Northern Kentucky University selected Bonita Brown to be the school's next interim president during its Board of Regents meeting Wednesday.
Brown previously served the university as its vice president and chief strategy officer since 2019. She takes over as NKU's seventh president after former president Dr. Ashish Vaidya departed from the university after the last fall semester.
Earlier this month, NKU's Board of Regents decided the interim president would not be eligible as a candidate for the permanent president position once his or her time is over.
Brown says she's embracing her interim role and is looking forward to the opportunity of leading the school without feeling like she's auditioning for the role of the next president.
"I really see this as a service to the institution," Brown said. "From this level, I will learn even more about the ins and outs of the university."
She will be leading the university as it faces an$18.7 million deficit. After being appointed as interim president, Brown said she plans at looking at hiring practices at the school and will remain frugal when it comes to operating NKU.
Once her time as president is up, Brown says she'll take what she's learned from the leadership experience back to her vice president position.
"This will give me a different kind of insight, so when I take this back, I hope we will be able to ramp up our strategic planning even more," Brown said.
The NKU Board of Regents is currently evaluating candidates searching for its next president.
