 "Photo: Courtesy of OSU Photo Services")
It has been less than a week since the Ohio State Board of Trustees approved Patrick Osmer as vice provost and dean of the graduate school and so far he says his new job has been a "whirlwind."
"The number-one thing is getting familiar with the nature and needs of the programs and people I'm working with," he said.
Osmer has been professor and chair of the Department of Astronomy since his arrival in 1993, and "is an authority on the evolution of distant quasars and their relation to their host galaxies," according to a press release announcing his appointment.
Amy Murray, assistant director of media relations for Ohio State, said Osmer was chosen after a national search.
Osmer said he applied for the position because he saw "the excellent opportunity for strengthening and improving the graduate school.
"Given the progress made in undergraduate research and faculty programs, the clear next step was to carry that on to the graduate program."
Osmer called the Beck and Freeman reports, which make recommendations for the structure and funding of the Graduate School, "good road maps for getting started." He continued by saying that what remains is finding the "best implementation plan for these recommendations."
Osmer's support for these recommendations echoes OSU's effort to improve the quality of its research programs.
"If Ohio State is to become the premier public land-grant university in the nation, the quality of our graduate education must be exemplary," OSU President Karen Holbrook said in a press release. "Pat Osmer's leadership will ensure that Ohio State achieves that level of excellence."
Although astronomy remains his passion, Osmer says his new role is an opportunity to engage with the research interests of other fields.
When asked how he plans to look after the research interests of liberal arts majors, Osmer said his broad academic interests provide him with the chance to learn about these areas, calling the graduate school a "partnership effort."
"I believe in the university as an institution of broad learning," Osmer said, referencing the distinction between a college or department and a university.
Despite the work that lies ahead, Osmer expressed interest in continuing his pursuits in astronomy, saying that he looks forward to working with groups of students - so long as he can make a "meaningful" contribution to the group.
Before coming to OSU, Osmer was a member of the scientific staff at the National Optical Observatory in Tucson, Ariz. from 1986 to 1993. He spent his last six years in Tucson as the deputy director of that observatory.
Starting in 1969, Osmer served for 17 years on the scientific staff of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory in La Serena, Chile, eventually becoming the director and head of mission in 1981.
Osmer received his doctorate degree in astronomy from the California Institute of Technology in 1970, after receiving his Bachelor of Science in astronomy from Case Institute of Technology in 1965.
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