Welcome to Kent State's 12th President Dr. Beverly J. Warren

It has been an exciting day here at Kent State University with the naming of the school's 12th president in Dr. Beverly J. Warren.

I've been asked by several fans of Golden Flashes athletics over the course of the day what I thought about the announcement of Warren as the next president would mean for Kent State athletics.

She was asked today if it was important to have a winning football team, and this was her reply:

    I will tell you that Virginia Commonwealth is undefeated in its football program. We have no football program.
    I think athletics is a great window into the university. It is a public stage … My philosophy is we are going to pursue excellence at every level. That is in athletics, in football, in fraternities and sororities in how we conduct ourselves. It is important that we exemplify excellence in all we do.
    There is something to say for overall excellence, so the fact that the athletics program has won the Reese Cup and the Jacoby Cup for its overall competitiveness I think is something to celebrate. You have to make those choices. Do we look at really celebrating athletics and student-athlete performance on all fields, on all courts, on all levels? Or do we focus on one sport at the expense of others? I think Kent State really has it right.
    I don’t know how much you know about VCU, but we do have a fairly good basketball team. And I will tell you that the run to the Final Four in 2011 made a tremendous difference for Virginia Commonwealth University. Student spirit. Student pride. The hits on our website were astronomical in that three weeks of march madness.
     It’s important. I do understand that. But I don’t know that we should sacrifice and place all of our marbles in one basket for that risk of notoriety because you don’t get to a bowl game or a Final Four every year. I like the parity. I like the general level of excellence. 

She has a strong background in athletics. As provost at VCU, the athletic director reported directly to her. That was during the VCU run to the Final Four.

Warren was also a board member of the American College of Sports Medicine and the president of the Southeast Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine. Prior to becoming provost at VCU, she was a professor and division head in health, physical education and recreation. She obviously values athletics, and that is exciting.

We are excited to get to meet her tonight when she and President Lefton attend Kent State's men's basketball game with Ohio University at the M.A.C. Center. We hope to see you there, too!