Lectra Lawhorne, Kennesaw State’s chief information officer and vice president of information technology, was placed on administrative leave Friday, Feb. 2, a source familiar with the matter told The Sentinel.
According to the source, KSU President Sam Olens wanted the situation dealt with before his resignation goes into effect on Wednesday, Feb. 14.
The Sentinel reached out to the president’s office to confirm the action, but the office declined to comment.
“Unfortunately, I do not have much to offer as this is a personnel matter and we are not in a position to comment,” university spokesperson Tammy DeMel said in an email.
The source said Lawhorne was placed on leave on Friday in order to keep the Marietta Daily Journal from finding out about the action. Another source said the University Information Technology Services staff was told in a meeting to say they have no knowledge or information on the matter if questioned.
Lawhorne was announced as CIO on Jan. 10, 2017, along with the announcement of Jeff Milsteen as KSU’s chief legal affairs officer and Julie Peterson as chief business officer. Lawhorne has served as interim CIO since June 2016.
Prior to being CIO, Lawhorne was the associate chief information officer and associate vice president for UITS. She graduated from KSU with a bachelor’s in computer science and mathematics and a master’s in information systems. She has been at KSU since 1999.
Stay with The Sentinel for updates.
Sabrina Kerns and Connor Zielke contributed to this article.
