Colleen O#Brien Named Director of State Relations

GEE NAMES O'BRIEN TO DIRECT STATE RELATIONS

COLUMBUS -- Colleen A. O'Brien, deputy director of the state 
Office of Budget and Management, is leaving her post to join the 
administration of President E. Gordon Gee at The Ohio State 
University.

O'Brien will become the university's director of state 
relations, President Gee announced today.  She replaces Herb 
Asher, who retired July 1 and is now an emeritus professor of 
political science and volunteer counselor to the president.  
O'Brien's salary will be $85,000 and she will join the university 
on March 11.

"Colleen O'Brien,"  Gee said, "is one of our own, an Ohio 
State graduate widely experienced in state government, highly 
respected by her peers, and very knowledgeable about state 
governmental issues that impact higher education and, 
specifically, affect Ohio State."

As director of state relations, O'Brien will advise 
President Gee on matters of state government and will be the 
university's liaison to the Ohio General Assembly and the 
executive branch.

"I am excited at the opportunity to return to my alma mater 
and work in this capacity," O'Brien said today.  "This position 
will allow me to blend my experience in government with my 
interest in higher education.  I feel very honored to have been 
able to serve as part of Governor Voinovich's administration, and 
look forward to working in the future with the all branches of 
state government on behalf of The Ohio State University."

As deputy director of Budget and Management, O'Brien is the 
president of the seven-member State Controlling Board which 
reviews and approves state contracts and the release of state 
funds.  She also assists in development of the biennial state 
budget.

From 1988 to 1990, she served the Ohio Senate, first as 
majority caucus research assistant and then research director. 
She also worked with Sen. Charles F. Horn, R-Dayton, on major 
economic development initiatives.  She served as chief of staff 
for then Lt. Gov. Mike DeWine from 1991 until joining Budget and 
Management in 1993.

O'Brien is vice chair of the Creative Play Center Board of 
Trustees.  As a student at Ohio State, she was president of 
Undergraduate Student Government and of her sorority, Kappa 
Delta. She was also an undergraduate member of the Ohio State 
University Athletic Council, and active on the Student-Alumni 
Council.  She received the OSU Outstanding Senior Award and 
Conaway-Chase Award given to five outstanding senior sorority 
members.

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Contact: Malcolm Baroway, executive director of University 
Communications, (614) 292-6895, or Tom Spring, managing editor of 
News Services, (614) 292-8309.


[Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 9 Feb 1996 16:42:57 -0500]
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