Karen A. Holbrook, PhD, became the 13th president
of The Ohio State University on October 1,
2002. She is committed to helping Ohio
State realize its vision
as a top-ranked research and teaching university of this nation.
Under her direction, the university has made substantial and measurable progress toward fulfilling the goals of its Academic Plan. For eleven years in a row, Ohio State has admitted its best-prepared freshman class ever, with a higher ACT score and a higher percentage of students at the top of their graduating class. Likewise, the university's freshman-sophomore retention and graduation rates have increased. Students participate in co-op experiences and internships in even greater numbers, and 75% report participation in some volunteer activity by the time they graduate. The creation of the College of the Arts and Sciences in 2004 offers more interdisciplinary opportunities and helps reduce barriers to students earning degrees.
Since she took office, Holbrook has made cutting-edge research a priority and an integral part of the educational process at all levels of the university. As a result, Ohio State's sponsored research funding has topped $550 million, an all-time high. Ohio State now ranks 10th among public universities in research expenditures. As a champion of expanding the undergraduate research experience, Holbrook has led the effort to offer freshmen seminars and provide research opportunities for undergraduates in every college of the university and has overseen the establishment of the Office of Undergraduate Research and the doubling of participation in the prestigious Denman Undergraduate Research Forum.
To enhance Ohio State's research capabilities and create community partnerships, Holbrook has presided over the development of a memorandum of understanding between Ohio State and Battelle Memorial Institute that is furthering the strong collaboration between one of the nation's premier research universities and one of the world's largest and most prestigious independent research and development organizations. The two institutions partnered in the recent creation of Metro High School, a public school emphasizing math, science and technology, to develop innovative teaching methods in these areas, offer unique opportunities for students, and ultimately help produce the nation's next generation of scientists and engineers. The Center for Science Education Policy in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs is yet another joint effort.
Ohio State also has been a leader in the creation of TechColumbus, a technology development partnership that will provide a front door to development, recruitment, and relocation of companies, support entrepreneurship, access to capital, member services, and real estate options in central Ohio.
Holbrook has received wide recognition for her leadership in strengthening relationships with the Columbus community, integrating academics and athletics, improving educational facilities on campus, changing the atmosphere surrounding game day, and broadening faculty, staff, and student benefits.
Holbrook came to Columbus from The University of Georgia, where she served as senior vice president for academic affairs and provost - as well as professor of cell biology and adjunct professor of anatomy and cell biology and medicine at the Medical College of Georgia. At Georgia, she helped create the Biomedical and Health Services Institute, three new colleges, the New Media Institute and Faculty of Engineering, and she played a key role in developing the University's Strategic Plan.
Before that, Holbrook served at the University of Florida at Gainesville as vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School, as well as professor of anatomy and cell biology and medicine (dermatology). She spent the majority of her academic career as a professor of biological structure and medicine at the University of Washington, School of Medicine, where she gained a national reputation for her expertise in human fetal skin development and genetic skin disease and was an NIH MERIT awardee. She also served as associate dean for scientific affairs.
Her honors and awards include the Kung Sun Oh Memorial Prize; Yonsei Medical College of Seoul, Korea; the Distinguished Contribution to Research Administration Award from the Society of Research Administrators International; the 34th Annual Marion Spencer Fay National Board Award of the Medical College of Pennsylvania to the Distinguished Woman Physician/Scientist in 1996; Women in Higher Education Award, National Panhellenic Conference Foundation, Inc.; and the 2006 YWCA Women of Achievement Award.
Throughout her career, she has held leadership roles and participated extensively in the activities of professional and honorary societies, including the AAAS, where she is a Fellow and served as a member of the board of directors; the American Association of Universities; and the Association of American Medical Colleges. She served the NIH as a member of a study section and the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases ( NIAMS), as well as Chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors. She is on the Board of Directors of ACT, the Institute for International Education, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, the American Council on Education, the Accrediting Council for Graduate Medical Education, and chairs the NCAA Subcommittee on Student-Athlete Well-Being. In addition to her extensive editorial and publication activities, she has been deeply involved in national and regional efforts to strengthen graduate education in America and has been active in economic development partnerships at the community and state levels.
In Ohio, Holbrook has served as a member of Governor Taft's Commission on Higher Education and the Economy and currently cochairs SAMEPAC, a statewide effort to improve the preparation of K-12 students in STEM fields. She also chairs the Science and Technology Campus Corporation Board (Scitech) and serves on numerous boards of directors locally and nationally.
Born in Des Moines, Iowa, Holbrook earned bachelor's and master's of science degrees in zoology at the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a PhD in biological structure from the University of Washington, School of Medicine, where she pursued postdoctoral training in the Department of Medicine, Division of Dermatology.