Carol A. Cartwright, NPR Biography
President Emeritus, Kent State University
In a career distinguished by innovative teaching, pioneering research, and national leadership, Dr. Carol A. Cartwright earned a place among the most highly respected voices in higher education.
She became Kent State University's 10th president — and the first woman president of a state university in Ohio — in March 1991. Dr. Cartwright retired as president in June 2006. Prior to her career at Kent State, she was vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of California at Davis and dean for undergraduate programs and vice provost at The Pennsylvania State University.
In more than 15 years as president, Dr. Cartwright oversaw one of the nation's largest university systems. Kent State's eight campuses serve more than 33,000 students from throughout Ohio and the nation, and from 100 countries. One of the largest employers in Northeast Ohio, the university employs more than 4,600 full- and part-time faculty and staff.
Under Dr. Cartwright's leadership, student success became Kent State's top priority; many mutually beneficial partnerships were forged with businesses, schools, and other universities; the status of teaching and public service was elevated; academic programs were launched in a wide range of high-demand and emerging fields; the university pioneered technologies that enhance teaching and learning; enrollment increased in quantity and quality; building and celebrating diversity became an institutional priority; new collaborations and exchanges connected Kent State to every corner of the world; the university constructed 21st-century facilities from residence halls to research labs; and Kent State successfully completed its first, major fund-raising campaign.
Dr. Cartwright held prominent leadership roles on higher education's most influential national organizations, chairing the board of directors of the American Association for Higher Education and serving on the boards of directors of the American Council on Education and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. She chaired the National Collegiate Athletic Association Executive Committee and served as a member of the NCAA's board of directors. She also served on the executive board of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education; the Center for Research Libraries board of directors; the American Council on Education Commission on Women in Higher Education; the national board of the First Ladies' Library; and the board of trustees of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. She currently serves on the board of directors of the American Association of Colleges and Universities; the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics; the National Public Radio board of directors; and chairs the Fellowship Committee of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.
Dr. Cartwright was a leading member of numerous regional and statewide civic and economic-development organizations, including the Greater Akron Chamber, the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education and NorTech. She co-chaired the Ohio Technology in Education Committee, which developed Ohio's master plan for educational technology from preschool through graduate school. Her participation in initiatives to improve Ohio's economy includes past service on the Governor's Commission on Higher Education and the Economy and membership on the board of the Ohio Business Development Coalition. Dr. Cartwright also remains on the boards of directors of four companies with headquarters in Northeast Ohio: KeyCorp and PolyOne Corporation of Cleveland, FirstEnergy Corp. of Akron, and The Davey Tree Expert Company of Kent.
The scope of her contributions to higher education led to Dr. Cartwright's induction into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility. She received Distinguished Alumni awards from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Pittsburgh; the Clairol Mentor Award in Education; the YWCA Greater Cleveland Women of Achievement Award; the Northeast Ohio ATHENA Award; the March of Dimes Franklin Delano Roosevelt Humanitarian Award for Excellence; the ACE Mentor of the Year Award; and was inducted as a member of the Kent State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 2008. After announcing her retirement as president, she was honored throughout the region, state, and nation, including recognition in the form of resolutions of appreciation from the Ohio Legislature and the U.S. Congress. She was awarded the title "President Emeritus" from the Kent State University Board of Trustees. In addition, the Auditorium Building on the university's Kent Campus was named "Carol A. Cartwright Hall" in her honor.
Dr. Cartwright earned master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater.
She and Dr. G. Phillip Cartwright have three children, the youngest of whom is a Kent State graduate, and two grandchildren.
