Richard Sisson to Step Down as Provost Aug. 31

RICHARD SISSON TO STEP DOWN AS PROVOST, EFFECTIVE AUG. 31

COLUMBUS -- Richard Sisson announced Wednesday (6/17) his 
intention to step down as senior vice president and provost of 
The Ohio State University, effective Aug. 31, 1998.  He will 
return to the faculty, where he is a professor of political 
science, and also serve as senior adviser to the president.

Sisson is the second longest-serving provost in the history 
of the university.  He returned to his alma mater to assume the 
provost's duties on Aug. 1, 1993, after 25 years as a faculty 
member and administrator at the University of California, Los 
Angeles.  On Dec. 15, 1997, he was named interim president of the 
university, to replace E. Gordon Gee, who had resigned to accept 
the presidency of Brown University.

"I feel the time is right for me to make this move," Sisson 
said.  "I look forward to continuing to serve this great 
university as an academic leader, but also in new ways, including 
spending time with students in the classroom -- something I have 
truly missed."

William E. Kirwan, who will assume the Ohio State presidency 
on July 1, said he accepts Sisson's decision "with great regret" 
and praised "his many and substantial achievements in moving the 
university to new levels of excellence."

"I am extremely pleased that Dick has agreed to continue to 
serve the university as senior adviser to the president for 
university affairs and to extend his energies and thought to 
initiatives in public policy, public service and leadership, 
university outreach and the work of the Ohio State Research 
Commission," Kirwan said.

Ted Celeste, chair of the Board of Trustees, said:  "The 
entire Board of Trustees has tremendous respect for Dick 
personally and for the work he has done on behalf of Ohio State.  
He loves this place dearly, and he has served it extremely well.  
The provost's position is one of the most challenging and 
important in the country, as it includes responsibility for all 
academic units, academic support units and activities at one of 
America's most complex and comprehensive universities.  We look 
forward to Dick's continued leadership and to working with him in 
his new roles as adviser and as a distinguished member of the 
faculty."

"One of the things that helped convince me to come to Ohio 
State," said Kirwan, "is the remarkable strength of many of its 
academic programs and the truly impressive, groundbreaking 
initiatives in place and working here.  These are leading-edge 
activities that have attracted national attention and are making 
the university even stronger.  They are, in substantial nature, 
Dick Sisson's creations.

"What he has done is devise ways to capture Ohio State's 
immense intellectual diversity and to focus faculty and research 
activities and educational programs in interdisciplinary and 
collaborative ways.  This has been an enormous task, and this 
accomplishment bodes extremely well for the future of Ohio State 
and its continued benefits to the people of Ohio."

Kirwan also praised the many enhancements to the student 
experience, the quality of the student body, and the varied ways 
the university has sought to increase its revenue base in support 
of its academic mission during Sisson's years.

Sisson noted that he had discussed stepping down with former 
President Gee even before Gee announced last June that he was 
accepting the Brown offer.  Sisson agreed to stay on and serve as 
chair of the Presidential Transition Team, and then to serve as 
interim president, working with former Trustee Chair Alex Shumate 
and Celeste to manage and assure a strong transition.

Reflecting on Sisson's role at Ohio State, Shumate said: 
"The last several years have been enormously important ones for 
Ohio State.  The state's financial difficulties in the early 
1990s posed a serious threat to our academic quality.  But Dick 
Sisson's determination to sustain and enhance the academic core 
and his skill at helping to guide us through extremely difficult 
times has helped us reach the threshold of a very exciting era in 
the life of the university.  His stewardship during the last 12 
months in particular has helped Ohio State continue -- indeed, 
increase -- its momentum during a period of presidential 
transition.  That is truly a remarkable accomplishment."

Sisson is an internationally known expert on Asian politics 
and international affairs.  He is, he said, eager to resume his 
scholarly work on political and economic change in South Asia and 
the challenges to international strategy occasioned by recent 
events in India and Pakistan.

Sisson's first academic appointment was as an instructor and 
assistant professor at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point 
while an active-duty officer.  He then spent 25 years as a 
faculty member and administrator at UCLA, where he chaired the 
Department of Political Science from 1981-87, bringing it into 
the top 10 in the country.  He was acting dean of the Division of 
Social Sciences from 1988-89 and served as vice chancellor for 
faculty relations from 1990-91.  He was named senior vice 
chancellor for academic affairs in 1991.

Born on a farm near Porter, in southern Ohio, Sisson earned 
two Ohio State degrees: a bachelor's degree in international 
studies in 1958 and a master's degree in political science in 
1960.  He earned his Ph.D. in political science from the 
University of California, Berkeley, in 1967.

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Contact: Ruth Gerstner, University Communications, (614) 292-8424