Trustees

The Ohio State Board of Trustees held its monthly meeting on March 1 in Longaberger Alumni House. Ohio State is governed by a board of 11 trustees (including two nonvoting student members) who are responsible for oversight of academic programs, budgets and general administration, and employment of faculty and staff. The governor annually appoints one voting member to a nine-year term and one nonvoting student member to a two-year term.

Trustees appoint heart & lung institute director

The chief of cardiology research at Johns Hopkins University has been recruited to lead the heart and lung research program at Ohio State. Jay L. Zweier was named director of the Davis Heart and Lung Research Institute at the March 1 meeting of the University Board of Trustees.

Fred Sanfilippo, senior vice president for health sciences and dean of the College of Medicine and Public Health, who made the appointment, said naming Zweier to the post is a major achievement for Ohio State's heart and lung research program. The institute unites the work of scientists from multiple disciplines throughout the University.

"There certainly is nothing ordinary about Jay Zweier's approach to research,"Sanfilippo said. "He has an incomparable background as a scientist and clinician and an extraordinary ability to utilize the skills and talents of his colleagues to build exceptional and high-quality programs."

President Brit Kirwan said Zweier's appointment makes a powerful statement about the University's commitment and determination to develop and foster nationally renowned teaching and research programs. "The future of our medical education and research programs is of utmost importance, and Dr. Zweier brings to Ohio State highly acclaimed talent and leadership that will allow the programs' momentum to accelerate,"he said.

Zweier's breadth and leverage in diverse disciplines will give Ohio State an edge in other fields, including cancer, imaging, medical informatics and pharmacogenomics, according to Sanfilippo. "Jay gives Ohio State the tremendous potential of impacting medical research and education programs beyond just those in heart and lung -- and in ways that a few years ago were unimaginable."

Zweier will oversee the efforts of more than two dozen research teams and five core laboratories in what is one of the nation's only free-standing institutions devoted entirely to the development of novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of diseases affecting the heart, lungs and blood vessels.

Zweier, who has earned an outstanding international reputation for his work in the lab and as a mentor to junior faculty and students, was attracted to Ohio State by its growing stature as a hub for medical research, according to Sanfilippo. Ohio State soon will break ground for a heart hospital and is preparing for the construction of a biomedical research tower on the medical campus.

At Johns Hopkins, Zweier was chief of cardiology research, co-director of the specialized center for research in ischemic heart disease, director of the institutional electron paramagnetic resonance center, and director of the molecular and cellular biophysics laboratories. He served as a clinician in both the division of cardiology and the division of pulmonary medicine while earning international acclaim for his research in those fields.

Other appointments approved

• Electra D. Paskett has been named professor and holder of the Marion N. Rowley Designated Chair in Cancer Research and associate director of population sciences in the Comprehensive Cancer Center -- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, effective through Dec. 31, 2005. Prior to joining the University, Paskett was associate professor of epidemiology in the Wake Forest University College of Medicine Department of Public Health Sciences. A noted expert in women's and minority health issues, she also was director of the education program at the nationally designated Women's Health Center of Excellence and program director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center in Winston-Salem, N.C.

• Michael D. Lairmore, professor of veterinary biosciences and professor of molecular virology, has been named chair of the Department of Veterinary Biosciences, effective through June 30, 2005.

• Michael B. Howie, professor of pharmacy and anesthesiology, has been named chair of the Department of Anesthesiology, effective through June 30, 2004.

• Gifford Weary, professor of psychology, has been named chair of the Department of Psychology, effective July 1, 2002, through June 30, 2006.

• Dimitrios G. Spigos, professor of radiology, has been named chair of the Department of Radiology, effective July 1, 2002, through June 30, 2005. Endowed funds, research grants accepted

Endowed funds, research grants accepted

More than $4 million in gifts to Ohio State's Fisher College of Business will be used to establish the Fisher College Building Complex Fund. The fund will support the new complex and activities therein.

The board approved a new endowed professorship and 15 named endowed funds for a total of $7.3 million in gifts during the month of January. In addition, trustees accepted 265 research grants and contracts totaling nearly $26 million awarded to the University in January. The endowed funds are:

• The Mildred E. Newton Professorship, $555,042.

• The Ferris P. Copper and Lillian Copper Memorial Endowment Fund in Medicine, $808,264.

• The Raymond E. Mason Endowment Fund for Excellence, $800,000.

• The Paul A. Smith and Ethel I. Smith 4-H Scholarship Endowment Fund, $417,408.

• The University Pathology Services Anatomic Pathology Professorship Fund, $175,000.

• The University Pathology Services Clinical Pathology Professorship Fund, $175,000.

• The Clara Hilberg Teller Endowed Scholarship Fund, $80,000.

• The Bostic-Georges Faculty Service Award Fund, $50,000.

• The Ruth C. and Ralph O. Jentz Dean's Innovation Fund, $50,000.

• The John Esselburn Scholarship Fund, $30,000.

• The Lynn Ackerman Hirsch Memorial Fund for Cancer Research, $26,947.

• The Dr. Donald R. Redman Food Animal Health Research Program Research and Education Fund, $26,248.

• The Verland W. and Brian Belt Engineering Scholarship Fund, $25,000.

• The Paul S. Metzger M.D. and Lee Metzger Medical Heritage Center Endowment Fund, $25,571.

• The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center Innovation Fund, $25,000.

• The Hofmann Family Foundation Athletic Scholarship Fund, $25,000.Construction projects approved

Construction projects approved

The board authorized the employment of an architect/engineering firm and requested construction bids for the following:

• A new Ohio 4-H Center to house 4-H development staff, OSU Extension programs and programs in the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences that will interact with 4-H.

• A new Multipurpose Turf Field on the northwest field of the Larkins four-field complex, including installation of turf field lighting and filming platform for use as a practice field for the marching band, club sports, men's and women's soccer, lacrosse and field hockey, and flag football.

• Construction of a courtyard adjacent to the new Shisler Center on the Agricultural Technical Institute campus in Wooster.

The board also authorized a request for construction bids for the following projects:

• The remaining construction phases of the Richard M. Ross Heart Hospital, including generator installation, security system, building demolition and site utilities. The total estimated project cost is $82.2 million, with funding provided by a gift from the Ross family, House Bill 640 and future University bond proceeds with debt service paid by income from patient fees and/or future gifts to the Heart Hospital.

• Minor renovations in Building 1 and construction of three modular buildings at the University Laboratory Animal Research Center. Maintenance and renewal plan adopted

Maintenance and renewal plan adopted

A stewardship policy designed to assure funding for maintenance and renewal of University facilities was adopted by the board. Full details of the policy are outlined in the Feb. 7 issue of onCampus.