Ohio State honors five at winter 2006 commencement

COLUMBUS – Five individuals will be honored at Ohio State University's winter 2006 commencement for their contributions to society and academics, and their dedication to the university. Ceremonies begin at 1 p.m. Sunday (3/19), in St. John Arena.

Honorary doctorates will be presented to Neta A. Bahcall, professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University and one of the leading experts in the world on the study of clusters of galaxies; to commencement speaker Shirley Ann Jackson, president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; and Gurdev S. Khush, a renowned agricultural scientist considered a leader of the 20th century's Green Revolution.

Distinguished Service Awards will be presented to Richard D. Johnson of Lake Forest, IL, a two-time graduate of Ohio State who has remained close to his alma mater since his days as a student leader; and James J. Mager of Westerville, who worked for three decades at Ohio State and revolutionized the university's enrollment management systems.

Neta A. Bahcall, Doctor of Science

Neta A. Bahcall is professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University and director of the university's Council on Science and Technology. She is one of the leading experts in the world on the study of clusters of galaxies, the largest structures in the universe that are held together by their own gravity.

A native of Israel, Bahcall earned her bachelor's degree in physics and mathematics from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, her master's degree in nuclear physics from Israel's Weizmann Institute of Science, and her doctorate in astrophysics from Tel Aviv University under the direction of William A. Fowler of the California Institute of Technology. She joined the Princeton faculty of astrophysical sciences in 1971.

From 1983 to 1989, she served at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore as astronomer and chief of the General Observer Support Branch and head of the Science Program Selection Office for Hubble Space Telescope Observations. In 1989, she returned to Princeton as full professor, director of the Undergraduate Program in Astronomy, and director of the Council on Science and Technology. In addition, she is director of Princeton's Teaching Postdoctoral Fellowship Program in Science and Engineering.

Bahcall has gained international renown for her pioneering work on observational cosmology, and her research has provided the current standard model of our expanding universe. Her work showed that the universe is "lightweight," containing an insufficient amount of matter to halt the universal expansion; the universe is, therefore, destined to expand forever. She is the author of more than 250 scientific publications and is frequently invited to speak at international conferences and public lectures. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, past vice president of the American Astronomical Society, and a member of the National Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee. She is a member of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and first chair of its Science Advisory Committee.

Her many honors include Century Lecturer of the American Astronomical Society, Strum Lecturer at Wesleyan University, Benjamin Dean Lecturer at the California Academy of Sciences, Capital Science Lecturer at the Carnegie Institution, Nobel Lecturer at the Nobel Symposium in Stockholm, and Merle Kingsley Distinguished Fellow at Caltech.

Shirley Ann Jackson, Doctor of Science

Shirley Ann Jackson is the 18th president of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and Hartford, Connecticut, the oldest technological research university in the United States.

A theoretical physicist, Jackson earned a bachelor of science degree in physics and a doctorate in theoretical elementary particle physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, becoming the first African American woman to receive a doctorate in any field from MIT and one of the first two African American women in the country to earn a doctorate in physics.

In 1995, she was appointed chair of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) by President Clinton. During her four-year tenure at NRC, she reorganized the agency and completely revamped its regulatory approach by moving to risk-informed, performance-based regulation. Prior to her NRC appointment, Dr. Jackson was a theoretical physicist at the former AT&T Bell Laboratories and a professor of theoretical physics at Rutgers University.

Over the past five years, Jackson has worked to bring national attention to what she has dubbed the "Quiet Crisis" in America—the threat to the nation's capacity to innovate due to the looming shortage in the science and technology workforce.

In 2002, she was named one of the Top 50 Women in Science by Discover magazine and recognized in a book published by ESSENCE as one of "50 of the Most Inspiring African Americans." She was also named one of "50 R&D Stars to Watch" by Industry Week magazine. She was inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame in 2000 and into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1998 for her contributions as a distinguished scientist and an advocate for education, science, and public policy.

Jackson is immediate past chair of the board at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and currently chair of its board of directors. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Physical Society, and she has advisory roles in other prestigious national organizations. She serves as a trustee of the Brookings Institution and is a life member of the MIT Corporation, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a member of the executive committee of the Council on Competitiveness.

In addition, Jackson serves on the boards of Georgetown University and Rockefeller University, the New York Stock Exchange, the Smithsonian Institution, and several major corporations.

Gurdev S. Khush, Doctor of Science

Gurdev S. Khush, a renowned agricultural scientist, is considered a leader of the 20th century's Green Revolution.

Born in India, Khush earned his bachelor's degree at Punjab Agricultural University and his doctorate in genetics from the University of California at Davis. He joined the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines in 1967, where he became principal plant breeder and head of the Division of Plant Breeding, Genetics, and Biochemistry in 1986, retiring in 2002. During his 35 years at the IRRI, he spearheaded the institute's rice-breeding program, developing high-yielding rice varieties with disease and insect resistance and superior grain quality that are now grown on 60 percent of the world's riceland.

