When the University of Cincinnati's 25th president met the community for the first time on July 22, a curious thing happened. People commented on the executive's eye-catching hosiery.

That was unusual, of course, because UC never had a female president before, but moreover, her patterned hose were indeed striking. Sophisticated fashion -- especially in hosiery -- is such a Nancy Zimpher hallmark that Milwaukee Magazine called the former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee a "walking billboard." Always dressed in school colors, she is renowned for having a fashion sense that people do not overlook.

Yet even without the fashion statement, Nancy Zimpher could scarcely be overlooked. At the July introduction, crowd comments quickly turned to first impressions with genuine substance: her evident energy, enthusiasm, intelligence, attention to (and retention of) details and thoroughness in having done her homework. If given a "UC 101" pop quiz that day, Nancy Zimpher would easily have pulled an A.

In fact, Jeff Wyler, BusAd '65, the UC trustee who chaired the Presidential Search Committee, says Zimpher, an Ohio native, made the honor role at the initial interview. "In our first meeting, she had an awful lot of knowledge about the University of Cincinnati and knew what to talk about. Plus, she was excited about it. I think her energy level will affect the entire UC community."

As soon as the Board of Trustees unanimously voted to appoint her president, Zimpher turned toward the expectant crowd of about 200 and began to reflect on the institution's impressive past, then to itemize her goals for the future. This was a woman who arrived carrying an agenda, a plan for progress that would stretch across all campuses and throughout Greater Cincinnati.

"I came to build on UC's comprehensive program array and the challenge of creating more cross-disciplinary programs," she said. "I came to build on UC's evolution as a research powerhouse. You have exceptional intellectual capacity, and I assure you that I will contribute to its growing momentum.

I came to build on the diversity and excellence of your student body. I believe that diversity is value added. UC is unquestionably a destination campus, global as well as regional.

"And I came to build on UC's profound sense of community, to continue to commit this institution to the region's economic, social, cultural, educational and artistic future. Great cities and great universities thrive reciprocally on each other's strengths."

Provost and senior vice president Tony Perzigian expected that kind of response from Zimpher, who launched her career at OSU. "I know that she is going to do everything she can to encourage the expertise of this great university to be made available to the city," he says.

What he didn't expect was to learn of her appointment while reading a copy of USA Today in the Paris airport. "After the shock of realizing the search was over, my immediate reaction to the selection of Dr. Zimpher was that I couldn't have been less surprised or more encouraged.

"I knew immediately we were getting a distinguished scholar and someone familiar with the state scene in Ohio. Moreover, I knew she had a major priority on the engagement of universities in urban environments. I also knew that she has prominent roles with national associations. In one person, we're getting someone who is going to have influences that extend to local, state, national and international arenas."

As Zimpher took office on Oct. 1, Cincinnati's excitement was ironically heightened by Milwaukee's disappointment. "Cincinnati's gain is truly this community's loss; she will leave behind a gaping hole in the leadership of both UWM and civic Milwaukee," a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial stated.

"Nancy Zimpher's departure is a major loss for UW-Milwaukee, the UW System and the state," added Katharine Lyall, president of the Wisconsin System. "Her vigorous leadership has revitalized UWM and helped the university work with the larger Milwaukee community to strengthen K-12 education and to boost economic development. Her energy, vision and sense of civic purpose are all too rare these days."

Various community leaders have described the University of Cincinnati's new president as "dynamic, charismatic, ambitious, demanding, a bridge-builder, a force to be reckoned with, a political schmoozer, a risk-taker." Many of those qualities can be substantiated through her own words.

"I have learned that a collective vision can derive only from collective action,"Nancy Zimpher told the crowd in July. "In ‘ready, fire, aim' fashion, we must derive a targeted set of actions -- not too few, not too many -- then hold ourselves accountable for results. Together we can do this."Apparently, the surrounding Greater Cincinnati community is also enthused over Zimpher's arrival. In the 10 days surrounding her hiring, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran 10 articles that focused on her in varying degrees.

"The fact that we had so much media coverage tells me that there was a great deal of pent-up expectation about this,"says Mitchel Livingston, vice president of Student Affairs and Services. "She's a person who has a philosophy of empowering both the university and the larger community to reach out to one another. The community has a considerable amount of enthusiasm behind her agenda of ‘revisioning' the university."

