A group of seven men and two women make every decision that affects the 55,000 people in the Ohio State community. The group is otherwise known as the OSU Board of Trustees, and they control nearly every facet of the university.
The Board of Trustees consists of nine voting members and two student members. The two student trustees do not vote, in accordance with Ohio law.
Although the group is put together individually, they function as one unit. During the monthly board meetings, an issue will be called to action to be voted on, and the room will sound as if it has an echo, with every board member mimicking the next on all the decisions made.
“This board has joined forces exceptionally well,” said William J. Napier, secretary of the Board of Trustees. “You can’t tell that the members were appointed by different governors.”
Every member of the Board of Trustees has been hand-selected by either former Republican Gov. George Voinovich or current Republican Gov. Bob Taft.
“The board is politically astute,” Napier said. “They understand the political climate in Ohio and how to work with Ohio’s current government.”
One thing that can be said for certain of the current board members is that they have heavily supported and contributed money to the Republican party and Republican political campaigns in Ohio.
Karen Hendricks of Cincinnati, appointed to the board in 1999, contributed generously to the Taft campaign in 1998, and numerous donations were made to Taft in the name of Hendricks family, according to the Ohio office of the Secretary of the State. Hendricks is CEO of the Baldwin Piano & Organ Company.
David Brennan of Akron, appointed to the board in 1993, serves as chair of the board’s Fiscal Committee and is a leader in state and national Republican activities. He is a member of the Republican Party’s Team 100. Brennan also served as an Ohio delegate to the 1988 and 1992 Republican National Conventions and cast one of Ohio’s electoral votes for George Bush.
David Slane of Columbus, appointed in 1997, co-owner of Slane Co., which develops and operates 88 shopping centers and commercial develops in 12 states once served as a White House staff assistant for Gerald Ford.
Though the board is made up solely of Republicans, Vice President of Student Affairs David Williams says that it does not affect the way the board runs or the decisions that the board makes.
“In the seven years that I have worked with the Board of Trustees, I have never seen politics play a role in the board’s decision-making process,” Williams said.
Along with campaign contributions, the governor also appoints board members that are successful in their own right, Napier said. He also added the majority of the members are involved in business- or law-related professions.
“The main consideration when appointing board members is that they are committed to bettering higher education in the state of Ohio,” Napier said.
The Board is a compilation of some of the most successful businessmen and business women in the state of Ohio, who serve on the board without receiving any financial compensation for their time and efforts, Napier said.
Current Chairman of the Board, University of Michigan graduate George Skestos of Bexley is on the Board of Directors at OSU’s current health care provider, Central Benefits, as well as at Huntington National Bank and Midland Financial Corp.
Tamala Longenberger of Zainesville is the current chairwomen of the board’s Student Affairs Committee, and is the President and CEO of The Longenberger Co, a Newark-based $800 million direct sales company and the largest manufacture of hand-crafted baskets in the state of Ohio. The company is one of the largest employers in the state.
Though the board is full of Republicans and successful businessmen, one thing that it is not full of is diversity. The board consists of seven men and two women. Only one of the nine members is black, a former justice of the Supreme Court of Ohio, Robert Duncan of Columbus.
“Though the board is not extremely diverse, it has more diversity than in the past and that makes it that much stronger,” Williams said.
is a member of the 
Be the first to comment on this article!