Few public details in Ohio State University presidential search as fall semester approaches
COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Buckeyes are back on campus at Ohio State University, but the university has made no announcements about who will be the new president months after Dr. Kristina Johnson officially departed.
Johnson announced her resignation in November 2022, with her last day in May. Months later, some students said they found it odd the university was taking this long to make a choice.
“It is something that you are like, well it's kind of weird that we don’t have a president,” said Tristan Bard, an Ohio State junior.
The university began the search process in February -- but university officials have released very few details since about where that search stands.
“I definitely was expecting it at least sometime soon, because she announced that she was resigning sometime last semester, in the winter time,” said Nadia Pokrajac, Ohio State junior.
When compared to recent presidential searches at Ohio State, this process has taken longer. Dr. Gordon Gee, the university's 14th president, announced his retirement in June 2013. The university named Dr. Michael Drake as his replacement in January 2014. Drake announced his retirement in November 2019 -- and Johnson was named the next president in June 2020.
Students said they want to see a public hire soon.
“Especially with different announcements, or even events or sporting events, I know that the president does play a big role in that,” Pokrajac said. “It would be nice to have some overall guidance.”
The university usually spends close to a half million dollars on these searches, most of which goes to an outside hiring firm. The presidential search committee this time around, headed by trustee Hiroyuk Fujita, is using education executives.
“I am pleased to report that we continue to make great progress in this work, and we look forward to sharing more information soon,” Fujita said at a Thursday meeting of the university's board of trustees.
The board was unable to share a timeline for the hiring process, and Ben Johnson, a spokesperson for Ohio State, did not share many details either.
“It's just such a dynamic, vibrant place. I know we are going to find someone who’s excited to lead us in the coming years," Johnson said.
The outside hiring firm did not respond to NBC4 questions about how many people applied for the job and whether it has narrowed down to finalists.