Gordon Gee elected 17th President of Brown University

Ohio State University president will assume Brown positions, current Brown President Vartan Gregorian will leave for Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Brown Corporation unanimously elected Ohio State University President Gordon Gee the 17th president of Brown University at a closed meeting last Friday. Gee will replace outgoing Brown President and former Penn Provost Vartan Gregorian, who was named President of the Carnagie Corporation of New York -- one of the nation's largest charitable foundations with an endowment of over $1.3 billion -- in January. Gee was selected by a committee consisting of 16-members of the Brown Corporation -- the university's governing body -- with assistance from a 13-member advisory committee of faculty, students and administrators. The committee -- which was chaired by former Brown Chancellor A.O. Way -- chose the 53-year-old Utah native after considering over 165 candidates for the position. "Gordon Gee comes to Brown with an extraordinary record of leadership at one of the nation's premier research universities," Brown Chancellor Artemis Joukowsky said. Initiatives implemented at Ohio State under Gee's leadership include streamlining academic organization, putting stronger emphasis on undergraduate education, implementing an ambitious program to increase the institution's national standing among top universities, and emphasizing university outreach and engagement throughout Ohio. "As president, Dr. Gee has led Ohio State on a path toward academic excellence," Shumate said. "In a decade in which many universities have lost ground, he has helped make Ohio State a leader among leaders and he has brought out the best in us all." Joukowsky added that Gee will "assume the presidency at a propitious time in the university's history when Brown's successful capital campaign has renewed endowments for our faculty, student scholarships and libraries and has prepared the university for the challenge of the 21st century." Alex Shumate -- Chairperson of Ohio State's Board of Trustees -- expressed appreciation for Gee's contributions to the institution he is leaving. "Dr. Gee has made a mark on Ohio State University and has earned the respect and love of the students, faculty, staff and alumni," Shumate said in a written release. "He has helped make Columbus, and Ohio, a better place." Gee received his bachelor's degree in history from the University of Utah in 1968 before earning a law degree and doctorate in education from Columbia University. After completing his work at Columbia, Gee returned to the University of Utah, where he served as assistant law dean from 1973 to 1974. He spent a year as a judicial fellow and senior staff assistant to the chief justice of the United States Supreme Court before being named associate law dean of the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. He moved to West Virginia University in 1979, where he served as dean of the College of Law before assuming the presidency in 1981 at the age of 37. He became president of the University of Colorado in 1985 and moved to Ohio State in 1990. Gee arrived at Ohio State when the university was experiencing financial difficulties and facing a significant cut in state funding. He is credited with strengthening the institution through reorganizing and simplifying its structure, adopting strict fiscal discipline and reevaluating its priorities. He is currently leading a campaign to raise $850 million for scholarships to attract top level students, reward exceptional faculty members and enhance the university's research program. Joukowsky called Gee a "tireless advocate for higher education," and pointed to his work as Chairperson of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. He also serves on the board of the Truman Scholarship Foundation, Central Ohio United Negro College Fund, and Rhodes Scholarship Selection Committee.