Sept. 9, 2009

Gregory H. Williams, currently president of the City College of New York, has been named the 27th president of the University of Cincinnati. He will take office Nov. 1.

"Gregory H. Williams brings to the University of Cincinnati a bold vision for the future of higher education," said UC Trustees chair Buck Niehoff, who also chaired the Presidential Search Committee. "He has a remarkable record in building enrollment while ensuring academic excellence and diversity. He is a noted scholar with a substantial background in academic leadership, particularly in a public setting."

The selection caps a search that began on March 17, when UC Board chair Buck Niehoff announced the appointment of a search committee and the selection of a firm, Heidrick & Struggles, to assist the search process. The Search Committee first met on March 30 and set a goal to announce a new president by autumn 2009. The search was organized following the Feb. 10 announcement that Nancy Zimpher, president since 2003, would become chancellor of the New York state university system. During the search, Monica Rimai has served as interim president.

"To all the faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of UC, I look forward to working with you very soon," Williams said. "There are few institutions in the United States that can match the diverse resources of the University of Cincinnati. It is a research powerhouse with outstanding academic programs, committed alumni, a proud community, and a world-class faculty truly dedicated to student success. The University of Cincinnati is truly among America’s premier urban research universities and we are going to make sure the world understands it."

Williams has earned five degrees, including a JD and a PhD from the George Washington University, and he holds four honorary doctorates.  He has been a university administrator for more than 30 years, previously serving in a variety of posts at the George Washington University, the University of Iowa and the Ohio State University. Immediately prior to becoming president of the City College of New York in 2001, he was dean of the Law School and Carter Kissell Professor of Law at the Ohio State University.  Early in his career Williams was a deputy sheriff, and he later worked as an aide to a United States senator.

Author of three books and a number of articles and book reviews, Williams is best known for his award-winning and best selling memoir, "Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black." As a result of his autobiography, he has been featured on a number of national programs including "Oprah," "Dateline NBC with Tom Brokaw," "Larry King Live," ABC's "Nightline with Ted Koppel" and "Fresh Air with Terri Gross" of National Public Radio.

Links:
Interim president Monica Rimai accepts position at SUNY
Watch video of Williams' first speech at UC
Feature on Williams and his approach toward diversity
Visit the official site of the UC Presidential Search Committee

Sept. 8, 2009

The University of Cincinnati Board of Trustees will meet in special session at 9:35 a.m. Wednesday, September 9, in the Great Hall at Tangeman University Center.

The purpose of the special meeting is to consider the appointment of the President of the University of Cincinnati.

The special meeting will be Webcast for the convenience of those who are not able to attend in person.

Special Webcast

Aug. 26, 2009

Board of Trustees Chairman Buck Niehoff reports on UC's presidential search, providing an update on where the process stands, affirms the university's timetable for naming its next president, and reinforces the impact this individual will have on the Proudly Cincinnati Campaign in a new video produced by the University of Cincinnati Foundation.

Watch the video update

Aug. 13, 2009

The search committee working to identify UC's next president is poised to interview potential candidates. Follow every step of the process, including minutes from their meetings at the below link.

Presidential search page

April 29, 2009

President Nancy Zimpher and the university community bid each other farewell at a reception attended by about 500 people in Great Hall at Tangeman University Center on April 28. Zimpher becomes the chancellor of the State University of New York system on June 1.

More on the farewell event
Help find UC's next president

Trustees name Monica Rimai interim UC president

March 17, 2009

UC trustees today appointed Monica Rimai, senior vice president for administration and finance, to serve as interim president beginning June 1.

Rimai will serve in the university’s top spot during the transition period as UC officials hunt for a permanent replacement for President Nancy Zimpher, who will leave to become chancellor of the State University of New York.

"While the board has set an ambitious goal for naming the next president by the end of this calendar year, we must maintain our energy and focus for the intervening eight or nine months," said H.C. Buck Niehoff, chair of the UC Board of Trustees. "Ms. Rimai, because of her direct involvement in many of our key initiatives, is ready to lead immediately."

Rimai, UC’s top finance official, followed Zimpher to UC from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005. Rimai has said she will not be a candidate for the permanent post.

UC trustees also voted today to hire Heidrick & Struggles, the national search firm that helped them land Zimpher in 2003. Officials expect to complete the search by the end of 2009.

