Provost Robert Frank will leave Kent State at the end of the spring semester for warmer weather at the University of New Mexico (UNM).

UNM announced Wednesday that Frank will replace the university’s current President David Schmidly this June.

Frank first visited the university on Dec. 12, 2011 to interview with the University of New Mexico Board of Regents for the job. UNM currently has 30,000 students enrolled and features a strong engineering and medical school.

Since starting at Kent State, Frank launched the university’s new College of Public Health, helped gain international partnerships and supported President Lester Lefton’s globalization initiatives.

A search committee led by Daniel Mahony, dean of the College of Education, is still looking to find a replacement for Frank. The committee wants to make its final decision in February.

Check KentWired for updates as they’re made available.

Contact Megan Wilkinson at [email protected].