The Man Who Leads Kent State

Dr. Lester Lefton is running late.

For this journalist, it's the first time in five years of covering Kent that the usually punctual 11th president of Kent State University has been late for an interview.

It turns out he had a good excuse. At the time of our interview, in early September, Lefton was awaiting word on the birth of his fourth grandchild — a boy — to one of his two daughters living in California.

"When I came to Kent State a little over five years ago, I had no grandchildren," Lefton said.

The overdue baby boy (since born happy and healthy) at the time was of such concern to the expectant grandfather that when someone's phone buzzed in the room he immediately reached for his pocket.

Lefton's wife, Linda, made the trip to California for the birth of their grandchild last month. Her three and-a-half week stay — they were expecting the boy to follow suit with his two siblings and be born early — marked the longest period of separation for the couple.

"We've never been apart for two days." He paused. "Well, that's not true. Maybe five days. I've gotten a lot of work done."

Those are the types of personal stories Lefton's executive assistant, Debra Drake, wishes people heard more often.

"That’s the thing I wish people did understand more about him," Drake said. "They see Lester Lefton the president, but he’s a father and a husband and a brother and grandfather, and he’s a friend, too."

Behind the Scenes

The days are long in the president's office, but Drake said it's made easier by a family like atmosphere in the administrative offices.

"His calendar is just amazing," she said. "Keeping up with it is difficult at times because everything is high priority."

For Lefton, a 6 a.m. wake up is "sleeping late." On the day of the Bowman Breakfast, Sept. 22, his day started at 7:30 a.m. and wrapped up with a ceremony that evening at 7:30 p.m.

"I really don’t know how he keeps up with it,” Drake said. "For his age, he is just one of the most energetic 65-year-old men I’ve ever met."

He still tries to fit in time for exercising, which he did with the addition of a gym at his Kent home. There's little time for hobbies, but he does make sure to squeeze in time for his favorite — photography — while traveling on university business.

"He walks a lot," Drake said. "That’s how we update sometimes. It’s literally on the go. We just get a lot of work done on the go."

The schedule does lighten up on the weekends, except for this coming weekend when Kent State will celebrate homecoming.

"There's no typical day," Lefton said. "It’s the responsibility of every college president to be thinking about the job 24/7."

The loss of a beloved pet cat about a year ago has freed the Leftons up for more trips, which are highlighted on his personal photography page.

5 Years at the Helm

Lefton came to Kent State in July 2006 from Tulane University, a private college in Louisiana.

Kent City Manager Dave Ruller, who had only been on the job a year at the time, recalls the first impression Lefton made on him during his interview with Kent State's presidential search committee five years ago.

"I very much remember, the way the room was set up was like a horseshoe, and the interview candidate would be at the middle," Ruller said. "He actually rolled his chair out front, turned it around backwards and actually got engaged. I don’t know if he rolled his sleeves up, but that was the impression you were left with, that this guy was ready to go to work."

Lefton recalls being drawn to Kent's midwestern, "homespun nature" that he viewed as undervalued stock.

"I thought about Kent and Kent State as a stock that was undervalued," he said. " I recognized that with a lot of hard work and help from a few thousand friends, we’d be able to establish Kent State as a national player, definitely a statewide player, and assert its quality in a very positive kind of way. And undervalued stock, once a stock is recognized as undervalued, it’s price goes up. And I think that’s happened here."

In five years, enrollment has increased 23 percent — along the way — to make Kent State Ohio's second-largest university behind only Ohio State University. Private donations to Kent State have increased from about $15 million in 2005 to in 2010.

The university has made, or is planning, major improvements at its regional campuses, such as the new and a new performing arts center at the campus in New Philadelphia, OH. All that has added up to national and global rankings for Kent State by different organizations, including the London-based Times Higher Education and U.S. News and World Report.

During his tenure, the relationship with the university's hometown leaders has grown stronger thanks to projects like the , and the .

