COLUMBUS Ohio
Ohio’s public
universities and community colleges will be united under one banner to focus on
their common goals, while maintaining their own identities, Gov. Ted Strickland
and his higher education chief said Wednesday.
Chancellor Eric Fingerhut will meet over the next few months
with the presidents of Ohio’s 13
public universities and 24 community colleges to develop a 10-year plan for the
future of higher education in Ohio
that sets specific goals.
“We expect these will be major decisions,” Fingerhut
said at a news conference with Strickland.
Strickland adopted a name to stress the importance of all
higher education institutions working together: The University System of Ohio.
“We must understand that it’s collaboration not
competition that will lead us where we want to go,” Strickland said.
“No single institution in this state can provide what we need to compete
in the 21st century.”
The new concept is part of a plan that began with the
Legislature giving Strickland the power to appoint the chancellor, who
previously was appointed by the Board of Regents. The Legislature and
Strickland also froze tuition and public colleges for the next two years and
found an extra $150 million for higher education programs.
