Dottavio leaving OSU Marion to head Heidelberg

By Randy Gammage, onCAMPUS staff

After leading Ohio State Marion through an impressive period of growth, F. Dominic Dottavio is stepping down in June to become the president of Heidelberg College.

A small, private college founded in the 1850s, Heidelberg offers 36 courses of study, a comprehensive athletics program and a radio and television station.

"The presidency at Heidelberg is going to provide some new challenges and opportunities for me," Dottavio said.

F. Dominic Dottavio has led the Marion campus for nearly 10 years.

As dean and director for nearly 10 years, Dottavio has made valuable contributions to Ohio State Marion, and the greater Marion and Delaware communities, said Kim Rodger Ferguson, director of student affairs at Marion.

"Dominic Dottavio is a very student-centered leader -- the kind you can depend on to make the best possible decision for students, faculty, staff, alumni and community," Ferguson said. "He has provided the academic and administrative leadership to move the campus from a commuter to a residential campus community."

Dottavio's leadership has led to significant achievements, Ferguson said, including:

• maintaining affordable tuition through increased community support of scholarship endowments and contributions;

• opening a Delaware Center that is positioned to keep Ohio State visible in the fastest growing county in Ohio;

• continuing support of the development of four-year academic programs on the Marion campus through the increase of full-time tenure track positions; and

• developing additional athletic and other co-curricular programs to enhance the student experience.

Growth at Ohio State Marion has been tremendous during the past decade, with enrollment rising from 1,000 to nearly 1,600 students. Nationally, the percentage of non-traditional students (25 years or older) has been on the rise, while Marion has experienced a surge of traditional students. Since 1993, the percentage of traditional students attending Marion has risen from 40 percent to nearly 70 percent.

Dottavio said that students at OSU Marion enjoy one of the lowest tuition rates among the 37 public colleges in the state; students now can complete several degrees on the regional campuses; and a stronger relationship now exists with the community.

"I think we've done a better job of letting people know what an important resource they have right in their back yard, and how it provides access to a world-class university," Dottavio said.

As he concludes his tenure at the end of this academic year, Dottavio is witnessing Ohio State Marion enter what he calls "a defining moment in its history" as it transitions from a commuter to a residential campus. The cornerstone, he said, is the student services building and residence hall currently being designed, with construction expected by 2004 and 2005, respectively.

"Once we're through that transition I believe the campus will begin to take on the feel of a small liberal arts college, but within the larger structure of a major research university," Dottavio said.

He said the opportunity to lead Heidelberg came about unexpectedly, after he was nominated as a candidate by former state Senator Karen Gillmor, a member of the Heidelberg board of trustees.

"This has really been the most difficult professional decision I've ever had to make," Dottavio said. "I consider Ohio State to be a very special place."

When named to head Ohio State Marion, Dottavio was working for the United States Department of the Interior. As chief scientist for the National Parks Service in Atlanta, his job led him to some of the most spectacular places in the world, from the Great Smoky Mountains to the Virgin Islands.

"Most people considered that to be the job to die for," Dottavio said.

But Dottavio, an Ohio State alumnus, said he had always dreamed of returning to his alma mater, and leaped at the opportunity to head Ohio State Marion.

He has worn many hats while heading the Marion campus. Beyond the academic components, he has been responsible for overseeing the business and finance operations of the campus, as well as the maintenance of facilities, recreational activities, cultural arts programming and community relations. Those experiences have not only prepared him for the Heidelberg presidency, but have provided an enjoyable journey, he said.

Deborah Shade, director of community relations at Ohio State Marion, has served on several community boards and committees with Dottavio. She said his community involvement and accessibility will be sorely missed.

"His departure from our campus will leave a large vacuum not only for Ohio State Marion, but also for the Marion community, where he is extremely well liked and highly respected," Shade said.

News briefs

"News Briefs" is a new column in onCampus compiled by staff that will feature recent news items in an abbreviated format.

Holbrook to serve on National Merit board

President Karen Holbrook has been selected to serve a three-year term as a member of the board of directors of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation. The corporation is an independent, not-for-profit organization that conducts the prestigious National Merit and National Achievement scholarship programs for high-achieving high school students. Holbrook's selection was announced by the corporation's chairman, James R. Donnelley, and president, Marianne Roderick.

Campus Partners hires new development manager

Campus Partners announced Jan. 10 the selection of Jones Lang LaSalle as the development manager for the University Gateway Center, a 500,000-square-foot, mixed-use, urban redevelopment project adjacent to the Columbus campus. As development manager, Jones Lang LaSalle is responsible for continuing management of the design, construction and leasing of the Gateway Center and for advising Campus Partners on key development decisions.

