By statute, a majority of the board has to be Ohio alumni. I believe, though this could have changed since I last looked, that we are the only state school that has this requirement written into law. Of course, to your point, that still leaves four slots for non-alumni. I don't disagree that alma mater diversity in these slots would be a good idea.

https://www.ohio.edu/trustees/membership-selection

I agree totally with this line of thinking.

When I think of Ohio's public universities, the game of Jenga come to mind. The tower looks beautifual at first, but we are fast approaching a collapse of monumental proportions in the next economic downturn. OCF, Alan and OUPride, have a better handle on the specifics, but a couple of things keep coming to mind. First off, OU Pride's mention of the fact that Ohio has more doctoral programs in the state univerity system than does California, a state more than 3x our size.

Even some of the vaunted Ohio 5 schools are scratching their heads concerning their future budgets and expectations. One administrator there told me that she has seen a marked rise in the number of administartors in the last 20 years. However, a lot of that is due to "student affirming" posisitions as she put it; stress counselors, special tutors and counselors positions that didn't exist 20 years ago.

Last night I was at big celebration event with some friends and neighbors, a couple of them had students in Athens and they were quite happy. However, the group really listened attentively to a couple of adults who had students at Cincinnati. When they explained their apprentice type programs and the jobs that came with it, they had every high school parent's full attention.

Our problems have been a long time coming, though we have a lot of loyalty and a medical school with a growing reputation, we also have some of our more famous programs like Journalism in a downward trajectory because the whole print media is on the ropes. Couple that with a region that is experiencing a long term population decline, all the while the country is in the throes one of the sharpest 10 year birth declines the nation has ever seen.

It seems as if UC years ago saw a lot of coming. They focused on student and parents concerns about getting a job. They have moved mountains while we are moving at a glacial pace. The whole thing is sad. We are living with decision that were made 50-60 years ago by governors, legislators, and university presidents who are long dead. It is not too late to turn it around, but it isn't getting any easier; a comprehensive plan is truly needed.

The main threat is the cost model OU has run with a.k.a two year dorm requirement, 5 years to graduate and packing the campus to the brim is all in question.

Free community college is a game changer because it makes sense to go that route rather than pay two years to sit in the dorms at a state university. That cuts your total graduation costs by 2/3rds. Community colleges in more diverse states though tend to have greater public acceptance. Community college in Ohio from what I can recall is more about educating non-traditional students so its frowned upon by middle and upper middle class parents. Will that be true if its completely free?

The cultural shift away from colleges being the place where you go to find your partner and more just a way to get your career started makes it less of a hang out experience which is where OU excelled over the city colleges. I'm sure the lower enrollment figures play a factor there. OU to its credit has made a significant investment in STEM fields which helps.

Ohio needs a President with high tech and research connections. On-line classes and programs that include cutting edge certificate programs need to be formed. Ohio also needs to expand it's international reach to include business, diplomacy, and shared technology between countries. Perhaps, some connections to the Military industrial complex might help, though it would ruffle the feathers of the more progressive wings of the Ohio community; after all, adding a little more mystery and intrigue to Southeastern Ohio on top of everything else shouldn't create too much of a problem (unless something gets free from a lab on campus and creates havoc in and around the Hocking Hills).

Very true Alan, the interesting thing to me is that I don't recall ever hearing more positive comments about the university than I do now from students and parents. On a personal note, my dealings with the university has never been better. Both faculty and administration have been extremely helpful with me on matters. Yet we are facing some very serious challenges, not the least of which is attracting students in a rural setting (which I personally think is attractive, but those who favor a more urban setting may disagree.) Also the demographic challenges we face are huge. Some 60 years ago Florida was nearly half Ohio's size, now they are nearly double our size. Our nation is experiencing the lowest birth rate in our history. We have to address this situation with new recruiting methods.

Alan's point about the undergradute experience is very true. The Cincinnati apprenticeship and job plan has been resonating with students and their parents for some time, and it continues to impress parents and students who are appraoching college decisions for the first time. I realize the university makes money on dorms, but something has to give. We have to make off campus housing attractive, the University of Dayton ghetto was completely revitalized and most landlords bought out by the university to make it attractive. UD which is far more costly than our beloved Alma mater is having no trouble attracting students. Yet, the Marianist religious order is one of the smaller education oriented orders in the Catholic Church. They only have a couple of high schools in the United States. They are dwarfed by the Jesuits and Dominicans, and yet UD is doing just fine attracting a diverse student body from all over the country.

As I have said before, our adminsitration and the new President needs to go to places like Dayton, Cincinnati and even smaller places like Findlay to see what is working for them. We have no time to lose.

I know political topics can quickly go astray, but a number of schools have brought in political figures to lead universities in the past. Would OHIO have the ability/interest to recruit someone like John Kasich, who has name recognition both in the state and nationally?

If they had the right credentials (whatever that means or whatever that's worth) and a commitment to undergraduate teaching. As someone who worked in public schools for almost 40 years, an educational leader is what I'd prefer over most anything else.

Wow, lots of moving parts here. Things must have really started to deteriorate that the original plan to let President Nellis stay on until next spring was nixed. It seems the administrator that I spoke with was on to something about the basketball camp fiasco only being the start of the craziness and the axe grinding to come from various disgruntled administrators and faculty across the campus. It seems the Trustees felt they had to stop the bleeding and the uncertainity with a two year appointment. It would appear the budget and enrollment decline would be the first order of business, not sure if they are asking him for a long term plan, since it is only a two year appointment.

It seems Pesident Sherman must have some of the business experience they were looking for with his background in both the US and Europe, not to mention he was educated in both the US and Canada. It will be interesting to see how the dust settles with these rapidly changing events.

Great choice.

College of Business>Scripps.

:-)

Could he be related to Lancaster's favorite son? Asking for a friend from Fairfield County. ;-)

I don't know anything about Mr.Sherman.
But,from reading about him,he has an impressive set of credentials.

I do like the fact that he knows O.U.

Of course,I'v been in the "anyone but Nellis camp",since he was announced as
President.

Let's see how this guy does.
He's got what amounts to a 2 year "probation".
Hopefully he turns out to be really good,and loses the "interim" title.

The two schools of thought here were that the next President should have an Academic or Business background.

Mr.Sherman is an Academic,but his educational expertise is in business.

Now he's got 2 years to prove himself.