By Dave O'Brien
Record-Courier staff writer
Two candidates, both currently working in Ohio, are being interviewed to replace Kathy Stafford as Kent State University's vice president for university relations.
The post includes responsibility over KSU's governmental relations, university communications and marketing operations and WKSU radio in Kent, a service of the university.
Candidate Eileen Korey met with members of the university community in an open forum Monday. She is vice president for communications for The MetroHealth System in Cleveland, a position she has held since 2004. Korey also is known for her eight years as a reporter and anchor for WKYC-TV3, the Cleveland NBC affiliate, until 1992.
She has won six Emmy and five Telly awards for her work in broadcast journalism, and also was director of communications at University Hospitals in Cleveland, according to KSU's eInside employee newsletter.
A second candidate, Iris Harvey, will be on the Kent campus from 3 to 4 p.m. today in Room 122 of the KSU Library. She is associate vice president of marketing and communications at Wright State University in Dayton, according to Gene Finn, KSU's vice president for institutional advancement and chair of the search committee for Stafford's replacement.
Prior to 2005, Harvey was worldwide director of faculty recruitment for the University of Maryland University College and from 1993 to 2004 was founder and CEO of Market Strategies and Solutions. She also spent nine years with Citigroup Global Consumer Bank Group in Chicago, rising to vice president and senior director of marketing for Citibank's National Marketing Division, according to eInside.
Part of the interview process is to have an open forum session for students, faculty and staff to ask questions of the candidates, Finn said. The search committee will convene to make a decision after Harvey's visit, and there is no timeline for choosing a replacement, he said.
Stafford retired in June. Tom Neumann, associate vice president for university communications and marketing and the university's chief marketing officer, is serving as interim vice president for university relations.