Beverly Warren began her presidency at Kent State on July 1. From day one she’s been on the move, listening to students, faculty and staff at every regional campus. She’s traveled the country, meeting with alumni and donors from around the world. It’s been her goal to listen, to find out the concerns of the Kent State community and to begin to enhance and improve the university experience.

In five months, Warren has made her presence known at Kent State: She’s attended football games, rode in the Homecoming Parade, accepted awards from national organizations and talked with other universities to begin collaboration projects. We cannot, however, compare her to ex-university president Lester Lefton because we have yet to see tangible effects of her presidency.

It’s been five months. Has she found “the heart of Kent State” while on her Listening Tour? What has she discovered in her time as head of the university? What is her plan for increasing the diversity of Kent State? How does she plan to make the university more competitive on a global scale? Has the relationship between the City of Kent and the university changed since July?

Warren clearly cares not only about the student body in its entirety, but also about the success of individual students. With the Listening Tour coming to an end and five months spent engulfed in university concerns, there is time now for the president to act on what she’s learned — and the students are waiting to see if their voices have been heard.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the The Kent Stater editorial board.