior vice president of the LSU Foundation at Louisiana State University and while there, accomplished the following:

·      The completion of a $750-million campaign

·      Broke new records in annual giving

·      Executed a “principal gift program”

McLain’s past experiences also include associate vice chancellor for institutional advancement at Texas Tech University System, working in various positions at the University of Texas at Austin and currently maintains membership of the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education International Board of Trustees, District IV Representative.

Before McLain’s appointment at Kent State, Steve Sokany acted as the interim vice president and will now transition into the role of executive associate vice president and director of board relations.

Warren wrote Sokany would still play an important part of Kent State’s faculty.

“With gratitude and deep appreciation, I want to acknowledge and thank Steve Sokany for his leadership and dedication to Kent State…In this capacity, Steve will coordinate the Kent State Foundation Board volunteer activities and will play a key leadership role in principal gift engagement,” Warren said in her email.

McLain will officially take over his role as vice president for institutional advancement on May 15.

Contact Christina Godfrey at [email protected].