Vol. 38, No. 18

2-17-2009
By: Jeff McCallister

Dr. Gee goes to Washington

Ohio State President Gordon Gee has spent a decent chunk of his first 16 months back on the job explaining to the local crowd the benefits — actually the necessity — of higher education leading the way out of economic turmoil.

Early this month, he took that message to the nation’s capital.

First, he delivered the Robert H. Atwell Lecture — the keynote address at the annual meeting of the American Council on Education — in which he called for wholesale changes in the nature of higher education.

“Our challenge today is radical reformation. Change at the margins will not do,” he said.

“The choice, it seems to me, is this: Reinvention or extinction.

“At this defining moment in our nation’s history, we have a mandate — I will even say moral imperative — to hasten our pace exponentially. Evolution is too ponderous. What is called for is a step change. A fundamental departure from business as usual.”

He said universities must think horizontally, rather than vertically, collaborating not only across individual campuses but across entire networks of campuses.

“We must see one another as allies, not opponents,” he said. “Sharp elbows and zero-sum thinking are utterly useless in the work to fuel our country’s resurgence. There is infinite room in American higher education for improvement, expansion and collaboration. And always room for greater effectiveness.”

Then, as if to hammer home the points he had just made, Gee shined a spotlight on some specific things Ohio State is doing to put those ideas into action.

First, in the same address to ACE, he announced a partnership between Ohio State and Columbus State Community College that he said will create a pipeline for rural and ethnic minority students from CSCC to enroll in medical school or train in other allied health professions.

Two days later, he participated — along with Arizona State President Michael Crow and University of Michigan President Emeritus James Duderstadt — in the announcement of a Brookings Institute proposal that the federal government help create a network of Energy Discovery-Innovation Institutes (e-DIIs).

“That has to do with creating different kinds of structures,” he said. “Not only will there be a culture of collaboration, but also will allow us to collaborate with many different partners, including our public.”

According to the proposal, these e-DIIs would leverage the increased federal funding, eventually building to an annual $20 to $30 billion annual investment in sustainable energy initiatives.

“Ohio State is the source of a great deal of promising work on new energy development,” said Gee, who co-endorsed the proposal with Arizona State’s Crow. “Now is the moment to leverage that work with the creation of a new intellectual infrastructure. To do so, we are fully committed to broadening and extending partnerships — with private industry, government, our national laboratories, Battelle and other institutions.”

US Sen. Sherrod Brown also participated in the announcement. 

“World-class green energy research and development is imperative if our nation is to meet the challenges of the next century,” Brown said. “Today’s event showcases the ground-breaking efforts of the Ohio State University and Dr. Gee’s leadership to transform our nation’s energy system. From green energy research to green energy manufacturing, Ohio is ready to lead the nation as we create a green energy supply line that will turn around our economy and stem the tide of climate change.”

Gee also spent some of his time in DC personally delivering that message to Congress during the days leading up to the passage of the economic stimulus bill. Along with Sen. Brown, Gee had meetings with Sen. George Voinovich and several members of Ohio’s congressional delegation.

“The trip to Washington was remarkably well-timed,” Gee said. “I was glad for the chance to speak with members of our Ohio delegation and others about the power and priorities of higher education just as they were debating the stimulus bill. The American Council on Education talk and the alternative-energy report with the Brookings Institute were important opportunities to engage in a national dialog and to showcase some of the leading-edge work of Ohio State’s faculty, staff and students.”

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