Robert Duncan Appointed to Board of Trustees

5-22-98

ROBERT DUNCAN JOINS OHIO STATE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

COLUMBUS -- Longtime Ohio judge Robert M. Duncan, who 
recently served as a senior administrator at The Ohio State 
University, has been appointed to a nine-year term on the 
university's Board of Trustees.

Duncan, of COLUMBUS (43209), was secretary of the Board of 
Trustees at Ohio State from January 1995 until his retirement in 
June 1996.  Before that, he was vice president for legal affairs 
and general counsel at the university from 1992 to 1994.

Gov. George V. Voinovich recently announced Duncan's 
appointment to the board.  He replaces Alex Shumate, whose term 
expired May 13.

"It is an astonishing, incredible honor to serve at one of 
the world's outstanding institutions," Duncan said.  "Being part 
of its leadership is an honor and a responsibility."

Currently a jurist-in-residence in Ohio State's College of 
Law, Duncan, 70, has a long and distinguished judicial career.  
From 1974 to 1985, he was judge of the U.S. District Court for 
the Southern District of Ohio.  Prior to that, he had been chief 
judge of the U.S. Court of Military Appeals, a justice of the 
Ohio Supreme Court and a judge of the Franklin County Municipal 
Court.  

He also served as chief counsel to the attorney general of 
Ohio, chief of the Workmen's Compensation Section of the Ohio 
attorney general's office, and as an assistant attorney general 
for both the city of Columbus and the state.  Before joining Ohio 
State, he was a partner in the Columbus law firm Jones, Day, 
Reavis & Pogue.

Duncan has a volunteer appointment in the College of Law, 
teaching seminars in the process of judging and international 
law, specifically the use of force and the law of war.  He said 
he will continue teaching as long as it does not conflict with 
his duties as a trustee.

A two-time graduate of Ohio State, Duncan earned his 
bachelor's degree in 1948 and his law degree in 1952.  He has 
been an active alumnus for almost 50 years.  "It will be a rich 
experience to serve an institution that I love," he said.

Duncan said that because of his continued association with 
Ohio State, he knows other board members and senior 
administrators and is at home in the university setting.  
Nevertheless, he said, board service will involve a learning 
process.

"Even though I was close to the board, being a trustee is 
very different," he said.  "I am familiar with the university's 
mission and goals, and with others, I'll work to adopt policies 
and procedures best designed to reach those goals." 

Issues of importance to Duncan include achieving national 
leadership in diversity and preparing students for the 
technological and globally competitive world. 

"I fervently share the goal of the board that this 
institution should be among the top 10 public universities in 
America," he said.

                             #

Contact:  Robert Duncan, (614) 688-3914
William J. Napier, secretary of the Board of Trustees, 
(614) 292-2424