Trustees elect Georgia provost to lead university

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University Board of Trustees today elected Dr. Karen A. Holbrook the University’s 13th president. Holbrook, who has been Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost at the University of Georgia since 1998, will assume her new position Oct. 1.

Holbrook, 59, was recommended to the Board of Trustees by the 18-member Presidential Search Committee led by Board Chair James F. Patterson. Her appointment was approved unanimously at today’s special meeting of trustees.

“We stated at the beginning of our search process that we wanted to find the best person possible to advance Ohio State’s academic excellence and to succeed in positioning the university among the world’s truly great public teaching and research institutions,” said Patterson. “In Dr. Holbrook, we have found that person and have every confidence that her experience and leadership will create the momentum necessary to fulfill the vision and aspirations outlined in our Academic Plan.”

Beyond her unequivocal commitment to academic excellence, Patterson said that search committee members and trustees were impressed with Dr. Holbrook’s passion for Ohio State. “Her passion, and I do mean passion,” said Patterson, “was evident in every one of our many conversations. Dr. Holbrook believes that all the right pieces are in place – strong professional schools, excellent graduate programs and a commitment to further enhancing the undergraduate experience – for Ohio State to realize its ambitions for greatness.”

Patterson emphasized that Dr. Holbrook meets or exceeds all the attributes in the university’s presidential profile. “Across the board,” he said, “Dr. Holbrook best met our search criteria. She brings boundless energy along with integrity, confidence, intellect and judgment, all coupled with superb interpersonal and communicative skills.”

Patterson also said that Holbrook was chosen because of her broad experience at three institutions that bear many similarities to Ohio State – the University of Washington and the University of Florida, as well as the University of Georgia. He noted that while at those institutions Dr. Holbrook earned a reputation for building strong, positive relationships with faculty, staff and students.

At Georgia, Dr. Holbrook served for four years as Provost, Professor of Cell Biology, and Adjunct Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology and Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia. She also played a key role in developing Georgia’s Strategic Plan, analogous to Ohio State’s Academic Plan, which among other things includes a strong commitment to diversity and sets ambitious diversity goals. Working with the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, she strongly supported the efforts of faculty and research leaders to successfully expand Georgia’s federal research funding. Dr. Holbrook was also instrumental in helping create the Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute at the University.

At the University of Florida, Dr. Holbrook served as Vice President for Research as well as Dean of the Graduate School. While there, she organized and chaired an effort co-sponsored with Florida’s governor to define a strategy for the future of science and technology in the state.

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Holbrook received Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin and a Ph.D. in Biological Structure from the University of Washington. Before going to Georgia in 1998, she served as an Instructor, Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Associate Dean and Professor of Biological Structure and Medicine at the University of Washington (1972-93) and as Vice President for Research and Dean of the Graduate School at the University of Florida (1993-98).

Her husband, Jim, now retired, is an oceanographer and past Deputy Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific Marine Environmental Research Laboratory in Seattle. She and her husband have one son, James, who will soon graduate from the University of Georgia.

Patterson said that the search committee reviewed well over 100 candidates, narrowing the list first to about 50 names and meeting face-to-face with more than a dozen individuals. He added that the committee considered a broad and diverse universe of people, looking at presidents and provosts at major public and private universities.
Holbrook’s annual salary at Ohio State will be $325,000.

Founded in 1785, the University of Georgia is America’s oldest state-chartered University. Like Ohio State, it is a land-grant institution. Fall 2001 enrollment totaled 32,317, the highest in its history. Its annual budget is $1.3 billion, and the university is ranked 18th by U.S. News & World Report on its 2002 list of 50 top public universities.

Editor’s note: Reporters may be interested in contacting University of Georgia President Michael F. Adams for comment. He can be reached at 706-542-1214.