University boosts Ohio internationally

Chancellor Eric Fingerhut, of the Ohio Board of Regents, delivers a lecture about how higher education is moving Ohio forward in the global economy to a mixture of students and faculty. Hannah Potes | Daily Kent Stater

Credit: DKS Editors

Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, presented a lecture at the Kiva last night as part of the Celebration of College Teaching Conference.

Provost Robert Frank introduced Fingerhut after reminding the audience of the budget challenges the state has been facing the past two years.

Fingerhut, who was the guest lecturer in the Gerald H. Read Distinguished Lecture Series, spoke about how higher education is moving Ohio forward in the global economy.

“If you take the collective alumni of Ohio’s universities, public and private, around the globe, you are looking at one of the largest collections of international contacts and relationships that one could possibly imagine,” he said. “So how do we put that to work on behalf of the state so we can find economic opportunities that help this state continue to grow and prosper?”

Fingerhut said students and faculty should strain to maintain relationships and friendships on behalf of Ohio in an effort to aid the state in economic prosperity.

“We have tens of thousands of faculty, we have over half a million students, thousands of whom come from around the world, tens of thousands of students studying globally around the world,” he said. “We really are an asset to Ohio’s progress in the global economy.”

The next distinguished lecture series will feature Linda Davis, who will examine how universities interact on an international scale on Nov. 18.

Contact administration reporter Kristyn Soltis at [email protected].