Terry D. Foegler, president of Campus Partners, said that Jones Lang LaSalle brings to the project broad experience in building and managing complex, urban projects. "We are impressed with the firm's success in meeting the special issues and challenges of urban mixed-use redevelopment projects, particularly the retail components of these projects as demonstrated by its redevelopment of Union Station in Washington, D.C., and Grand Central Terminal in New York City," he said.

Foegler also cited Jones Lang LaSalle's extensive experience in providing development management services to universities and other institutions, such as the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, to assist them in undertaking complex urban redevelopment and community revitalization projects.

Law professor Cole named state solicitor

Moritz College of Law Professor Douglas R. Cole has been appointed state solicitor by Ohio Attorney General Jim Petro. This month, Cole joined a team that manages the operations of the Attorney General's office. As state solicitor, Cole will provide direction to the appeals, opinions, and antitrust sections. He will be taking a leave of absence from the University to assume the new position. Cole has taught at Ohio State since 2000 and is the second Moritz Law faculty member to serve as Ohio solicitor in recent history. Professor Edward B. "Ned" Foley took a leave from the faculty in 1999 and 2000 to serve the state in that capacity.

OSU is in top colleges for African Americans

Ohio State has been selected as one of the country's 50 best colleges for African Americans by Black Enterprise magazine, appearing for the first time in the annual ranking at No. 45. The article appears in the magazine's January 2003 issue.

Mac Stewart, vice provost for minority affairs, said the results indicate that the University is moving in the right direction. "Ohio State has long recognized that the key for attracting quality students is to provide an environment that is competitive academically in addition to one where diversity is a respected asset," Stewart said.

Ohio State, which marked a record enrollment of 3,941 African American students fall quarter, is the largest and one of 14 public institutions recognized.

Tressel receives 2002 coaching honors

Ohio State Buckeye Head Coach Jim Tressel was named the 2002 Football Writers Association of America/Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year earlier this month. Tressel is the third Ohio State coach to win the award since the FWAA began honoring coaches in 1957. Ohio State coach Woody Hayes won the inaugural award and also took the honor in 1968 and 1975. Earle Bruce won it in 1979.

Tressel also was honored by the American Football Coaches Association with its Coach of the Year award for Division I-A and he received the Paul "Bear" Bryant Coach of the Year Award, presented Jan. 16 in Houston.

Libraries earn grant from NEA for Thurber

University Libraries received $58,000 in funding from the Save America's Treasures (SAT) program of the National Endowment for the Arts / National Parks Service. The funding will be used to preserve, microfilm and better store the James Thurber Collection.

The Thurber Collection is the primary resource for the manuscripts, letters, drawings, published works, scrapbooks and other supporting materials of the great American humorist. Established in 1962 by an arrangement with Thurber's widow, Helen, the collection is housed at University Libraries' Division of Rare Books & Manuscripts in secure, climate-controlled conditions in the Thompson Memorial (Main) Library. For more information, visit the SAT site, at www2.cr.nps.gov/treasures.

President featured speaker in Cleveland

President Karen Holbrook was the featured speaker Jan. 17 at the Cleveland City Club Forum, which is billed as the oldest free speech forum in the United States. Among the featured speakers discussing current political, social and business issues have been presidents of the United States and other national leaders.

Holbrook's presentation, titled "The Role of Higher Education in Economic Development," was carried live on Cleveland radio and television, and recorded and broadcast on the City Club's radio network, which includes 200 outlets across the country.

WOSU-AM will air the speech on Jan. 26. It also will be featured on the City Club's Web site, www.cityclub.org/.

OSU joins doctoral research initiative

The College of Education and the departments of chemistry, English and mathematics are partners in the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate, a multi-year research and action project aimed at improving doctoral education at American universities. Ohio State's units are among 32 Partner Departments nationwide that will analyze their doctoral programs and link specific activities to desired outcomes.

Partners will begin by clarifying their goals for doctoral education in their respective disciplines, and will commit to creating "design experiments" in doctoral education to better meet their goals.

The other universities involved are Arizona State, Columbia, Duke, Howard, Indiana, Michigan State, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Texas A&M, Chicago, Colorado at Boulder, Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Michigan-Ann Arbor, Nebraska-Lincoln, North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Pittsburgh, Southern California, Texas at Austin, Wisconsin-Madison and Washington State.

Fisher department among top worldwide

Based on publications in the top 15 finance journals, Ohio State's Fisher College of Business finance group placed ninth out of the 100 most productive departments ranked worldwide, according to the recent issue of Financial Management, which ranked finance departments for the period of 1990-2001. When focusing on the top three journals in the field, the Fisher College finance group was ranked 10th in the world among the 923 departments that were eligible for inclusion in the study.