Kent State University President Beverly Warren revealed Thursday that she has breast cancer.
She will undergo surgery and reduce her public schedule into May, she wrote in a message that was emailed to the campus.
“My outstanding medical team at the Cleveland Clinic has assured me that the cancer is in a very early stage and that there is high expectation for a full recovery,” Warren, 67, said.
“Thank you all for the outstanding work and caring attitude that has created the remarkable success of this academic year. I am deeply disappointed that the timing of my surgery means that I will have to miss some of the year-end celebrations that make this university such a special place. Know that I will be with you in spirit and am so proud of the diversity of accomplishments that contribute daily to a distinctive Kent State.”
She said she would be active in university business during her recovery.
Her email didn’t say when the surgery is scheduled.
Warren is the second female Kent State president to be diagnosed with breast cancer. Former President Carol Cartwright, then 51, announced in September 1992 that she had breast cancer.
It was caught early and she made a full recovery.
Warren was diagnosed during a routine exam and wrote that she hopes “that my experience will reinforce the value of routine preventive health care and the importance of a commitment to wellness that will help us realize our vision of Kent State University as one of the nation’s healthiest campuses.”
Senior vice presidents Todd Diacon and Mark Polatajko are expected to run day-to-day operations in her absence.
Warren has been at Kent State, which has more than 41,000 students at its main and regional campuses, for less than two years. She started in July 2014 after previously serving as provost at Virginia Commonwealth University.
“Beverly Warren shows exceptional strength in her tenure as president and that strength we know will serve her well during this challenge,” Kent State Board of Trustees Chair Dennis Eckart said in a prepared statement. “We have great confidence in her medical team and the senior leadership of the university. We join the Kent State family in wishing her well.”
Associate professor William Sledzik, who serves as spokesman for the Kent State chapter of the American Association of University Professors, praised Warren for discussing her health issue with the community and urging people to be proactive with their own health.
“There are times when we are adversaries and there are times like this when we are one Kent State,” he said. “We’re all a team here and we do wish her well.”
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter at @armonrickABJ.