RADFORD -- Penelope W. Kyle will be Radford University’s sixth president. Kyle was selected March 3 by the university’s Board of Visitors and will take office June 1.

The Galax native brings to RU a wide range of successful executive experience in state government, the corporate and legal arenas and in education.

“Together, we will reaffirm our status as a strong teaching institution which is respected for the quality of our academic endeavor and service to society,” said Kyle. “Together, we will tell Radford’s success story far and wide.

“My job as president is to be fully engaged in campus, community and regional life and culture. As president, I will champion RU on campus, in Radford, in Western Virginia, in Richmond, in Washington and across America so that the university will attract the resources and support necessary to reach its full potential.”

(In the photo: Ms. Kyle talks with Radford City Mayor Tom Starnes Wednesday. See streaming video from the Board of Visitors' meeting introducing Ms. Kyle as RU's new president.)

For more than six months a search committee consisting of all voting members of the Board, three faculty members, one student and a member of the business community have reviewed approximately 90 applications and nominations for the presidency. Eleven candidates were interviewed at off-campus sites and in late January and early February three candidates visited campus for additional interviews and forums with the university community.

“The search process was open, inclusive and thorough,” said Mary Ann Hovis, Rector of the Board of Visitors and a 1965 Radford graduate. “Penny Kyle emerged as the candidate who best matched the search criteria. She has a track record of success in executive leadership of complex organizations, has excellent analytical skills, is an effective communicator and decisive decision-maker and has powerful connections that she will leverage into new opportunities for the university. She brings vitality and energy to this campus. She is the right fit for RU.”

Kyle currently serves as Executive Director of the Virginia Lottery, a position she has held for more than a decade. The lottery has grown under her leadership and in fiscal year 2004 generated more than $408 million in funding for Virginia public schools. She was appointed to terms as lottery director by both Republican and Democratic governors. (See congratulatory statement issued Thursday by Governor Mark Warner.)

Prior to joining the lottery, Kyle worked at CSX Corporation for 13 years, beginning as an attorney and rising to become the first female officer of the international transportation company and vice president in the finance department.

She had previous experience as an attorney with McGuire, Woods, Battle and Boothe in Richmond and as an assistant professor of English at Thomas Nelson Community College in Hampton.

Kyle earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Guilford College. Following postgraduate study at Southern Methodist University, she earned a Juris Doctorate from the University of Virginia and later an MBA from
The College of William & Mary.

She has been active in civic and academic affairs, including tenures as a member of the Board of Visitors and the Foundation Board at James Madison University and the Virginia Commonwealth University Foundation Board.

She is married to Charles L. Menges, an attorney and partner with McGuire Woods LLP. They are the parents of a son Kyle, and daughters Penelope Whitley and Patricia Lee.