Susan Howarth, WCET president and CEO of the Greater Cincinnati Television Educational Foundation, agrees, "I've talked to a number of people in the community who are very much looking forward to meeting her. She's going to find a very welcoming community for people who want to make a difference."

Realizing she would have "a positive effect on the community" was one of the things that caught the attention of Richard Karp, the search committee's faculty representative. "I thought she would be an outstanding ambassador for the university," he says. "I was also excited about her strong academic background, her continuing scholarly activities and her incredible energy and enthusiasm for higher education." Zimpher's fervor is evident. "I believe that urban universities, and especially one the stature of the University of Cincinnati, will become the prototypic 21st-century universities. I intend to invest all my energies in service to the greatness that is the University of Cincinnati.

"Let's get started!" Various community leaders have described the University of Cincinnati's new president as "dynamic, charismatic, ambitious, demanding, a bridge-builder, a force to be reckoned with, a political schmoozer, a risk-taker." Many of those qualities can be substantiated through her own words.

"I have learned that a collective vision can derive only from collective action,"Nancy Zimpher told the crowd in July. "In ‘ready, fire, aim' fashion, we must derive a targeted set of actions -- not too few, not too many -- then hold ourselves accountable for results. Together we can do this."Apparently, the surrounding Greater Cincinnati community is also enthused over Zimpher's arrival. In the 10 days surrounding her hiring, the Cincinnati Enquirer ran 10 articles that focused on her in varying degrees.

"The fact that we had so much media coverage tells me that there was a great deal of pent-up expectation about this,"says Mitchel Livingston, vice president of Student Affairs and Services. "She's a person who has a philosophy of empowering both the university and the larger community to reach out to one another. The community has a considerable amount of enthusiasm behind her agenda of ‘revisioning' the university."

Susan Howarth, WCET president and CEO of the Greater Cincinnati Television Educational Foundation, agrees, "I've talked to a number of people in the community who are very much looking forward to meeting her. She's going to find a very welcoming community for people who want to make a difference."

Realizing she would have "a positive effect on the community" was one of the things that caught the attention of Richard Karp, the search committee's faculty representative. "I thought she would be an outstanding ambassador for the university," he says. "I was also excited about her strong academic background, her continuing scholarly activities and her incredible energy and enthusiasm for higher education." Zimpher's fervor is evident. "I believe that urban universities, and especially one the stature of the University of Cincinnati, will become the prototypic 21st-century universities. I intend to invest all my energies in service to the greatness that is the University of Cincinnati.

"Let's get started!"

 

Nancy Zimpher, UC's new president, at a glance

Age: 56

Hometown: Gallipolis, southeast Ohio

Alma mater: Ohio State University, three degrees

• Bachelor's, major in English, minor in speech
• Master's, English literature (while helping to organize an anti-war march in Washington, D.C., in 69)
• PhD, major in teacher education, minors in political science and academic administration

Career:

• Ohio State University professor, dean of education, executive dean of professional colleges
• University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's first woman chancellor, '98-03
• University of Cincinnati president, full professor in the College of Education, Criminal Justice and Human Services, beginning Oct. 1, 2003

Publications: written or co-authored 15 books or monographs, mostly on teacher education

Family:

• Son, Fletcher Zimpher, attends Ohio University
• Husband, Ken Howey, education professor; founder, Urban Network to Improve Teacher Education, a national coalition of universities and their K-12 partners

Little-known hobbies: played snare drum in high school, learned dulcimer while teaching grade school in a two-room schoolhouse in the Ozark Mountains

Achievements while UWM chancellor:

• Zimpher conceived the "Milwaukee Idea," which forged vital, long-term university partnerships throughout the community on issues of education, economic development, housing.
• UWM received largest amount of state funding ever in '01-02.
• UWM gained a doctorate program in history, even though opposed by UW System administrators.
• UWM men's and women's basketball teams made it to their first NCAA tournaments.

Personal honors

• Received the 2003 Chief Executive Leadership Award, CASE region V, July '03
• Named Milwaukee's most effective leader, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's survey of local leaders, '02
• Member, Ohio Women's Hall of Fame, '98
• Coordinator, U.S. Secretary of Education's National Summit on Teacher Quality, '00

Differences between UWM, UC

	UWM	UC
Student enrollment	25,000	33,000
Colleges/schools	12	15
Professional schools	none	law and medicine
Degree programs	81 bachelor's	170 bachelor's
	66 graduate	262 graduate
Alumni	100,000	214,000