A formal search committee will be chaired by Niehoff and will include trustees C. Francis Barrett and Sandra Heimann; faculty representatives Marla Hall and Stephen Kowel; students Diana Hechavarria (graduate) and Janelle Wichmann (undergraduate); deans Valerie Hardcastle (A&S) and David Stern (Medicine); Jeffrey Williams from the UC Foundation; Chad Wick from the University System of Ohio; and John West, a Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge representing the community. Ex-officio members include Jeff Wyler, immediate past chair of the board of trustees, and Steve Simendinger, president of the UC Alumni Association.

Presidential search page
News release about Rimai

UC's presidential process mapped out

February 17, 2009

UC officials announced that the UC Board of Trustees will vote on an interim president, hire a search firm and appoint the search committee for UC's next president during their next meeting March 17.

"The University of Cincinnati is a better place today, thanks to President Zimpher's leadership," said UC Board of Trustees Chair H.C. Buck Niehoff. "We must remember that our current success is built on the efforts of all of us, and we will all be working together in this transition to our next president. 

"We expect that, because of UC's stature and recent progress, our search will attract top-caliber talent that will continue to advance the university's greatness."

UC President Zimpher to take helm at SUNY

February 10, 2009

UC President Nancy Zimpher will become the next chancellor of the State University of New York on June 1.

SUNY is the nation's largest public university system with 64 campuses, more than 400,000 students and a $10 billion annual operating budget. She was selected from among nearly 300 candidates.

Zimpher said the following in a letter e-mailed to UC faculty, staff and students today: "While I look forward to my SUNY appointment with excitement, I will miss the many students, faculty, employees, colleagues, friends, alumni and supporters I have come to know at UC. I will miss Cincinnati's wonderful skyline along with its beautiful rolling hills and picturesque river that remind me so much of my hometown of Gallipolis in southeastern Ohio."

UC's 25th president was hired in July 2003. Five and a half years later, her strategic plan, known as UC|21, has become the driving force behind the university's key efforts -- building academic excellence, growing research endeavors and placing students at the center.

"Working together across all sectors of the university, we have made great strides in our UC|21 goals, and our success is an accomplishment shared by all - students, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, and a myriad of external partners," said Zimpher. "Many of the changes we have made are now so much a part of the university that they are much bigger than one person or one leader.  I can say with unwavering confidence that the University of Cincinnati, as a major research institution and the largest employer in this region, stands in an excellent position to build on its achievements and will continue to make a transformative impact on the world."

Zimpher's impact will be missed, according to UC leaders.

"There is no question that the University of Cincinnati has benefited from Dr. Zimpher's leadership," said UC Board of Trustees Chair H.C. Buck Niehoff. "We had hoped to enjoy her continued leadership but understand and appreciate her interest in this new opportunity. Because of Dr. Zimpher's efforts, however, the University of Cincinnati is positioned for future success. It is time to begin steps that will lead to the selection of our next president."

Niehoff explained that the board will immediately initiate a transition process, including the identification of an interim president to be in place upon President Zimpher's departure.

"The University of Cincinnati is a better place today, thanks to President Zimpher's leadership," said Niehoff. "We must remember that our current success is built on the efforts of all of us, and we will all be working together in this transition to our next president.  We expect that, because of UC's stature and recent progress, our search will attract top-caliber talent that will continue to advance the university's greatness."

Zimpher's positive impact in Cincinnati was evident by the opinion column in the Feb. 10 Cincinnati Enquirer: "In her five years in charge at UC, the university has made positive strides in several key areas. She has raised UC’s profile nationally and has brought it a new level of prestige. UC has become known nationally as a major research university under her watch, and admissions and academic standards have been raised."

For some, particularly casual sports fans in Cincinnati, Zimpher's lasting legacy will have more to do with the changes that occurred in athletics at UC during her tenure. Chief among those was the departure of longtime head basketball coach Bob Huggins in 2005. Zimpher also led UC as it entered the Big East Conference, hired head basketball coach Mick Cronin, head football coach Brian Kelly and athletics director Mike Thomas.

Before coming to Cincinnati, Zimpher, UC's first female president, was chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee from 1998 to 2003 and prior to that a dean at Ohio State University, her alma mater.

Links:
Watch President Williams' hiring

Watch Zimpher's SUNY hiring on YouTube
UC's press release
SUNY's press release