Norfolk State names Kim Luckes as acting president

NORFOLK

Kim Luckes, a Newport News native, will become the acting president of Norfolk State University, effective July 1.

Luckes (pronounced LEW-kus) will lead the college while it searches to replace Carolyn Meyers, whose resignation takes effect at the end of June. Luckes came to Norfolk State earlier this year as an assistant to the Board of Visitors and the president, to keep the school moving smoothly during Meyers’ departure.

Saturday, Luckes said would be willing to be a candidate for the presidency.

“That’s a possibility.

“I came here initially to help with the transition, but having been here for 2½ months, I’ve come to love the institution and what it has to offer.” Luckes said she understands the needs of a college in today’s economic climate and that moving it forward requires having a solid plan and paying close attention to detail.

The Board of Visitors voted on Luckes’ appointment Friday, and its rector, Ed Hamm, said he was pleased Luckes had accepted.

“We are confident that she will provide the university with excellent leadership as the board conducts the presidential search,” Hamm said in an e-mail.

Luckes , 52, was executive vice president at Saint Augustine’s College in Raleigh, N.C. before coming to Norfolk. She said she plans to maintain the momentum “at this very important time in the life of Norfolk State.

“The Board of Visitors and I are firmly committed to the University’s 75-year legacy of preparing students for lives of leadership and service, and its values in higher education, research, and community engagement for the betterment of society,” she said in a statement.

As executive vice president at Saint Augustine’s , Luckes was responsible for the day-to-day operations, in addition to areas of institutional effectiveness, personnel management, and strategic planning and assessment. Before that , she was provost and vice president for academic affairs . Luckes also held several administration positions at Hampton University.

Luckes earned a juris doctor degree from North Carolina Central University’s School of Law and a bachelor’s degree from Elizabeth City State University.

Hamm said in March that the board wanted to organize a committee to get community suggestions on what the school needs in a president. The board would like to have a president selected by the end of the year to assume the job in July 2011, he said.

Meyers is leaving NSU in the fourth year of her five-year contract after a period in which her leadership has been called into question by board members and others in the community. She was recently a semifinalist for the Southern University System presidency in Louisiana, but did not get the job.

Denise Watson Batts, (757) 446-2504,denise.batts@pilotonline.com