Owen Lovejoy, Kent State distinguished professor of human evolutionary studies, has been added to the committee to find President Lester Lefton’s replacement.

“In our planning for the presidential search, trustees recognized the unique perspective and value that Professor Lovejoy would bring to our process,” said Richard Marsh, Kent State trustee and chair of the presidential search committee, in a press release. “Though he was unable to accept our invitation in July due to prior commitments, we are pleased that he can join now as our search has moved into high gear in recruitment.”  

Lovejoy, who has been a professor at Kent State for 40 years, is also an internationally recognized biological anthropologist who has traced the development of upright human walking.

His reconstruction of Lucy, a fossil of a human ancestor that walked upright 3.2 million years ago, was his initial and most recognizable discovery about upright walking in humans.

His involvement with important skeletal discoveries of Ardi, a 4.4 million-year-old hominid skeleton, and Kadanuumuu, which proved upright walking occurred much earlier than previously thought, are two of his more recent, groundbreaking discoveries.

Contact Madeleine Winer at [email protected].