President Ashish K. Vaidya to depart NKU Dec. 19, 2022

Nov. 17, 2022 - Northern Kentucky University announces that Dr. Ashish K. Vaidya, the institution’s sixth president, will depart the university effective Dec. 19, 2022.

The NKU Board of Regents and Dr. Vaidya determined that the time is now for a leadership transition as the university embarks on a multi-year repositioning effort in response to changing market and financial pressures impacting all of higher education.

"On behalf of the Board of Regents, I'd like to thank Ashish for his many accomplishments at NKU, and also express our deep appreciation to Nita and the whole family for the sacrifices they have made over the past four-and-a-half years in service to our mission, our students and the region,” said Board chair Rich Boehne. “We know that transitions in leadership can be difficult, and often sad, but when embraced as opportunity, transitions can serve to reinforce our most essential goals and accelerate our efforts to achieve them. We won't miss this opportunity for NKU, as it often has in the first 50 years of its adventure, to focus forward and boldly demonstrate its commitment to changing lives and lifting the whole of our community."

Dr. Vaidya arrived at NKU on July 1, 2018, and quickly created a strategic framework process to include both campus and community voices in the discussion on NKU’s future. The resulting Success by Design strategic framework unveiled a new vision of NKU becoming nationally recognized for being a student-ready, regionally engaged university that empowers diverse learners for economic and social mobility. He also focused on enhancing NKU’s commitment to equity, inclusion and diversity, creating the Chief Diversity Officer position and establishing the Chief Strategy Officer position to support NKU’s core values and goals.

“It has been a  privilege and honor to lead this university over the past four-and-half years,” Dr. Vaidya said. “Thanks to the great work of the faculty, staff and students, I believe significant progress has been achieved during the past several years. Driven by Success by Design, we have achieved record retention and graduation rates, strong results in the Commonwealth’s performance funding model, completed the most impactful capital campaign in our history and successfully resolved the untenable pension crisis.

“The fact that we executed on so many fronts, while navigating a global pandemic, speaks volumes about this institution’s resilience and tenacity.”

In collaboration with internal and external partners, Dr. Vaidya led the resolution of NKU’s pension crisis in a manner that not only kept the pension for long-term employees but also will save the university over $73 million in cessation costs which will translate to annual savings on the bond payments of approximately $4 million. His active presence in Frankfort also resulted in increases for NKU in the Commonwealth’s Performance Funding Model.

In his time leading NKU, Dr. Vaidya has raised the university’s profile with his work as chair of the Horizon League Board of Directors, on the American Association for State Colleges and Universities’ Board of Directors, on the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland’s Cincinnati Branch Board of Directors and as part of EAB’s Moon Shot for Equity.

Dr. Vaidya and his partner, Dr. Nita Vaidya, plan to return to their home state of California.

“Nita and I have been away from California for nearly eight years now and we are ready to return home to our roots and explore opportunities there,” Dr. Ashish Vaidya said. “I would like to thank Chair Rich Boehne and members of the Board for this opportunity. Nita and I are grateful to the community for welcoming us into the region as well.”