William E. Kirwan Becomes 12th President of OSU – Ohio State Buckeyes
7/1/1998 12:00:00 AM | General
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July 1, 1998%^$
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As chief executive officer, Dr. Kirwan leads one of the nation’s largest and most distinguished public universities dedicated to teaching, research, and service. Ohio State’s Columbus campus includes medical, cancer, and veterinary hospitals; dental and optometry clinics; and specialized research centers. A land-grant university, Ohio State has 19 colleges, a graduate school, four regional campuses, and is home to a statewide agricultural research and cooperative extension system. As the state’s flagship institution, it has more than 50,000 students, nearly 20,000 faculty and staff, an annual budget of $1.6 billion, and over 300,000 alumni around the world.
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Dr. Kirwan, 60, has been president of the University of Maryland-College Park since 1989 and served as a professor and administrator there for 34 years. He received his bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University of Kentucky, where his father was football coach, math professor and, later, university president. He received his master’s and doctoral degrees in mathematics from Rutgers in 1962 and 1964.
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In 1964, he joined the University of Maryland-College Park as an assistant professor of mathematics. He became associate professor in 1968, professor in 1972, and chair of the Department of Mathematics in 1977. In 1981, he was appointed vice chancellor for academic affairs, the university’s chief academic post. He served as provost beginning in 1986 and was named president of the 11-campus University of Maryland system in 1989.
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Dr. Kirwan is a member of several honorary and professional societies, including Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Kappa Phi, the American Mathematical Society, and the Mathematical Association of America. A prolific scholar, he is co-editor of the book Advances in Complex Analysis and has published many articles on mathematical research. He recently chaired the Mathematical Sciences in the Year 2000 Committee, a task force created by the National Research Council to improve mathematics education at the nation’s colleges and universities.
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He serves on numerous boards, including the Presidents Council of the Ford Foundation, the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (the Fulbright Program), and the World Trade Institute, which recognized him in 1997 as International Leader of the Year. He is chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Dr. Kirwan is also a member of the Presidents Commission of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. In Ohio, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Executive Committee of the Greater Columbus Chamber of Commerce, and the Central Ohio United Negro College Fund Advisory Committee.
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A widely respected academic leader, Dr. Kirwan is known for his talent as a consensus builder within a large campus community. He has identified four values that will guide his presidency and continue to strengthen Ohio State’s academic standing: pursuing academic excellence and attracting quality faculty; enhancing the student experience; making diversity an institutional reality; and forming partnerships with business, industry, and the community that will benefit the people of Ohio and beyond.
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Dr. Kirwan is married to Patricia Harper Kirwan, also a graduate of the University of Kentucky. They have two children, both University of Maryland alumni: William E. Kirwan III and Ann Elizabeth Kirwan.
