Kinzer named interim CEO of Marshall Foundation

John K. Kinzer, a former Huntington resident and longtime member of numerous Marshall University organizations, has been named interim chief executive officer of the Marshall University Foundation, Inc., said Monica Hatfield, chair of the foundation board of directors.

Kinzer replaces Glen Kerkian, who resigned effective May 31. A nationwide search for a new foundation leader, aided by Academic Search Consultation Service of Washington, D.C., has begun. The search is expected to take about six months.

“We are just very excited to bring John’s expertise to the foundation,” Hatfield said. “We are looking forward to his leadership during this transition.”

Kinzer officially began his duties at Marshall on June 1.

“My objective is to have the foundation and development offices running as smoothly as possible when the new CEO comes in,” he said.

A Beckley, W.Va., native, Kinzer graduated from Marshall University in 1962 with a bachelor of business administration degree. He received his master’s degree in business administration from West Virginia University in 1975, and passed the Certified Public Accountant examination in 1979.

Kinzer spent more than 36 years with Ashland Inc., and affiliates, beginning in 1963 as an excise tax accountant. After a series of promotions with increased responsibility, he was named Vice President, Taxes for Ashland Coal Inc. in 1994.

In 1997, after the company merged with Arch Coal Inc., Kinzer moved to St. Louis to run the tax department for a $2 billion company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. He retired in 2000, and settled in Swanton, Md., where he and his wife, Betty Sue, now live.

Kinzer’s volunteer experience includes many years of service to Marshall. He is a life member of the Marshall University Alumni Association, of which he served as president for two years. The Alumni Association presented Kinzer and his wife with the Distinguished Service award in 1998. He currently serves as treasurer with the Society of Yeager Scholars, and also is a Yeager Society advisory member with the foundation.

Kinzer also has been a member of the John Marshall Society, the Big Green Scholarship Foundation and presidential and basketball coach search committees. He has been on the foundation board for about one year.

“I feel like this is an opportunity to do something for Marshall University,” Kinzer said. “Marshall has always been a part of my life. Our kids thought homecoming was a national holiday.”

Kinzer said the foundation has plenty of work to do in the coming months.

“We need to work on moving the Keith-Albee Theatre to a nonprofit (status) and support the efforts to keep it alive because it is a real asset to the community,” he said. “We also need to move forward on building a new alumni center, and moving the foundation offices over there. And, we need to fill some vacancies. We desperately need more fundraisers.”

Kinzer and his wife have been married for 43 years and are the parents of three grown children – Robin, Terri and John. They also have five grandchildren – Kinzie, Torri, Haden, Allison and Katie.

For more information, persons may contact Kinzer at (304) 696-2826.