Fingerhut steps down from board of regents

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Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut

Staff report

COLUMBUS

Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut has announced his intention to step down as the state’s leader of higher education, effective March 13.

In his letter to Gov. John Kasich, Fingerhut, who served four years in office, said, “Higher education is in Ohio’s DNA ... we have been in the business of higher education as long as we have been a state.”

He said it’s time for him to pursue other opportunities for himself and his family.

“My staff and I will work closely with your administration to ensure a smooth transition of leadership,” Fingerhut’s letter said.

Fingerhut also said that he has worked to “focus our extraordinary higher education infrastructure on helping Ohioans meet the challenges and opportunities of today’s global, knowledge-based economy [and] we are making real, measurable progress ... in graduating more students, keeping them in Ohio after graduation, and attracting talent to our state.”

Fingerhut was appointed the seventh chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents on March 14, 2007. In March 2008, he delivered Ohio’s 10-year Strategic Plan for Higher Education to the governor and Ohio General Assembly, with an overall goal to raise the educational attainment of the state.