'It's not an easy job.' NKU board of regents appoints Bonita Brown to interim president
Bonita Brown was named interim president of Northern Kentucky University during a joint finance and policy meeting Wednesday morning. The university's board of regents voted unanimously to appoint Brown, who had served as NKU's vice president and chief strategy officer since 2019, to her new role.
“I am deeply grateful to the Board for the opportunity to work in service to the university as we navigate this transitional period,” Brown said in a Wednesday news release. “NKU has a strong reputation for supporting students in this region in reaching their academic goals and I look forward to collaborating with the NKU campus community to continue this important work.”
Board of Regents Chair Richard Boehne acknowledged "it took us a little longer to get here than expected" during Wednesday's meeting. The board met for a special meeting last week, presumably to discuss candidates for the interim president position. Instead, the regents voted to restrict the interim president − who had yet to be named − from applying for the permanent role.
"A majority of the board felt that it was important not to use the interim period essentially as a try out for somebody who's part of the search," Boehne said Wednesday.
Before coming to NKU, Brown worked in several administrative positions at different universities across the country, according to her LinkedIn page, including vice chancellor and chief of staff at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, chief of staff at the University of North Texas and assistant to the president at two North Carolina institutions: Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte and Livingstone College in Salisbury. She's also worked in nonprofits at the national level supporting educational strategy efforts and minority-serving institutions. She is a graduate of Harvard University's Institute of Educational Management and received a bachelor's and law degree from Wake Forest University in North Carolina.
Brown will serve as president until the board of regents selects someone to serve permanently as Ashish Vaidya's replacement and the university's seventh president. Vaidya stepped down in December after serving NKU for nearly five years.
Documents: See NKU president Ashish Vaidya's separation agreement
"It's not an easy job," Boehne said Wednesday before appointing Brown to the interim position. "It could be as hard or harder, in some ways, than being the permanent president of the university. So we certainly solicit support from all of you in helping Bonita get off to a great start as we carry through this transition period."
On Wednesday the board also voted to appoint five of its members to a presidential search committee: Kara Williams, Ashley Himes, Nathan Smith, Elizabeth Thompson and Brad Zapp. Williams will chair this committee, on Boehne's suggestion.
The full presidential search committee will be discussed and likely named at the board's March meeting, Boehne said.
The group will identify candidates for the permanent president position and make recommendations to the board of regents, who will make the final decision.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: NKU's vice president Bonita Brown appointed interim president
