Kamenash comes from University of Buffalo to join KSU

Todd Kamenash’s first day as Kent State’s director of judicial affairs was March 1, replacing R. P. Flynn.

The 35-year-old New York native was the assistant director of judicial affairs at the University of Buffalo for 11 years before making the move to Kent State.

“I was able to be picky about where I wanted to go,” Kamenash said. “It was more about Kent State (that brought me here) than it was Ohio. I feel like the transition time for me here is going to be a lot quicker because I’m familiar with a lot of the different nuances.”

Kamenash’s original major was business administration, focusing on marketing. During his college years at Buffalo, he worked in student activities, where he helped plan homecoming and other on-campus student activities.

For his graduate assistantship, he was placed in the judicial affairs office.

“I didn’t walk in thinking judicial means helping students,” Kamenash said. “But I learned our role is to make sure we give students the opportunity to learn.”

The Office of Judicial Affairs helps students understand what happens after they get in trouble with the law and violate Kent State, state or federal laws.

“We cover all the materials they’re going to need. We give them a copy of the incident report that we have so that they have the same information that the hearing officer is going to have,” Kamenash said. “Then they go into the hearing, hopefully, with as much information as they need.”

“He always sought out experiences that would help him learn what the best practices were in judicial affairs,” said Elizabeth Lidano, the director of judicial affairs and student advocacy at University of Buffalo. “He really enjoys talking to students.”

His absence at the University of Buffalo is felt by his former co-workers.

“It takes a lot of people to fill his shoes here,” said Teresa Dean, secretary in the judicial affairs office in Buffalo. “He was the go-to guy here for a lot of things, and he left a big void. We definitely miss him.”

His involvement with students extends past the Judicial Affairs office. Kamenash has coached women’s volleyball in the past.

Although he isn’t planning on coaching at Kent State until he and his family are fully settled in, Kamenash said he’d love to get back to it, just not in the immediate future.

For now, he’s focusing on his new role at Kent State and getting his wife and 14-month-old twins settled in to life in Ohio.

Conact student affairs reporter Lindsy Neer at [email protected].