Special assistant to president best fit for job, says Lefton

When David Creamer, senior vice president for administration, heads to his new position at Miami University in June, his responsibilities will temporarily shift to his co-worker next door in the office: Robert “Yank” Heisler.

Kent State named Heisler, special assistant to the president for community and business strategies, the interim senior vice president for administration, effective June 1.

President Lester Lefton wrote in an e-mail that Heisler’s familiarity with Kent State and his managerial and financial skills make him the best fit for the interim position.

Heisler is a retired chairman of KeyBank National Association and a former chair of the Kent State University Foundation board of directors.

“We are very fortunate to have someone with his background and strengths readily available to step into this role,” Lefton wrote, adding he expects Heisler and Creamer to begin working together in April to prepare for the transition.

Lefton said he will work with Heisler to determine the status of his current role. He was hired in September to act as an adviser to the president and to improve ties between the university and the business community in Northeast Ohio.

“We will work together to figure out which of his (Mr. Heisler’s) present assignments can be retained, and which may need to be temporarily reassigned to others,” Lefton wrote. “Since we expect most of this interim period to occur over the summer, we don’t anticipate too much of a problem in this regard.”

Lefton said the university is still “committed to an aggressive national search and looking for a highly qualified individual who will commit to the job for several years.”

Creamer accepted a similar position at Miami University in February, but he will remain at Kent State through May to complete the university’s budget planning process for next year.

As senior vice president for administration, Creamer oversees the university budget, building planning and construction and cash and investment management among other responsibilities.

Contact administration reporter Jackie Valley at [email protected].