SOUTHEAST NAMES KENT STATE AUDITOR CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Kenneth W. Dobbins, director of university auditing at Kent State University in Ohio, has been hired as the new vice president for finance and administration at Southeast Missouri State University.

The university's Board of Regents voted Tuesday to hire Dobbins.

Dobbins, who will begin his duties July 1, will make a salary of $82,000 a year.

Southeast President Kala Stroup said, "We are extremely pleased to bring Dr. Dobbins aboard at Southeast.

"He brings with him outstanding credentials and professional executive experience that have prepared him well for managing and providing leadership in the area of university finances," Stroup said in a prepared statement.

Dobbins was selected after a nationwide search that attracted more than 150 applicants.

Dobbins has held several titles at Kent State, including assistant director of financial affairs and bursar, and assistant treasurer.

As bursar, he supervised a 42-member staff, formed and implemented student payment policies, invested excess federal-loan-program funds and handled accounting for all student financial-aid awards.

Also at Kent State, Dobbins has served as an adjunct assistant professor, teaching higher education administration to students pursuing master's and doctoral degrees.

"Southeast is a fine university," Dobbins said Tuesday afternoon after meeting with the regents. "I am really excited about the opportunity to come to Southeast.

"I see a great potential here. The university is in a good position for growth," he said.

Dobbins replaces Betty Fulton. At her request, Fulton will return to teaching economics next fall after serving more than five years as vice president for business and finance.

As the university's chief financial officer, Dobbins will assume some of the duties now handled by Executive Vice President Robert Foster and by Roy Drury, business manager at Southeast. Both Foster and Drury are planning to retire in the near future.

In his position at Southeast, Dobbins will supervise all financial and budgeting areas, personnel services, purchasing, the computer center, printing and duplicating services, physical plant, public safety department and several auxiliary services.

Prior to his tenure at Kent State, Dobbins served with the Air Force Audit Agency where he was responsible for planning and managing worldwide audits, developing audit policies and supervising professionals at three audit offices.

Dobbins holds a doctoral degree in higher education administration from Kent State University and a master's degree in business administration from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va. He also is a certified public accountant and earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of Akron in Ohio.

Dobbins and his wife, Jeanine, are the parents of an 11-year-old son, Paul. His wife is a reading consultant for the Kent public schools and serves as an adjunct faculty member at Ohio State University.