9-26-2012

Contact: Gayle Saunders, (614) ) 292- 5962

Ohio State University Board of Trustees welcomes new appointee

Michael J. Gasser to attend first meeting in November

Ohio Governor John Kasich has named Michael Gasser, executive chairman of Greif, Inc., to a nine-year term on The Ohio State University Board of Trustees.

Gasser joined Greif in 1979, and he served as chairman and CEO of the company from 1994 to 2011. Under his leadership, the company’s sales grew from $526 million in 1994 to $3.5 billion in 2010. During the same timeframe, Greif’s workforce grew from 4,500 employees to 16,000.
He has been executive chairman of Greif since 2011. Headquartered in Delaware, Ohio, Greif is a world leader in industrial packaging products and services.

Robert H. Schottenstein, chair of the university’s Board of Trustees, says Gasser will bring valued experience and counsel to the Board. “Without question, Mike’s strategic vision and deep financial expertise will strengthen our Board and further enhance its governance of the institution. As an Ohioan with a thoroughly global perspective, he brings exactly the right mindset to Ohio State at this moment in its history.”

Gasser is an active supporter of both Ohio State and the central Ohio community. He is a member of the James Foundation Board at the university. He serves on the board of directors of Battelle Memorial Institute and Bob Evans Farms, Inc., and is a member of the Columbus Partnership.

Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee says he looks forward to Gasser’s guidance as a university trustee. “We are truly fortunate to have Mike Gasser join our Board of Trustees. Through working with him in various capacities over the past several years, I know he will be a real asset in helping to accelerate our momentum in moving from excellence to eminence.”

Gasser earned a BA from Ohio Northern University in 1973 and his certified public accountant certificate in 1976.

The board holds its next meeting November 8-9, 2012, at Longaberger Alumni House.

About The Ohio State University
Founded in 1870, The Ohio State University is a world-class public research university and the leading comprehensive teaching and research institution in the state of Ohio. With more than 63,000 students (including 56,000 in Columbus), a major medical center, 14 colleges, 80 centers and 175 majors, the university offers its students tremendous breadth and depth of opportunity in the liberal arts, the sciences, and the professions.

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