"He’s ambitious for the university, and I think that’s a good thing," Ruller said. "And that’s proven for us to be a great trait that he has, because he recognizes that a great university usually sits in a great town. So he’s trying to do whatever he can to be the kind of partner that obviously we’ve wanted for many years."

With all the physical changes, and the tremendous growth, Lefton said adminstration at Kent State has remained focused on a quality education.

"One way you can refocus is through a sense of place," he said. "Similarly, you have to enhance the excellence of the quality of the education, and similarly you have to reach out to disadvantaged communities … and over the last five and-a-quarter years that I’ve been here, I think we’ve worked on all those fronts.

"We have a diverse campus, we have a better-looking campus," he said. "We’ve started new programs, including our new College of Public Health. We’re reaching out physically, academically and socially."

For 2012, Lefton said you won't see growth in enrollment as in recent years.

"I don’t want to be bigger than Ohio State," he said. "This is not a matter of where size is indicative of quality. In fact, I’d settle for being smaller if I thought we could be better. Yes, there’s no question in my mind, and strategically working with our board of trustees, I don’t expect our freshman class to increase much in size next year or beyond."

Criticism part of the job

Lefton's commitment to downtown Kent's redevelopment projects — he's made his vice president cabinet members available to city staff members — and Kent State's growth in numbers and popularity has earned him a lot of friends among politicians, municipal and business leaders.

But he's not without his critics. He's for his $400,000 salary.

Some faculty members believe Lefton has encouraged too much enrollment growth and caters more to donors' needs than those of staff members.

As one faculty member put it, if you're not writing a check to Kent State, then the president won't make time for you.

Lefton's not out to do the popular thing, but the "right thing," as he told the Record-Courier.

Pat Mullin, a member of the Kent State Board of Trustees, said at times he believes the public has been overly critical of Lefton and pointed to the fact he is in charge of an organization with more than 5,000 employees, eight locations and more than 42,000 students.

"I think people forget that part of his job is fundraising for the university," Mullins said in an email. "He has brought in millions of dollars to fund student scholarships, improve the campus and support the dedicated faculty that we have. He is dedicated to the success of all of the students and is committed to excellence – for the students, for the faculty and staff, for the entire Kent State community."

Mullin said Lefton came along at the right time for the city and university to help both enjoy a renaissance.

"I think Lester has done a terrific job," Mullin said. "He has led this university to new heights as well as all-time highs in terms of enrollment and fundraising. Under his leadership, the university is being recognized as one of the best in the country and in the world ... We are very lucky to have him, and I’m looking forward to what he’ll accomplish these next five years."

What's been good for the university has translated over to the city, Ruller said.

"You can’t argue with the results at the end of the day," Ruller said. "I think there’s a direct correlation between the university’s success and the level of success we’re seeing economically, both in the level of interest in Kent and the actual investment."

The 'Excellence Agenda'

The changes at Kent State under Lefton's tenure haven't come without a cost, the most obvious of which are . Though university administrators make the case such increases are due mostly to millions of dollars in cuts in state financial support.

And more expensive changes are coming as part of Lefton's "Excellence Agenda." Lefton continues planning for the that the university has been trying to work through state channels for about a year.

"We will get that done in one way or another," he said.

Lefton said he recognizes the cost of tuition, but he also believes students understand that an education comes with a price tag.

To make up for being late, Lefton gave me a tour of the university's new and Fab Fourth in the Kent State Library. Both study spaces — created by moving — were designed to improve the student experience by offering high-tech alternatives, including laptop plug-in displays and dozens of new computers, to traditional desk and couch study space.

Students understand these modern educational amenities aren't free, Lefton said as we walked.

"There’s always a balance you’re constantly weighing between having the absolute best experience possible for the student, and what is the cost," he said. "There’s a balance between how far can you go and still keep things affordable. The truth is, the real issue is quality. You don’t have to spend a fortune to be excellent.

"The focus on excellence underpins everything that we’re doing," he said. "And if we don’t focus on excellence, we’ve lost our soul ... You can’t get into trouble by being too excellent."