EDUCATION

Ohio University named its three final candidates for president. Here's who they are.

Sheridan Hendrix
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio University has named three final candidates being considered to become its next president

Ohio University is one step closer to selecting its next president.

Since September, the university's board of trustees has been searching for OU's 23rd president. After months of work, the search committee announced the names of its top three finalists Monday morning.

The campus community will soon get a chance to meet them in a series of in-person forums.

"Together, we will help Ohio find a visionary leader who can leverage the momentum of today to propel our University into tomorrow and help us remain anchored in our promise to students that their Ohio experience will influence their success, forever," Peggy Viehweger, chair of OU's Board of Trustees and Presidential Search Committee, said in the announcement.

More OU news:Outgoing Ohio University president discusses leadership transitions, student success wins

Who are the candidates?

The top three candidates for Ohio University's next president are:

  • Susana Rivera-Mills, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana
  • Avinandan “Avi” Mukherjee, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia
  • Lori Stewart Gonzalez, executive vice president and provost of the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky

Students, staff, faculty and alumni, as well as members of the Athens and regional campus communities, are invited to participate in three public forums to meet the candidates. All forums will take place at the Baker University Center and will be livestreamed for those with a university ID.

Those forums will take place:

  • March 1 from 2-3 p.m. with Riveria-Mills
  • March 7 from 2-3 p.m. with Mukherjee
  • March 8 from 2-3 p.m. with Gonzalez

Community members are also encouraged to provide feedback to the Presidential Search Committee following the forums using an anonymous online survey, available on the search committee's webpage. Surveys close at 11 p.m. March 9.

What is the timeline for selecting OU's next president?

After six months of searching for its next president, Ohio University is in the final stages of the process.

With finalists announced, the candidates will visit Athens in March for campus visits and community forums. The board of trustees with select and appoint the next president in April, and OU's new leader is expected to begin work in June.

Why is OU searching for a new president?

Ohio University has been in a transition since May 2021 when former Ohio University President M. Duane Nellis announced he would step down.

Two weeks after Nellis' announcement, Hugh Sherman, former dean of OU's College of Business, agreed to serve a two-year appointment as the university's 22nd president, starting in June 2021, while officials conducted a search for a more permanent replacement.

Although Sherman has made a number of strides in his short tenure, he made clear from the beginning that he had no intentions to be Ohio University's long-term leader.

Ohio University President Hugh Sherman speaks during a media roundtable at John Calhoun Baker University Center in January. This will be his last before he retires at the end of the school year and a new president is appointed.

Sheridan Hendrix is a higher education reporter for The Columbus Dispatch. Sign up for her Mobile Newsroom newsletter here and Extra Credit, her education newsletter, here.

shendrix@dispatch.com

@sheridan120