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Kent State at Trumbull names dean

Former University of Toledo administrator to begin Jan. 18

CHAMPION — A former senior administrative officer at the University of Toledo has been selected as dean and chief administrative officer at Kent State University at Trumbull.

R. William Ayres will start the new role at the Champion campus Jan. 18, the university announced Wednesday following a national search.

Ayres, a political science professor at the University of Toledo, previously served as the university’s senior vice provost for academic affairs from 2018 to 2020 and vice provost for academic affairs from 2017 to 2018.

Prior to that, he was associate dean and interim dean of the graduate school at Wright State University in Dayton, where he also taught master’s degree-level classes on conflict resolution and negotiation.

His key accomplishments included starting the first completely online degree programs at Wright State, launching new marketing campaigns based on graduate-focused branding, and developing and implementing a new graduate student orientation program.

“As I shared during my interview, I think Trumbull is doing some of the most important work at the heart of Kent State’s mission: changing the world to be a better place. I’m thrilled to join folks there as a part of the team to make that change happen,” Ayres said.

Melody Tankersley, Kent State’s senior vice president and provost, said Ayres is an excellent fit to serve as dean of Kent State at Trumbull.

“He brings tremendous talent, creativity and excitement to our students, to our faculty and to the communities we serve. With Bill’s leadership, I’m confident that the Trumbull campus will achieve great things in the coming years,” Tankersley said.

From 2006 to 2010, Ayres served as the director of the Center for Global Citizenship at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, Pa., becoming the first full-time director in the center’s history. In that role, he was responsible for programs in international studies, service-learning and community engagement and peace and conflict studies.

He also was the founding director of the international relations program at the University of Indianapolis from 2000 to 2006.

Ayres will succeed Daniel Palmer who has been serving as interim dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State at Trumbull since July 2019.

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