In a complex university, it may be a little difficult to know exactly who made what decision from which office and why. In most situations, decisions go through multiple sets of hands and various revisions before one person can even consider finalizing them, a process Provost Robert Frank said is like a relay race.

“We all handle different parts of it,” Frank said. “And while I may be one of the last people who gets the baton, the three people who got the baton before me are just as much a part of the process I am.”

Here is a glance around the university to show where some of those responsibilities lie.

President

Currently held by:

Lester Lefton

Means:

He is ultimately responsible for everything in the university, and confers with the Board of Trustees for programs concerning university operations.

Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs

Currently held by:

Robert Frank

Means:

The president delegates academic affairs to the provost who oversees all programming, university employment, new curriculum and new degrees. “The parts of the university most students interact with on a daily basis are all under the provost,” Frank said.

Recent university changes:

“The provost doesn’t do anything by himself,” Frank said. “There are many people involved in every change, but about two years ago, we changed Destination Kent State quite a bit: revising how much information we gave to students, how we presented financial aid and how the COMPASS placement tests work.”

Senior Associate Provost

Currently held by:

Timothy Chandler

Means:

He is responsible for anything and everything academic, with specific concentrations in academic student success, undergraduate studies, the honors college and the library. Also, he works directly with college deans who want to implement new programs or hire new staff members.

Recent university changes:

“I helped to put the GPS system of advising and scheduling in place,” Chandler said. “Currently, for some colleges, there are advisers who are trying to deal with 500 students, but the national norm for excellence is about one adviser for about 300 students, so we’re trying to and employ more advisers, too. Our obligation, if we take your money, is to ensure we’ve done everything we can to help you and encourage you to be successful.”

Associate Vice President for Academic Budget and Resource Management

Currently held by:

Timothy Martin

Means:

Because about two-thirds of the university budget goes toward academics, he helps the provost and college deans map out financial and business plans for each year.

Recent university changes:

“When we started the College of Public Health, I was involved from the beginning of the business plan and the financial plan, along with the provost and other faculty,” Martin said. “We mapped out what this College of Public Health would look like, what departments would be involved, what kind of degrees they’re going to offer, an as they laid that all out, I put the financial plan together.”

College Dean

Currently held by:

Six regional campus deans, 10 deans for each college on main campus, three in the provost office.

Means:

They manage the college, stick to a budget, promote the development of new programs, seek out grants for the college and make suggestions to the provost when new faculty needs hired.

Recent university changes:

“In [the College of Public Health’s] case, we created the new online bachelor’s of science and public health,” said Sonia Alemagno, dean of the College of Public Health. “There were a lot, a lot of people who worked on that in the college, but ultimately it was my responsibility to make sure it got in place. It’s the only all-online bachelor’s degree at Kent State, and it went into effect this past August.”

Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration

Currently held by:

Gregg Floyd

Means:

He oversees university budgeting, auditing, financial affairs, facilities planning, public safety, campus operations and transportation.

Recent university changes:

“Senior Vice President Floyd is involved with many aspects of the university that affect students and the university community,” said Emily Vincent, director of media relations. “An example [of his work] would be the renovations and upgrades made to Risman Plaza. He also is responsible for the decision to cancel classes or close the Kent Campus due to weather.”

Vice President for Enrollment Management and Student Affairs

Currently held by:

Greg Jarvie

Means:

He handles anything that involves recruitment and retention of students, overseeing offices such financial aid, university health services, the center for student involvement, recreational services, residence services and student conduct.

Recent university changes:

“With the help of many other folks, we developed the office for commuter students,” Jarvie said. “We all believed we need to support our commuter students better. It’s in its infancy stages, but it’s one of those things we all said we need, so we made it happen. And it didn’t take three years or 14 different committees to do it. It took some conversation and it’s up and running.”

Contact Emily Inverso at [email protected].