FedEx Leader Named to Kent State Trustees Board

Gov. John Kasich has named Virginia Albanese of Akron, OH, to serve on the Kent State University Board of Trustees. Her appointment is through May 2022.

Albanese is president and CEO of FedEx Custom Critical, North America’s largest, critical-shipment carrier. Since joining FedEx Custom Critical in 1986, Albanese has served in various roles, including as director of safety, recruiting and contractor relations, managing director of service and safety, and vice president of customer and strategic operations. 

Albanese has strong ties to Kent State having earned a bachelor's degree in 1985 and an executive master’s degree in business administration in 1995. She is the immediate past chairwoman of the Greater Akron Chamber of Commerce and serves on a number of other boards to benefit the Northeast Ohio community, including Akron Children’s Hospital and serving as the chairwoman of the Boys and Girls Club of the Western Reserve.

Albanese replaces Jacqueline F. Woods, whose term as a Kent State trustee recently expired.

The Board of Trustees is the governing body of Kent State. By Ohio law, the Board is responsible for selecting and appointing the president; setting the operating budget; approving personnel appointments; granting all degrees awarded by the university, including honorary degrees; establishing tuition and fee rates; approving contracts; and approving all rules, regulations, curriculum changes, new programs and degrees of the university.

Kent State’s Board of Trustees consists of 12 members, nine of whom are voting members appointed by the governor of the state of Ohio, with the advice and consent of the state senate, to nine-year terms of office. Two student trustees, one undergraduate and one graduate, are appointed by the governor to two-year terms of office. Since 2011, the Board has appointed a national trustee, who serves a three-year term, as an additional non-voting member.