Chris Poon has been the OSU Fisher College of Business dean since April 2009.
Credit: Courtesy of OSU
The dean of the Ohio State Fisher College of Business has decided not to seek reappointment, but is leaving behind $1 million in her wake.
Chris Poon, who has been dean since April 2009, agreed to remain at the helm of the college through December 2014 if necessary as OSU searches for a new dean, according to a Monday email from Executive Vice President and Provost Joseph Steinmetz to OSU faculty and staff.
She and her husband have made a $1 million donation to create the Christine A. Poon and Michael F. Tweedle Faculty Award Fund, which will grant a three-year award to associate professors who “demonstrate great promise in teaching, research and collaboration,” renewable for an additional two years, according to the email.
Poon did not immediately respond to an email Monday afternoon requesting comment about her decision not to seek reappointment.
Her annual base salary is about $523,617, according to the Columbus Business First DataCenter.
The email said OSU will begin searching for a new dean after Jan. 1.
Steinmetz said Poon has made a far-reaching impact as dean.
“Chris has combined her creative thinking and deep industrial expertise to enrich the academic experience for students, provide new opportunities for faculty and staff, and establish new ties with business and industry. Her leadership of the Fisher College forged new partnerships across the university, throughout the state, and around the world,” Steinmetz said in the email.
OSU Interim President Joseph Alutto reaffirmed Steinmetz’s sentiment, thanking Poon and her husband for the donation and adding that she has “strengthened us in powerful and enduring ways” as dean, according to a released statement in Steinmetz’s email.
Prior to her time as Fisher dean, Poon served as vice chairman and worldwide chairman of pharmaceuticals at Johnson & Johnson.
