Kathy Stafford, vice president for university relations, will retire June 30 after five years working at her alma mater.

Stafford said she decided to retire earlier than she originally planned since she is no longer responsible for development. Last year, Kent State hired Gene Finn as vice president of institutional advancement to head the university’s fundraising efforts.

Stafford said she is looking forward to relaxing while she decides plans for the next phase of her life.

“It would be nice to explore something new,” she said. “But, I have no idea what that would be.”

Before she came back to Kent State, Stafford worked at several other universities, including the University of Akron, in addition to the Board of Regents and the Inter-University Council.

Stafford, who was an undergraduate at Kent State on May 4, 1970, said she was one of two students on the President’s Commission on Violence after the shootings. The group spent six weeks giving testimony and going through details to try to determine what happened.

“For me, it was just an unbelievable experience to be a part of that,” she said. “It really affected me.”

Contact administration reporter Jackie Valley at [email protected].