Manhattan University Announces New Provost
Manhattan University, the 172 year old Lasallian institution, announced that Kenneth E. Sumner, Ph.D., will be the university’s new Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. He takes over this position on January 27, 2025 from Rani Roy, Ph.D., Interim Provost, who will assume the newly-created position of Executive Vice President for Business Operations.
Dr. Sumner has a broad and deep background in higher education spanning over twenty years. He most recently held two positions at Montclair State University (NJ) – Associate Provost for Academic Affairs (2017 – 2024) and Acting Dean of the Graduate School (2022 – 2024). As Associate Provost, he was responsible for academic personnel, including faculty and staff reappointments, tenure, and career development processes, among other areas; contract negotiations for various unions; strategic planning; and new initiatives, including the Bloomfield College merger. In his role as Acting Dean of the Graduate School, Sumner was responsible for realigning and re-engineering the overall school to be more supportive of learning and scholarship. He implemented the first Destination Survey Project to track post-graduate outcomes for students, created instructional delivery modalities to maintain on-campus presence with blended and hybrid delivery models covering more than 6000 courses per semester, assisted in growing enrollments to the largest level thus far, and broadened the University’s Career Services to support student success and partnerships with the business community. He also served as the Psychology Department Chair at Montclair State University from 2013 to 2017.
Said Frederick Bonato, Ph.D., President of Manhattan University, “I am incredibly pleased to have Ken joining the leadership team at Manhattan. His deep knowledge of so many facets of higher education coupled with his strategic vision and innovative methods will enhance our ability to maintain an incredibly capable and student-focused faculty. Ken’s demeanor and approachability are important assets in his career success.”
Dr. Sumner commented, “I am very excited to start this new chapter serving as the Manhattan University Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs. Having been a university faculty member, I look forward to meeting each of the faculty, understanding their needs, and developing plans with them for their continued success. Equally as important, I look forward to meeting as many students as possible since their success is the primary motivation for what we do at the University.”
Throughout his career, Dr. Sumner has served on numerous committees, acted as an editorial reviewer for various professional journals, and published extensively. He holds a B.S from Wayne State University (MI) where he majored in Psychology, and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University (OH) where he majored in Industrial and Organizational Behavior. He also has certification in Innovation and Design Thinking from the Graduate School of Business at Stanford University and certification in Executive Coaching from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at New York University.