Lester Lefton
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lester A. Lefton is an an American academic and higher education administrator.
Lefton is the current President of Kent State University. He has 34 years of experience in higher education, having served for 25 years at a public institution and 9 at private institutions. During his career, he has been a psychology professor, dean and provost, as well as author of an internationally best-selling psychology textbook.
Formerly, Lefton was senior vice president and provost of Tulane University where he was responsible for overseeing the university’s 10 deans and more than 500 faculty, as well as the graduate school, libraries and international programs. He oversaw athletic eligibility and compliance for student-athletes and was responsible for the divisions of student affairs, housing, dining and recreational facilities, enrollment management, admissions and financial aid.
Lefton completed his undergraduate work at Northeastern University in Boston, receiving a bachelor's degree in Psychology in 1969. He then studied at the University of Rochester, where he held a U.S. Public Health Service Predoctoral Fellowship and earned his doctorate (1974) in experimental psychology, specializing in visual perception and focusing on cognitive psychology. In 1972, he became an assistant professor at the University of South Carolina, was tenured as associate professor in 1975, and attained the rank of full professor in 1980. At the University of South Carolina, Lefton served as director of graduate studies in general experimental psychology (1982-1984), director of undergraduate education in psychology (1985-1987) and as chair of the psychology department (1986-1994). In 1994, He became the University of South Carolina’s dean of the College of Liberal Arts. He moved in 1997 to George Washington University (1997-2001) in Washington, D.C., where he served as professor of psychology and dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences.
Lefton has published dozens of peer-refereed research articles and received numerous grants from federal agencies. He has taught Introductory Psychology throughout his career. He has been a member of the board of directors of the American Association of University Administrators, a fellow of the American Psychological Association, and a teaching award winner. His widely used introductory psychology textbook is in its ninth edition.
