Nearly 10 months after Lester Lefton began working as university president, Kent State is holding inauguration ceremonies at 2:30 p.m. April 27 in the M.A.C. Center.

Event organizer Kathy Stafford, vice president for university relations and development, said organizing such a large event required plenty of time to plan it appropriately.

“It’s a very large undertaking to accomplish,” she said. “So it’s hard to do that in the first couple months of a president’s tenure.”

Stafford said a presidential inauguration is a major university event and the entire community is invited. Gov. Ted Strickland and higher education leaders from across the country are invited.

At the ceremony, Lefton will receive greetings from the university community and give his inaugural address, Stafford said.

A formal budget for the event has not been put together, she said, but she expects the cost to be relatively low.

– Tim Magaw