Kent State names two interim leaders for regional campuses

Kent, Ohio — Kent State University opened the 2026 to 2027 academic year with new interim leadership over its Regional Campus System and College of Applied and Technical Studies. Angela Spalsbury, Ph.D., has been named interim associate vice president for the Regional Campus System. Brad Bielski, Ph.D., has been named interim dean of the College of Applied and Technical Studies, known as CATS. Both appointments took effect as classes resumed Aug. 24 across the university's system of campuses. Spalsbury and Bielski take over duties previously held by Peggy Shadduck, Ph.D., who has moved into a faculty role as associate professor of business management technology within CATS. Provost points to community ties Executive Vice President and Provost Melody Tankersley, Ph.D., announced the appointments and pointed to the leadership experience both administrators bring to the regional system. "Their deep knowledge of the Regional Campuses and their commitment to student success will help sustain the success of this university and its extended reach across Northeast Ohio," Tankersley said. Spalsbury brings decades of experience Spalsbury will provide strategic leadership for Kent State's seven regional campuses and the Twinsburg Academic Center. She continues in her existing role as dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State University at Geauga and the Twinsburg Academic Center, a post she has held since 2018. A Kent State alumna, Spalsbury has more than two decades of experience in higher education. Her work as dean has focused on strengthening academic programs, improving student outcomes and building partnerships with schools, health systems and employers across the region. She has also held community leadership roles tied to the Cleveland Foundation Lake Geauga Fund Advisory Committee, the Geauga Business Advisory Council, Geauga County Job and Family Services Advisory Board, Geauga Growth Partnership, University Hospitals Geauga Medical Center Board of Directors, Twinsburg Chamber of Commerce and the Twinsburg Community Relations Board. Before Kent State, she chaired the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Youngstown State University and held faculty positions there. Earlier still, she taught at John Carroll University, Hiram College and the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. Spalsbury earned her doctorate in mathematics from Kent State and previously served as national president of the math honor society Pi Mu Epsilon. Bielski adds workforce and business background Bielski will lead CATS while continuing as dean and chief administrative officer of the Kent State Tuscarawas and East Liverpool campuses. He brings more than 20 years of administrative experience in higher education. He spent a decade as vice president for Academic Affairs at Thomas More University in Kentucky, where his duties spanned academic affairs, student affairs, adult enrollment management and information technology. Bielski has also worked to connect higher education with local workforce needs. He has held leadership roles with the Tuscarawas County Economic Development Corporation, Cleveland Clinic Union Hospital, the Community Improvement Corporation of Tuscarawas County, United Way of Tuscarawas County, the Tuscarawas County Chamber of Commerce, Workforce Investment of Stark and Tuscarawas Counties and Leadership Tuscarawas. Before entering administration, Bielski taught physical chemistry, focusing on statistical mechanics, quantum chemistry and analytical spectroscopy. He earned his doctorate from the University of Cincinnati in 1991 and is a graduate of the Harvard Institute for Educational Management.