Because of the more than 300 improved varieties developed under his leadership, the world's rice production increased 135 percent between 1967 and 2000 – from 257 million to 600 million tons – enabling the major rice-growing countries to become self-sufficient in food production and saving countless millions from starvation. Furthermore, he developed cultivation methods that protected ecosystems through higher yields and improvements in sustainability, saving valuable forests, pastures, and rangelands. Today, the price of rice adjusted for inflation is 40 percent lower in domestic and international markets than in the 1960s, greatly benefiting poor segments of society.

Khush has written three books, more than 80 book chapters, and 160 research papers, and he has trained more than 300 rice scientists who now occupy key positions in their countries. He has
served as a consultant in rice genetics programs in 15 countries, as well as advisor to the Rockefeller Foundation, the Third World Academy of Sciences in Italy, and the International Science Foundation in Sweden. He currently serves as a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee to the Department of Biotechnology of the government of India and as a member of the Science Council, an advisory body to the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Beijing.

Khush's contributions to the advancement of global food security have been recognized by numerous awards and honors, including the 1996 World Food Prize, the 1987 Japan Prize, a Scientific and Technological Cooperation Award from the Government of China, and the Padma Shri Award from the president of India in 2001.

Richard D. Johnson, Distinguished Service Award

Richard D. Johnson was a partner for 21 years with Arthur Andersen & Co. and retired as a partner of Accenture (previously called Andersen Consulting) in 1991.

During his career at Andersen, he served in a variety of local, national, and international management positions involving audit, tax, consulting, and professional education, including two years as the Andersen country managing partner for all firm services in Iran, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. He was a founder of Andersen Consulting's Change Management Service Line and a member of its worldwide management team.

Following retirement from Andersen, Johnson was founder of VIA International LLC, serving as chair of that firm, with offices in Chicago, London, New York, and Singapore until his 1999 retirement. He then continued consulting as RDJ Ltd. He is also the owner of Ventures 33 LLC, a real estate investment firm.

Johnson earned his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and his master of business administration from The Ohio State University and has remained close to his alma mater since his days as a student leader. A lifetime member of the Presidents Club, where he served two terms as chair, Mr. Johnson has served as vice-chair of the Alumni Association Board of Directors and on the Steering Committee of the Alumni Advisory Council.

He is a strong supporter of the Fisher College of Business, playing an active role as a fund raiser and advocate for the college in the Chicago and Naples, Florida, areas and as a former member of the Fisher College's Dean's Advisory Council. His service to the university also includes the College of Engineering Chicago Advisory Board and the Advisory Council of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. With a particular interest in leadership training, he co chaired the committee to establish the Ruth Weimer Mount Leadership Initiative and created the Richard D. Johnson Leadership Endowment Fund to support Mount Leadership Society Scholars. In 1998, Mr. Johnson was awarded the Alumni Citizenship Award by The Ohio State University Alumni Association as well as the university's Gerlach Development Volunteer Award, and in 2002 he received the Fisher College of Business Distinguished Alumni Award.

James J. Mager, Distinguished Service Award

James J. Mager is now associate vice president for the management consulting firm of Noel-Levitz after spending three decades at The Ohio State University where he revolutionized the university's enrollment management systems before his 2002 retirement.

As associate vice president of enrollment management at Ohio State, he played a leading role in restructuring the university's enrollment management efforts as the university moved toward competitive admissions during the 1990s. Enrollment results credited to Mager's leadership include higher quality freshman classes, greater ethnic and geographic diversity, and stronger retention and graduation rates. He was also instrumental in helping Ohio State implement selective admissions policies.

Mager is a three-time graduate of Ohio State with B. S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in industrial and systems engineering. He began his administrative career at Ohio State in 1971 as a systems analyst in the registrar's office. In 1975 he joined the Office of Admissions, eventually becoming director of the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid. During the next 20 years he worked continuously to improve processes related to the recruitment and retention of students.

In 1995 Mager was named assistant vice president for enrollment management and then associate vice president for enrollment services. In this capacity, he oversaw the offices of admissions, First Year Experience, financial aid, and the university registrar. During these years, he was central to developing strategies for broader enrollment management, with emphases on honors students, merit scholarships, minority recruitment, and the role of the university's regional campuses.

In addition to his administrative duties, Mager played a critical advisory role to a number of important university committees, including the Council on Enrollment and Student Progress, the
University Calendar Committee, and the Presidential Commission on the Regional Campuses. As always, he put the interests and welfare of the students foremost in a professional and collegial manner.

Mager's expertise has been and continues to be sought at the national level. He represented the university on the College Board, ACT advisory boards and research councils, the American Association of Collegiate Registrar's and Admissions Officers, and the National Association of Collegiate Admissions Counselors, and he has presented papers on enrollment-related topics at professional meetings throughout the nation.