University Who's Who

Dr. Lester A. Lefton became Kent State University's 11th president in July 2006. Previously, he was senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at Tulane University, dean of George Washington University’s Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, and dean of the University of South Carolina’s College of Liberal Arts.
As Kent State president, Dr. Lefton oversees one of the nation's largest university systems. Kent State's eight campuses provide more than 282 academic programs to more than 34,000 undergraduate and graduate students from throughout Ohio and the nation, and from nearly 90 countries. One of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio, the university employs more than 4,600 full- and part-time faculty and staff.

Robert G. Frank, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost

Dr. Robert G. Frank has a long history in administration, academic service and professional practice. A board certified clinical psychologist, Frank previously was a dean and professor of Clinical and Health Psychology for the College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville.Frank, who became dean at Florida in 1995, also directed the Florida Center for Medicaid and the Uninsured. Prior administrative and academic posts include service at the University of Missouri, Columbia, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research and the Missouri Department of Health.Frank holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of New Mexico. Professional memberships include the American Psychological Association, of which he has been a Fellow. In 2003, he also received a Distinguished Service Award from the association.He is widely published in the fields of rehabilitation and clinical psychology, and, along with other academic and service honors, Frank was selected to the Division I All-American Swimming Team in 1974. He is married with two children.

Tom Janson, Faculty Senate Chair

Thomas Janson is a professor of composition and theory and the Assistant Director of the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music. He studied composition with Leslie Bassett, Ross Lee Finney, George Cacioppo, George Balch Wilson, Richard Wienhorst and Doy Baker. His works have been performed by such distinguished ensembles as The New Pittsburgh Chamber Orchestra, the Buffalo Philharmonic, the New York Motet Choir and the Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, as well as by major solo recitalists such as Marilyn Mason, organist. His compositions have been performed in major centers of musical activity such as Kaiser Wilhelm Gedachtniskirche, West Berlin; Notre Dame Cathedral, Paris; Scandinavian Church Music Seminar, Amsterdam; Carnegie Recital Hall, Alice Tully Hall, New York City; and at many universities and colleges in the midwest and northeast United States. Six of his compositions have been aired nationwide over National Public Radio.