Melody Tankersley has been named senior vice president and provost of Kent State, cementing her role at the university after occupying the interim position since 2019.

She will be the second-highest ranking executive officer at the university. She will oversee a collection of administrators, including the deans of the 11 colleges on the Kent Campus and the administrative deans of the Honors College, Graduate Studies, University College and University Libraries.

Tankersley was chosen over two other finalists including Teri Balser, former interim president of Dalhousie University, and Montse Fuentes, former vice president of the University of Iowa.

She has been with Kent State since 1993 and through her almost 30 years at the university has risen from an assistant education professor to interim senior vice president and provost. 

“I love Kent State, so I’m hoping that I get to continue to work for our students, our faculty and our staff, working hand-in-hand with all of them to continue with Kent State to be the great university that it is,” said Tankersley during her presentation on Oct. 16 about what her role of provost should be for Kent State.

She helped the university transfer students to remote schooling during the coronavirus pandemic and plans to create a new strategic plan for academic affairs that will focus on how students can learn after the pandemic.

Ben Vrobrel covers administration. Contact him at [email protected].

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