University names executive dean for new federation of colleges

COLUMBUS – The Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved the appointment of Michael J. Hogan as executive dean of the newly combined Colleges of Arts and Sciences at its meeting today (5/30). Hogan’s appointment is effective July1 through June 30, 2008.

Ohio State President Karen A. Holbrook and Executive Vice President and Provost Ed Ray recently announced a major administrative restructuring of the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences intended to form a consistent, collaborative, and financially sound core of programs.

The new federation will consist of 41 departments, some 1,000 faculty and five colleges: Arts, Biological Sciences, Humanities, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.

“Within the arts and sciences, working together in a coordinated, consolidated way on programmatic issues will help us move forward more easily,” Holbrook said. “Creating the federation of the Colleges of Arts and Sciences is an opportunity for the faculty to use their talent, expertise and broad networks to be creative and innovative, and to use this basic plan to help make the arts and sciences a central and pivotal element of the academic excellence and advancement of Ohio State.”

The board also accepted a white paper Holbrook and Ray developed and then presented at a recent University Senate meeting. The document outlines the proposal’s background while discussing the rationale and goals for the federation, delineating roles and responsibilities for the executive dean and the college deans, and outlining financial arrangements.

The five college deans will report to and work with Hogan with respect to the management of the arts and sciences. Hogan has served as dean of the College of Humanities since 1999 and has also represented the collective deans of the Colleges of the Arts and Sciences since 2001. A search for interim dean of humanities will begin soon.

Hogan said the new federation will break down the barriers to cross-college teaching, allow for more interdisciplinary programs, and distribute funding more effectively across colleges to meet collective needs.

“The arts and sciences constitute the academic core of this great university,” Hogan said. “If we maximize the synergies that exist among the colleges, we can enhance our interdisciplinary teaching efforts, provide more interdisciplinary minors and majors, and promote cross-college research collaboration – all to the advantage of our students and our faculty.”

Hogan also stressed how the new federation will enable the colleges to play a more important role in undergraduate student advising and in the university’s honors program, which has its strongest constituency among students in the arts and sciences.

“Students and faculty alike,” said Hogan, “stand to gain from this new collaboration.”

Ray said he is confident that Hogan has the experience to effectively lead the federation.

“Every university in the top tier of public teaching and research universities has strong arts and sciences at its core,” Ray said. “I strongly endorse and support Mike to lead the new federation. We’ve worked together for a number of years, and I am confident he will do an excellent job in utilizing the strengths of the existing colleges to chart a new direction for the university.”

Hogan, who earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa, has been with the university for 17 years. He served as chair of the Department of History for seven years before becoming Dean of the College of Humanities and then Executive Dean of Arts and Sciences.

In addition to his teaching and administrative responsibilities, Hogan has written or edited nine books, including “The Marshall Plan: America, Britain, and the Reconstruction of Western Europe,” which was recognized with the Quincy Wright Book Prize, the Stuart Bernath Book Prize, the George Louis Beer Book Prize, and the Ohio Academy Book Prize. As a teacher, he was the recipient of many honors and awards, including Ohio State’s Distinguished Scholar Award. His professional service includes participating on several editorial boards, as well as service as an historical consultant for PBS and BBC-TV.

Hogan, who notes that eight of the 13 academic programs that have received special Selective Investment funding from the university are within the arts and sciences, is excited about the future. “Building the new federation represents the kind of challenge anyone would welcome,” he said. “The arts and sciences constitute the academic core of this great university, and I’m very excited about working with my colleagues to move this part of the institution to the top rank.”

To review the white paper, see http://oaa.ohio-state.edu/Reports/A&S%20White%20Paper/Cover%20Page.html