Ohio Senate backs higher-ed overhaul; Bill gives governor power to hire chancellor
BYLINE: JIM PROVANCE BLADE COLUMBUS BUREAU
COLUMBUS - Gov. Ted Strickland may be able to hire Ohio's dean of higher education, but he won't be able to fire him on a whim under a bill approved unanimously by the state Senate yesterday.
The bill largely goes along with the governor's proposal to overhaul the structure coordinating Ohio's colleges and universities and relegate the Ohio Board of Regents to a largely advisory role.
The bill strips the nine-member board of its power to hire and fire the chancellor of higher education and makes the job a cabinet-level position under the control of the governor.
But the Senate refused to hand the governor blanket authority over the state's highest-ranking higher-education official. Under the bill, the governor could not unilaterally fire the chancellor in midterm, making the chancellor the only cabinet member answerable directly to him with that kind of protection.
The bill will return to the House next week for consideration of the Senate changes.
"We want the person in that job to know that they can feel free, when asked to do something they feel is not responsible or [is] inappropriate, to say 'no,' and that they have some protection from unreasonable or political requests," Sen. Jeff Jacobson (R., Vandalia) said.
House and Senate leaders signed on early to Mr. Strickland's idea to move the chancellor to his office, part of a broader plan to place greater emphasis on higher education as part of the answer to the state's sluggish economy.
Mr. Strickland does not oppose the Senate changes.
"This position enables the governor to be a stronger and more effective advocate for higher-education reform in Ohio," spokesman Keith Dailey said.
Seeing the handwriting on the wall, the Board of Regents stopped its chancellor national search process earlier this year and picked Mr. Strickland's clear choice for the job, Eric Fingerhut. Mr. Fingerhut is a former congressman and state senator and briefly was Mr. Strickland's competition for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.
"We knew we had to make some changes," said Sen. Joy Padgett (R., Coshocton), chairman of the Senate Education Committee. "There is no finger-pointing at any one particular group or organization. The legislature was as culpable as others in the fact that we just didn't move higher ed to its proper place."
The Senate chose to give the chancellor a defined five-year term, which no other cabinet post has. It also took the unusual step of requiring the chancellor to receive Senate confirmation before assuming his duties.
The Board of Regents serves as a coordinating agency for public colleges and universities and approves new degree programs. But it played no day-to-day role in school operations and decisions.
The Senate bill would shorten the terms of future regents from nine years to six beginning next year.
Contact Jim Provance at:
or 614-221-0496.