As comfortable with students as she is with fellow administrators, Holbrook welcomes Brian Burdine and his parents, Helen and Gary Burdine of Galion, on move-in day, Sept. 21. The Burdines' T-shirts are well-earned; Brian is their third child to attend OSU.

Colleagues praise Holbrook's energy, warmth and intelligence

During her tenure as provost at the University of Georgia, Karen Holbrook developed a reputation among colleagues and students for being accessible, the kind of administrator who was regularly spotted at university functions, as both a participant and an observer.

"She is very visible and accessible," said UGA's Jere Morehead, associate provost and director of the Honors Program. "In fact, to the point that I couldn't let my staff contact her anymore. If you ask her, she'll come."

During a recent visit to UGA's campus in Athens, Ga., Holbrook's colleagues and friends praised her professionally for her ability to synthesize information, set priorities and facilitate change in partnership with faculty, administrators and staff. They praised her personally for having a warm and engaging personality, keen mind and compassionate spirit.

Research, particularly by undergraduates, was a special area of focus for Holbrook at UGA.

"Karen Holbrook has an intense level of interest, commitment and dedication to research in general, and in particular, to undergraduate education," said Pam Kleiber, director of the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO). "She doesn't actually like the term Ôundergraduate research' because research is research. It doesn't matter who is doing it."

CURO was started in 2000 and Holbrook is credited with supporting several initiatives related to the center, including starting a Summer Research Fellows Program, which uses year end funds to support undergraduates in research projects; a CURO Apprentice Program, which is used to recruit minority students to work as paid research assistants for faculty; research symposiums for students; and an Excellence in Undergraduate Research Award which is given to outstanding faculty mentors.

Holbrook found ways to streamline the university's resources for undergraduate research through CURO without alienating the offices and units that had previously worked in that area, Kleiber said.

She credited that process in part to the way Holbrook approached the situation. "The one thing that I continue to be amazed by is how she is very conceptual in her thinking, but there isn't a detail that escapes her," Kleiber said.

Harry Dailey had a similar impression of Holbrook, based on his experience working with her as UGA's Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute (BHSI) grew from a concept into a reality. Dailey is the institute's director.

As provost, Holbrook surveyed the university's offerings in the biomedical and health sciences and set up committees to study the feasibility of an institute that could serve as a centralized clearinghouse for research and outreach. The institute was approved by Georgia's Board of Regents in 2001 and will soon break ground on a facility.

"Karen was always there, listening and seeing what was happening. She's very much hands-on, but she's not into micromanaging," Daily said. "She trusts and relies on faculty to get the job done. If Karen sees that faculty are behind it, she'll support it -- but if not, she won't push it down anyone's throat."

Victor Wilson, associate vice president for student affairs, has found Holbrook to be an administrator who always follows through. "If she says she's going to do it, she does it," he said.

Students are a top priority for Holbrook, Wilson said, and she has fostered a good rapport with them through attendance at lectures, concerts and meetings and an open-door policy.

"She realizes that they are the lifeblood of the university," he said.

Several coworkers noted that Holbrook has a knack for personally connecting not only with students, but with all individuals she comes in contact with.

"The one thing that differentiates her from other administrators is she treats everyone like a colleague," Morehead said. "I don't think it matters whether they are the president of the university or a member of the support staff, she'll treat them all in a very collegial manner."

Wilson related an anecdote about an interaction he had with Holbrook shortly after she came to UGA in 1998. Holbrook observed him eating Lorna Doone cookies before a meeting one day, and Wilson mentioned that Lorna Doone cookies are his favorite snack. A few months later, he came in to work and found a box of Lorna Doones on his desk, with a note from Holbrook saying she had seen the cookies in the grocery store and thought of him.

"This woman is a provost at a Research 1 university, and she remembered me," Wilson said. "I think that Ohio State should be happy because they have hired a distinguished academic, but even more so because they are getting a good person. We will truly miss her."