Opening Keynote: Monday, March 3, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Chancellor Eric D. Fingerhut

Eric D. Fingerhut was appointed the seventh Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents on March 14, 2007. He was the first to be appointed by the Governor of the State of Ohio as a member of his cabinet, and is charged with building a system of higher education designed to prepare all Ohioans for the 21st century and rival the nation in accountability and innovation.

In the months since his appointment, Chancellor Fingerhut has worked steadily to support this vision of change, beginning with his testimony on the budget before the Senate Finance Committee, where he made clear that he "will not flinch from…rethinking how we do business, and suggesting broad and systematic changes in our approaches to higher education in order to move our state forward."

Chancellor Fingerhut has worked closely with the administration and the Ohio Legislature to dramatically increase funding for Ohio’s universities and colleges, to put a freeze on tuition increases, and to boost financial aid to make higher education affordable for all Ohioans.

Chancellor Fingerhut served as Ohio State Senator in 1991-92 and from 1999 to 2006. He was the ranking Democrat on the Finance (Budget) Committee and served on committees related to health, aging, environment, insurance, tax policy, economic development and education. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1993 and served on committees related to science, foreign affairs and banking. Chancellor Fingerhut has served as Director of Economic Development Education and Entrepreneurship as a member of the Business Administration faculty at Baldwin-Wallace College and as an adjunct faculty member in the Case Western Reserve University Department of Political Science, School of Law, and Weatherhead School of Management.

Read more about Chancellor Fingerhut at the Ohio Board of Regents Web site