OSU trustees name Jennings interim president
COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University Board of Trustees today announced the appointment of Edward H. Jennings as the university’s interim president. His appointment is effective July 1 and will run until the university’s presidential search committee finds a successor to outgoing president William E. Kirwan.
Jennings previously served the university as its 10th president from 1981 to 1990 and more recently as professor of finance in the Fisher College of Business. In announcing the appointment, Board Chairman James F. Patterson said it is critically important that Ohio State continue its present momentum and sustain progress being made on its Academic Plan.
"We are fortunate" said Patterson, "to have an ideal candidate available to us who brings great familiarity with the university and considerable experience in raising academic quality, working with faculty and addressing budget issues."
Patterson praised Jennings for his earlier work as president that formed the foundation for the university’s Academic Plan. He cited Jennings for his efforts in creating the selective investment program, which has been credited with raising the standing of many of the university’s academic departments; for implementing competitive admissions, which have substantially improved the overall quality of the undergraduate student body; and for launching SciTech, the university’s West Campus high tech incubator.
Patterson said that Jennings was selected because the board "felt it in the best interests of the university not to have an interim president who might emerge as a candidate for the permanent post." Jennings, 65, retired from the faculty of the Fisher College of Business on April 1.
In accepting the appointment, Jennings told trustees, "You do me a great honor. The Ohio State University has been the center of my life for 21 years. I am humbled that you believe I can serve our university one more time, and I will do the very best I can to reward your confidence."
During Jennings’ first tenure as Ohio State president, the university launched its first major fund-raising campaign, which surpassed its $350 million goal by more than $100 million in private gifts and pledges. Several campus landmarks were constructed during that period, including the Wexner Center for the Arts, the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, the Woody Hayes Athletic Center and the Frank Hale Black Cultural Center.
In recognition of his service to Ohio State, the Board of Trustees approved the naming of the campus’ Botany and Zoology Building as Edward H. Jennings Hall in May 2002.
Following his previous term as president, Jennings returned to academic life in the Fisher College of Business as professor of finance with an active research and publications agenda focusing on issues of rate regulation of public utilities and investment strategies for university endowments. He is a member of several corporate boards and is active with four start-up commercial enterprises. Jennings has also been engaged in university evaluation assignments for USAID in Uganda, for UNESCO in Gaza and the West Bank and in the Republic of Yemen. He has also engaged in consulting assignments on issues of higher education in Vietnam, the Philippines and Southeast Asia. He is a member of the board of Bethlehem University in the West Bank.
Prior to this most recent activity and his tenure as president of Ohio State, Jennings served as president of the University of Wyoming from 1979 to 1981 and as vice president of finance and university services at the University of Iowa from 1976 to 1979, where he served on the finance faculty for 10 years. In addition, Jennings has held visiting appointments at the University of Dar Es Salaam in Tanzania and the University of Hawaii.
He is the co-author of a textbook, Fundamentals of Investments, now in its fourth printing, and the author of several articles that have been published in academic journals and professional reviews on bonds, common stock, inflation and other investment and financial topics.
Jennings received his Ph.D. degree in finance from the University of Michigan, an M.B.A. from Case Western Reserve University and a B.S. in industrial management from the University of North Carolina. He worked for several years as an industrial engineer before beginning his academic career.
Jennings and his wife, Barbara, reside in Columbus.
