Distinguished Researcher Owen Lovejoy Joins Kent State’s Presidential Search Committee

Kent State University Professor of Anthropology C. Owen Lovejoy, Ph.D., has joined the university’s Presidential Search Committee.

“In our planning for the presidential search, trustees recognized the unique perspective and value that Professor Lovejoy would bring to our process,” said Richard Marsh, Kent State trustee and chair of the Presidential Search Committee. “Though he was unable to accept our invitation in July due to prior commitments, we are pleased that he can join now as our search has moved into high gear in recruitment.” 

Lovejoy brings world-renowned research credentials and a wealth of university knowledge to the committee. A resident of Kent, Ohio, Lovejoy has taught at Kent State for more than 40 years. He is an internationally recognized biological anthropologist who specializes in the study of human origins and recently was elected Chair of Anthropology for the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).  He was elected to the NAS, one of the highest honors given to a scientist in the United States, in 2007 and serves as an editorial board member for its prestigious Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Lovejoy is a widely published author, with nearly 150 articles about human evolution, forensics, demography, biomechanics and evolutionary theory. He holds the honor of being one of the Institute for Scientific Information’s (ISI) “Most Highly Cited” authors in the general social sciences.

The 17-member Presidential Search Committee is advisory to the Board of Trustees and consists of faculty, trustees, students, staff and others the board deems necessary, who will conduct the search not on behalf of any single constituency, but rather in the best overall interest of Kent State University. To see a list of previously announced members of the Presidential Search Committee, visit www.kent.edu/president/presidentialsearch/searchcommittee.

For more information about Kent State’s search for its 12th president, visit www.kent.edu/president/presidentialsearch.

# # #

Media Contacts:
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595