(ANGOLA) - Trine University has named Lexie Staten as its new vice president for academic affairs.

She succeeds Dr. Tony Kline, who recently was promoted to executive vice president.

Staten becomes the university's chief academic officer after serving as Dean of its Rinker-Ross School of Health Sciences, Trine's second-largest academic school, since 2023. Prior to becoming Dean, Staten served the university as Chair of its Department of Exercise Science. She joined the department in 2019 as an assistant professor.

Kline says Lexie has an outstanding record of being a positive, well-respected collaborator who has overseen growth in existing academic programs while introducing new degrees and pathways that lead to successful careers for Trine graduates. He says Staten has provided strong, thoughtful leadership as a department chair and Dean, and he’s excited to see how the university's academic programs as a whole will flourish under her guidance.

Staten earned her Bachelor's Degree in dietetics from Purdue University and her Master's Degree in nutrition science at Texas Woman's University. She taught three years of food science and culinary arts at Lamar International Baccalaureate High School in Texas before coming to Trine.