SUNY PROVOST NOMINATED TO HEAD OHIO STATE-NEWARK AND COTC

   COLUMBUS -- The trustees of both The Ohio State University at Newark and Central Ohio Technical College have endorsed the nomination of Anne Cairns Federlein for the newly created position of president of the Newark Campus. The nomination has been forwarded to Ohio State President William E. Kirwan, who will present it to the university's Board of Trustees for approval at the board's next meeting, May 7, in Columbus.

   Federlein, 57, currently provost at the Oneonta campus of the State University of New York, would replace Rafael Cortada, who is retiring as dean and director of Ohio State-Newark and president of COTC. Cortada will remain at Ohio State-Newark as a faculty member in history and education. Federlein's appointment would take effect July 1.

   Kirwan said he is very pleased with the outcome of the national search to find a successor to Cortada.

   "Dr. Federlein comes to us with an extraordinary background in higher education, community outreach and business," he said. "Her wide-ranging experience and proven dedication should serve the Newark Campus and its constituents very well. I look forward to working with her to continue the marvelous cooperative effort between OSU-Newark and COTC, and to build on the community involvement programs already in place.

   "At the same time," he continued, "I want to thank Rafael Cortada for his five years of outstanding service at Newark. The fact that this remarkable partnership between two distinct institutions has not only worked, but thrived, is a testament to his leadership. I am delighted that he will remain as part of the Ohio State family, serving on the faculty at OSU-Newark."

   Ohio State-Newark and COTC have a relationship unlike any other in the state. The two institutions both serve Licking, Knox and Coshocton counties and share the same top administrator as well as a 176-acre campus, but are separate entities with distinct missions. They share a library, some laboratories, and other facilities but have separate governance structures, faculties, curricula and degree programs. COTC is a state- supported two-year technical college focused on associate degrees and is governed by its own board of trustees. OSU-Newark is a regional campus of The Ohio State University with a local board of trustees but ultimately reporting to The Ohio State University Board of Trustees, which has overall responsibility for all Ohio State campuses and programs.

   Under a new administrative structure, Federlein's title will be president of the Newark Campus. The current OSU-Newark associate dean, Paul Panek, will fill the new position of academic dean at OSU-Newark, subject to approval by the university's board of trustees on May 7.

   As president, Federlein will be responsible for the overall development of the Newark campus as a community resource -- including establishing and implementing a vision, developing partnerships with local business and community groups, fund raising, developing and maintaining the physical plant, and coordinating the two institutions to insure complementary rather than competitive programming. She will be the primary link between the campus and the Ohio Board of Regents and the OSU- Newark Board of Trustees. She will be responsible to the president and provost of Ohio State, the university's board of trustees and the COTC board of trustees.

   As academic dean, Panek will be responsible for the day-to- day coordination of academic affairs: administering instruction; hiring and reviewing staff; in cooperation with the relevant Columbus departments, hiring, reviewing and recommending tenure and promotion, and making salary recommendations for faculty; supervising advising, admissions and academic support programs; and preparing annual academic reports and academic budgets.

   Federlein has a diverse background in education and business. She has been at SUNY-Oneonta since 1993 and vice president for academic affairs and provost there since 1995. A professor of education, she also was dean of the Division of Behavioral and Applied Science and the first director the Center for Social Responsibility and Community, which has as its goal bringing together students on the campus and local community leaders and has resulted in some 40 percent of the students participating in service learning and volunteer activities. At Oneonta, she also took a lead in technology initiatives, such as a hardware and software support center and distance learning.

   From 1989 to 1993, she was a professor of education at the University of Northern Iowa and the first director of the Regents Center for Early Developmental Education, a statewide, multi- university center to research and develop early childhood educational programs for homeless and other at-risk populations.

   For 13 years prior to that, she was at Oakland University in Rochester, Mich., serving in various faculty and administrative capacities in the area of early childhood education. Before entering higher education, Federlein was employed as a teacher in Michigan public and private schools. She also owned two preschools in the Detroit area, served as a consultant to several major corporations and directed a computer training center.

   She earned her bachelor's degree in English from the University of Detroit, her master's degree in early childhood education from Oakland University, and her doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Michigan.

   Very active in professional and community organizations, Federlein serves on the advisory committee to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Division of Philanthropy and Volunteerism, produced and hosted "Education Exchange" on National Public Radio from 1990 to 1993, and has been a consultant to more than 85 school districts. She has served on the boards of numerous national and local philanthropic and service organizations, ranging from the United Way and the Catskill Symphony to the Iowa Correctional Institution for Women and Planned Parenthood.

   Federlein is the author of numerous articles on early childhood education and at-risk children and families. She has published three books on preschool education and is currently working on another, "At-Risk Parents Speak to the Community."

Contact: Nancy Rudd, Office of Academic Affairs, (614) 292-5881