Campus Leadership News

Board of Regents Interim President Robert Kennedy yesterday designated Dr. Marianne Kennedy, Southern Connecticut State University's Interim Provost, as the Lead Campus Administrator until Southern's new President, Dr. Mary Papazian, arrives on Wednesday, February 1. Dr. Kennedy will commence her new responsibility January 1, following the departure of Interim President Stanley Battle.

"With only a month between President Battle's departure and President Papazian's arrival, it made the most sense to designate Dr. Kennedy as the Lead Campus Administrator during this brief interim period," said President Kennedy. "We're grateful to Dr. Kennedy for her continued service to Southern's community, and look forward to working with President Papazian when she assumes her new role on February 1."
 
During her 17-year career as a faculty member, department chairwoman and administrator at Southern, Dr. Kennedy has attained a wealth of institutional knowledge and earned a reputation as an active scholar, an excellent communicator, and an effective collaborator.  She has played a vital role for the university thanks to her expertise in learning outcomes assessment and her extensive experience with program and institutional accreditation. Dr. Kennedy recently chaired the Steering Committee for the NEASC reaccreditation self-study.
 
Dr. Kennedy earned her Ph.D. in special education from the University of Connecticut and joined Southern's Communication Disorders Department in 1994. Four years later, she was named department chairwoman, and in 2004, she was named to a new position as Southern's coordinator of assessment and planning. She was promoted to associate vice president for assessment, planning, and academic programs after a national search in fall 2008 and named interim provost last June.