Gayle Ormiston, associate provost for faculty affairs, will take on the provost position at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va., beginning Aug. 18.

Ormiston is currently chief negotiator for the university for faculty contract negotiations. Provost Robert Frank said both Ormiston and the university have known Ormiston was in the final pool of candidates for provost at Marshall for a few weeks. However, when he was appointed chief negotiator, neither Ormiston nor others at Kent State had any foreknowledge that he would soon be leaving.

Kent State and the university’s branch of the American Association of University Professors have set July 31 as their ideal date to complete contract negotiations. Cheryl Casper, consultant for the AAUP for contract negotiations, said while this situation could have possible implications on the negotiations process, she is hopeful contract negotiations will be completed before Ormiston has to leave.

“We’re making good progress,” Casper said, adding that they soon hope to have all proposals on the table.

Frank said the university will announce a search process to fill Ormiston’s position within the next week.

Check back at kentnewsnet.com for further updates.

Contact editor Christina Stavale at [email protected].