One of the hallmarks of President William “Brit” Kirwan’s tenure at Ohio State has been his inception and partial implementation of the Academic Plan.

The plan, which was unveiled in the fall of 2000, outlined the university’s desire to attract and retain a diverse faculty of the highest caliber. Kirwan committed to decrease the number of credit hours required in the General Education Curriculum, class sizes and waitlists. Students would benefit by graduating on time and paying a reasonable amount of tuition during their years spent here.

In his four years at OSU, Kirwan has tried the best he could to follow through on such promises, despite a lack of state funding support. We at The Lantern feel the person serving as interim president needs to continue to keep Kirwan’s vision of what kind of institution OSU has the potential to become.

The interim president needs to be able to get along with faculty, following through on Kirwan’s promises to increase compensation. This person will have to have an open ear and a diplomatic way of handling situations.

At the same time, the Board of Trustees should choose an interim president who is savvy enough to work with a budget that has recently lost $20 million from the state. The interim president needs to have a presence at the state house and a good relationship with government officials to improve funding higher education.

The interim president must ensure tuition will not rise above the 9 percent students expect or the 19 percent next year’s incoming students will face – both promises made by Kirwan.

While we realize it is up to the Board of Trustees to select who will serve as interim president, we feel it is imperative that students play an active role in the selection of the next president – students besides those involved in USG and the Council of Graduate Students.

Both USG and CGS are representative bodies of the student population, but many argue, and reasonably so, that these organizations do not represent the diversity found at OSU.

The Board of Trustees, deans and the governor have to work with the next president, but it is the students whose education will be affected by Kirwan’s successor. It is only natural that many students from different majors, organizations, ethnic and social groups have their say.