Penelope W. Kyle is an American academic administrator and government employee, who served as the former president of

Radford University Radford University is a public university in Radford, Virginia. It is one of the state's eight doctorate-granting public universities. Founded in 1910, Radford offers curricula for undergraduates in more than 100 fields, graduate programs inclu ...

, a public, state-funded, comprehensive university, located in Radford, Virginia. She assumed her role on June 1, 2005, and retired in June of 2016.

Career

Kyle graduated from

Guilford College Guilford College is a private liberal arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. Guilford has both traditional students and students who attend its Center for Continuing Education (CCE). Founded in 1837 by members of the Religious Society of ...

in Greensboro, North Carolina and did her postgraduate studies in English at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. She received her Juris Doctor from the

University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...

and later earned her MBA from the College of William & Mary. Kyle served as Executive Director of the

Virginia Lottery The Virginia Lottery is an independent agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was created in 1987 when Virginians voted in a statewide referendum in favor of a state lottery. The first ticket was sold on September 20, 1988. All profits from ...

for 11 years, under three successive governors. First appointed by Governor George Allen in 1994, she was reappointed by Governor

Jim Gilmore James Stuart Gilmore III (born October 6, 1949) is an American politician, diplomat, statesman, and former attorney who was the 68th Governor of Virginia from 1998 to 2002 and Chairman of the Republican National Committee in 2001. A native Vir ...

, and then reappointed once again by Governor

Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th governo ...

. Previously, Kyle was employed by CSX Corporation, an international transportation company, where she became the company's first female officer. Before joining CSX Corporation, she was an attorney with

McGuireWoods McGuireWoods LLP is a US-based international law firm. Their largest offices are in Richmond, Virginia, Charlotte, North Carolina and Chicago, Illinois. History 1800s–1960s McGuireWoods traces its origins to two lawyers, Egbert R. Watson and ...

, LLP in Richmond. She also taught English for six years at

Thomas Nelson Community College Virginia Peninsula Community College (VPCC) is a public community college with two campuses in Virginia, one in Hampton and the other in James City County. It also has two education centers The Southeast Higher Education Center in Newport News a ...

Hampton, Virginia Hampton () is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 137,148. It is the List ...

. Kyle served on the Board of Visitors at James Madison University (JMU) from 1984 until 1992 and on the JMU Foundation Board 1992 until 1994. She also served on the Virginia Commonwealth University Foundation Board from 1994 until 2000 and on the Board of Governors of

Saint Christopher School Metairie ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish and was (a ...

from 1999 until 2005. Kyle was also a member of the Board of Directors of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. She is currently a member of the Board of Directors of PRA, Inc., a publicly traded company, and has been since 2005. Kyle became Radford University's sixth, and first female, president when she took office on June 1, 2005. On March 30, 2015, Kyle announced that she would retire as Radford University president effective June 30, 2016. In February 2016, the Radford University Board of Visitors announced that the College of Business and Economics Building (COBE) would be named after Kyle.

Family

Kyle is married to Charles L. Menges, an attorney and partner with McGuire, Woods, LLC. They are the parents of three children. A native of Southwest Virginia, Kyle attended

Galax, Virginia Galax is an independent city in the southwestern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,720. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Galax with neighboring Carroll County for statisti ...

public schools.

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 20th-century American lawyers College of William & Mary alumni Guilford College alumni People from Galax, Virginia Presidents of Radford University Southern Methodist University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Virginia lawyers Women heads of universities and colleges 20th-century American women lawyers {{US-academic-administrator-stub