97-12-05 Trustees: SIsson Named Interim President

TRUSTEES NAME PROVOST RICHARD SISSON INTERIM PRESIDENT

     COLUMBUS -- Richard Sisson was named interim president of
The Ohio State University by the university’s Board of Trustees
on Friday (12/5).  The appointment becomes effective on Dec. 15.
He succeeds E. Gordon Gee, who will become president of Brown
University on Jan. 1, 1998.

     Sisson presently serves as senior vice president and
provost.  Since July, he has served as chair of the presidential
transition team appointed by the trustees to provide advice and
counsel on transitional matters.

     In accepting the appointment, Sisson announced that he is
withdrawing from further consideration in the selection of a new
president for the University of Texas at Austin, where he has
been a finalist.

     “We are enormously fortunate to have a leader of Dr.
Sisson’s standing and experience to lead Ohio State during this
interim period,” said Alex Shumate, chair of the Board of
Trustees. “Dick knows the university intimately and is deeply
involved in virtually all of our current initiatives.  He has the
knowledge and skill to keep the university moving forward during
this very important time in its history.

     “I and my fellow trustees deeply appreciate Dick’s decision
to withdraw from further consideration at the University of Texas
at Austin.  It is a sign of Dick’s commitment and love of Ohio
State that he has made this choice at this time.  The entire Ohio
State community owes Dick a deep sense of gratitude.”

     Sisson, who as senior vice president and provost has been
responsible for the day-to-day operation and management of Ohio
State, said he looks forward to the challenges the interim
presidency holds.

     “Ohio State is strong and getting stronger,” he said.  “We
have a dedicated and hard-working Board of Trustees and a strong
leadership team in place.  We will, during this interim period,
stay focused on providing an outstanding experience for our
students, serving the people of this state, increasing further
our academic excellence, and enhancing the university’s revenue
base.”

     Sisson says he intends to devote much of his time to
advancing the interest of Ohio State and higher education during
the current legislative deliberations on state funding issues,
and to helping to raise private funds through the Affirm Thy
Friendship fund-raising campaign at Ohio State.

     In a related move, the trustees also named Edward J. Ray to
the position of acting senior vice president and provost.  Ray is
currently senior vice provost and chief information officer. 
This appointment is also effective Dec. 15.  In his new position,
Ray will be responsible for the university’s daily operations,
will lead the Council of Deans, and serve as chair of the
Coordinating Council and the transition team, which will continue
to serve during the interim period.

Background on Sisson and Ray

     Richard Sisson has been Ohio State’s chief academic officer
since 1993.  He came to the university from UCLA, where he had
been a faculty member and administrator for 25 years, serving as
senior vice chancellor for academic affairs in his last two years
there.

     A native of Gallia County, Sisson, 61, holds a bachelor’s
degree in international relations and a master’s degree in
political science from Ohio State.  He earned his Ph.D. in
political science from the University of California, Berkeley in
1967.

     A nationally distinguished scholar, he has studied and
written about the multicultural societies of South Asia, the
cultural bases of politics in Asian societies and socioeconomic
bases for the development of democratic regimes.

     He holds national leadership positions in numerous higher
education organizations, including the Association of American
Universities, the Kellogg Commission on the future of land grant
universities, and the National Association of State Universities
and Land Grant Colleges.

     Edward J. Ray, a member of Ohio State’s economics faculty
since 1970, was department chair from 1976 to 1992, when he moved
to the Office of Academic Affairs as an associate provost.
Currently senior vice provost and chief information officer, he
has primary responsibility for budgets and resource issues.  He
also oversees international programs, resource planning and
institutional analysis, libraries, and the university’s computer
and telephone services.

     A mathematics graduate of Queens College (CUNY), Ray, 53,
earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in economics from
Stanford University.  Ray’s research interests include the
history of protectionism in the United States, the determinants
of U.S.-foreign direct investments, and the structure of tariff
and non-tariff trade barriers in the United States and abroad.

                             #

Contacts: Richard Sisson, 614-292-5881
          Edward Ray, 614-292-5881


[Submitted by: Von Vargas  (vargas.12@osu.edu)
               
Fri, 5 Dec 1997 15:36:01 -0500 (EST)]
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