KENT, Ohio - Kent State University officially opened its Esplanade, the walkway connecting the university to the city of Kent, by naming it after President Lester Lefton, who is retiring July 1, 2014.
The announcement was made Friday during an opening ceremony at the arch near Main and Willow streets.
The Lester A. Lefton Esplanade signifies the economic development of downtown Kent and connects the university to PARTA’s new Kent
Central Gateway multimodal transit center, private developments from Acorn Alley and Fairmount Properties and the new Kent State University Hotel and Conference Center.
The successful collaboration between Kent State and the city of Kent has evolved in recent years. The International Town-Gown Association gave its first award to Kent State and the city of Kent for the town-gown relationship that best represents the spirit of the association.
New presidents are being sought by Kent State, the University of Akron and Ohio State University.
And it might take a superhero to lead Ohio State, according to the desired qualities sought by its presidential search committee.
And, according to the eight-page presidential profile approved by Ohio State's presidential search committee, he or she should also have vision, superb communication skills and the ability to build a collaborative leadership team.
Oh – the next president must also have integrity, wisdom, stamina, energy and passion. And be ethical, trustworthy, purposeful yet open-minded, approachable, curious, compassionate and courageous.
For all those not daunted by the expectations, the university’s search firm, R. William Funk and Associates, is accepting applications.
Ohio State's next president will also have to look at its law school. It, along with the state's four other public law schools, continues to see fewer applications – and enrollment has declined, the Columbus Dispatch reported.
Applications to the five schools dropped 39 percent, from 8,518 in the 2009-10 school year to 5,195 this fall. Enrollments declined 29 percent, from a combined 950 in 2009-10 to 674 this year, resulting in some of the smallest classes since the early 2000s.
The University of Toledo had the largest drop in enrollment (41 percent), followed by Cleveland State (32 percent), the University of Cincinnati (28 percent), the University of Akron (26 percent) and Ohio State University (21 percent).