Gov. John Kasich appointed two new members to Kent State’s Board of Trustees, the governing body of the university.

Stephen A. Perry, former president and executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, was appointed to a nine-year trustee term whose appointment ends May 16, 2023.

Junior finance major Perry “PJ” Kimmel was named to a two-year term as an undergraduate student trustee whose term ends May 16, 2016.

Before his time at the Hall of Fame, Perry worked for the Timken Company, a global steel manufacturer, for 37 years. He was also the director of the Ohio Department of Administration Services, an organization that supports state agencies and universities, from 1991 to 1993 and administrator of the General Services Agency, a federal organization that constructs and maintains government buildings, from 2001-2005.

Perry attended Canton’s Timken High School and Kent State University at Stark. He graduated from the University of Akron with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and from Stanford University with a master’s degree in management.

Perry replaces former Board of Trustee member Jane Murphy Timken, whose term expired earlier this year.

Kimmel, an honors student, is a Kent State Student Ambassador and a member of the Alpha Lambda Delta National Honors Society.

He is currently completing an internship with Eaton Corporation, a power management company in Marshall, Mich.

Kimmel has previously served as vice president of the Financial Management Association, a Kent State finance student organization, and vice president of Kent State’s Collegiate Distribution Education Clubs of America, or DECA, a business-focused student organization that teaches students networking skills.

Kimmel replaces former undergraduate student trustee Alex Evans, whose term also expired earlier this year.

University spokesman Eric Mansfield said the university looks forward to welcoming the two new members of the Board of Trustees.

“We’re really excited to bring both of them onto the Board,” he said. “Along with new President Warren, there will be a lot of new faces at the first board meeting in September.”

Kent State’s Board of Trustees is made up of 12 members: nine voting members appointed by the governor of Ohio; two student trustees, one undergraduate and one graduate; and a national trustee, who is a nonvoting member.

The Board’s responsibilities include selecting and appointing the university president, establishing tuition, setting the operating budget, approving personnel appointments, granting university degrees, approving contracts and approving any new rules, regulations, programs and degrees or curriculum changes.

Emily Mills is the principal reporter for KentWired.com. Contact her at [email protected].