Bowling Green State University, Office of the President (Carol A. Cartwright) records

Born in 1941, Carol A. Cartwright earned master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and her bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin at Whitewater. She is married to Dr. G. Phillip Cartwright and they have three children.

Dr. Cartwright's career was distinguished by innovative teaching, pioneering research and national leadership. She became Kent State University’s 10th president–and the first woman president of a state university in Ohio–in March 1991, retiring from there in June 2006. Prior to her career at Kent State, she was vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of California at Davis and dean for undergraduate programs and vice provost at The Pennsylvania State University.

Dr. Cartwright has held prominent leadership roles on higher education’s most influential national organizations, chairing the board of directors of the American Association for Higher Education and serving on the boards of directors of the American Council on Education, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and the American Association of Colleges and Universities. She chaired the National Collegiate Athletic Association Executive Committee and served as a member of the NCAA’s board of directors. She also served on the executive board of the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education, the Center for Research Libraries board of directors and the American Council on Education Commission on Women in Higher Education. She also has served on the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, the National Public Radio board of directors, and the ACE Commission on International Initiatives.

In addition, Dr. Cartwright has been a leading member of numerous regional and statewide civic and economic-development organizations, including the Greater Akron Chamber, the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education and NorTech. She co-chaired the Ohio Technology in Education Committee, which developed Ohio’s master plan for educational technology from preschool through graduate school. Her participation in initiatives to improve Ohio’s economy includes past service on the Governor’s Commission on Higher Education and the Economy. Dr. Cartwright also serveds on the boards of directors of three companies with headquarters in Northeast Ohio: KeyCorp and PolyOne Corporation of Cleveland and FirstEnergy Corp. of Akron.

The scope of her contributions to higher education led to Dr. Cartwright's induction into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility. She received Distinguished Alumni awards from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Pittsburgh; the Clairol Mentor Award in Education; the YWCA Greater Cleveland Women of Achievement Award; the Northeast Ohio ATHENA Award; and the March of Dimes Franklin Delano Roosevelt Humanitarian Award for Excellence.

The Cartwright Years at BGSU

Dr. Carol A. Cartwright was the first woman to take a presidential role at Bowling Green State University. She was named the president of BGSU Jan. 6, 2009, after serving as interim president since July 2008. She retired as Bowling Green State University's president in June 2011.

During her term in office, BGSU embarked on one of the largest building campaigns in its history including construction of the Wolfe Center for the Arts.