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On Thursday, Drake received his annual job evaluation, which included a 2.5 percent raise but no bonus. His base pay will be $892,000 a year. His contract runs through June 2021.
Since he started at OSU in June 2014, Drake has navigated controversies such as the firing of marching band director Jon Waters, the suspension of head football coach Urban Meyer and an ongoing investigation into 20 years of sexual abuse perpetrated by Dr. Richard Strauss at the university.
But in the announcement Thursday, the university points to Drake’s successes:
— the first comprehensive tuition freeze for in-state students in 40 years;
— earmarking $150 million in need-based aid since 2015;
— raising nearly $2.8 billion in donations to the university;
— setting all-time highs in applications, retention rates, research expenditures, and graduation rates.
While OSU president, Drake served in national leadership positions with the Association of American Universities, Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and the Board of Governors of the NCAA.
Drake replaced E. Gordon Gee as OSU president in June 2014.
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Drake, 69, will remain at Ohio State on faculty. The OSU Board of Trustees will launch a national search for Drake’s replacement.
OSU’s president must be a first-rate fundraiser, be able to convince lawmakers and governors to parse out precious funds, operate both a major medical center and a nationally recognized sports enterprise, manage a $6 billion budget and 33,000 employees, and serve diverse constituents that include 65,000 students, 500,000 alumni and 11 million Ohioans.
Name: Michael V. Drake
Age: 69
Position: 15th president of Ohio State University
Family: married to Brenda, two grown sons
Education: Stanford University, bachelor of arts; University of California San Francisco, medical degree
Experience: 2014-current, Ohio State University president; 2005-2014 chancellor of the University of California, Irvine; distinguished professor of ophthalmology and education, UC Irvine; vice president for health affairs, University of California system; UC San Francisco School of Medicine faculty and senior associate dean; author of five textbooks and scores of scholarly articles and chapters.
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