AKRON, Ohio — The University of Akron's board of trustees voted Wednesday to extend President R.J. Nemer's contract by three years, keeping him in the role through 2031.
Watch full video below:
Nemer sat down for an exclusive interview to talk about progress at the university and his priorities moving forward.
"I'm really thrilled to be able to continue what we started here when I took over as president," Nemer said.
Nemer did not take a traditional route to becoming a university president. He started a sports agency in his parents' basement, worked as a golf agent for many years, before becoming a dean at UA's College of Business and then the university's president beginning in 2024.
The new three-year contract extension gives Nemer a chance to focus on growth at UA, which has more than 15,000 students on two campuses. For the first time since 2011, the university has increased enrollment for two consecutive years — despite the "demographic cliff" of fewer people going to college and more competition from other universities and trade schools.
"To show an increase in a declining industry with fierce competitors is not small feat," Nemer said.
Nemer is also focused on the Polymer Industry Cluster Innovation Pilot Facility, which will be used by researchers and businesses and built on the site of the former Lincoln Building. UA is ranked No. 1 among universities for polymer science and plastics engineering, according to EduRank.org.
"It's a huge portion of who we are as a community and we're really excited about the Polymer Innovation Center being built," Nemer said.
Some students share that enthusiasm for the university's polymer science focus.
"I think at Akron it would be a really good idea to buy in completely to the whole polymer science and just chemistry in general," University of Akron student Giovanni Foradis said.
Other students believe Nemer should also focus on improving social activities on campus.
"One thing I would say could use some improvement on campus altogether would be some more events for students, just to keep students a little bit less stressed," University of Akron student Arnav Anand said.
In recent years, Akron's campus footprint has been reduced, cutting about 1 million square feet.
"We really didn't need the space," Nemer said.
That includes selling the Quaker Square Complex for apartments and retail development. A deal is also in the works to sell the former Central Hower Building and turn it into a workspace for businesses.
"But now you're talking deferred maintenance in the tens-of-millions of dollars," Nemer said.
Funding challenges and the cost of higher education also remain top of mind for Nemer as he moves forward as UA's leader.
"Like anything, costs go up, in terms of the cost to operate is going up, but you want to keep the tuition as affordable as you can," Nemer said.
