LeRoy Pernell Named Vice Provost

PROVOST SELECTS LEROY PERNELL TO HEAD MINORITY AFFAIRS

     COLUMBUS -- LeRoy Pernell, who has been the interim vice
provost for minority affairs at The Ohio State University for the
past year, has been selected to fill the position on a permanent
basis.

     Richard Sisson, senior vice president for academic affairs
and provost, announced Thursday (9/1) that he will recommend
Pernell's appointment to President E. Gordon Gee and the
university's Board of Trustees.  The appointment will be
effective immediately, subject to the trustees' approval.

     Pernell, 44, a professor of law at the university, was named
in September 1993 to head the Office of Minority Affairs on an
interim basis while a national search was conducted for a vice
provost for minority affairs.

     "An extensive and vigorous national search affirmed that
Professor Pernell is the right person -- in fact, the very best
person -- to provide the leadership needed to strengthen and
enhance the Office of Minority Affairs," Sisson said.  "He is
well respected in the academic community, and as interin vice
provost he has demonstrated his ability to engage in a wide range
of complex issues with thought, sensitivity, and care."

     Gee concurred: "I am delighted that Professor Pernell will
be staying on board in this important position.  He has been
steadfast in his commitment to the issues and concerns of the
Office of Minority Affairs, and I know that he will continue to
do an outstanding job."

     As vice provost for minority affairs, Pernell will have
management responsibilities for the Office of Minority Affairs,
the Young Scholars Program, and the Frank W. Hale Jr. Black
Cultural Center.  His policy and coordinating responsibilities
include minority student recruitment and retention, affirmative
action plans, and the Faculty Hiring Assistance Program.  The
Office of Minority Affairs coordinates all activities aimed at
recruiting, counseling, aiding and promoting minority students,
faculty and staff.  The office has an annual budget of more than
$4.5 million and a staff of 65.

     Of the position, Pernell said: "The strength of The Ohio
State University lies not just with its past but with its future.
The Office of Minority Affairs occupies a vital position in
securing that future for persons of color here at this
university.  I look forward to the challenge of assuring
opportunities for success for the communities that we serve."

     A 1974 graduate of Ohio State's College of Law, Pernell
first joined the law faculty in 1975 as a adjunct member and
clinical staff attorney.  The following year he was a visiting
instructor.  In 1977, he was named an assistant professor, and he
was promoted to associate professor in 1979 and to professor in
1990.  His teaching areas include criminal procedure, juvenile
law, torts, product liability, and various clinics and seminars.
Throughout his career, he has been involved in a series of
legislative reform projects at the state and national level,
mostly related to juvenile justice.

     In the summers of 1981, 1982, 1986 and 1992, Pernell
directed the six-week institutes sponsored by the Council on
Legal Educational Opportunity, which provided study and
orientation for 30 economically disadvantaged minority law school
applicants.

     Among his many community activities and professional
associations, he is a past member and chair of the university's
Athletic Council, a hearing officer for the University Faculty
Review Panel, a member of the Law Professors Advisory Committee
of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, and faculty advisor to the Black
Law Student Association.  He is a member of the Columbus, Ohio,
and American bar associations and the American Trial Lawyers
Association.  In addition, he is a co-founder and past chair of
the Columbus chapter of the National Conference of Black Lawyers.
Past community service includes membership on the boards of
Franklin County Children's Services, Mental Health Advocates, the
Association for the Developmentally Disabled, and the Columbus
Legal Aid Society.

                                #

Contact: Richard Sisson, (614) 292-5881.


[Submitted by: REIDV  (reidv@ccgate.ucomm.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 02 Sep 1994 10:55:25 -0500 (EST)]
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