Announcement of search advisory committee for athletics director

Dear Colleagues:

We are excited to announce the members of the search advisory committee for Ohio State’s next senior vice president and The Wolfe Foundation-Eugene Smith Endowed Athletics Director. The role of the committee will be to help nominate candidates and provide input and feedback to the search firm, Collegiate Sports Associates (CSA). The committee will also work with CSA to coordinate and facilitate community listening sessions.

The search advisory committee will be chaired by Michael C. Eicher, senior vice president for advancement and president of The Ohio State University Foundation. Members include:

• Pierre Bigby, Ohio State Board of Trustees; former Ohio State student-athlete
• Clark Kellogg, former Board of Trustees member and Ohio State student-athlete
• Archie Griffin, former senior vice president, Ohio State Alumni Association, and Ohio State student-athlete
• Michael Papadakis, senior vice president for business and finance, Chief Financial Officer
• Stacy Rastauskas, vice president for government affairs
• Lincoln L. Davies, dean and Frank R. Strong Chair in Law, Moritz College of Law
• Nadine Muzerall, head coach, Ohio State women’s ice hockey
• Janine Oman, senior deputy athletics director
• Xen Riggs, vice president and chief operating officer, Department of Athletics and Business Advancement
• John E. Davidson, professor, Department of Germanic Languages and Literature; faculty athletics representative
• Tom Gessells, director of information technology, Wexner Medical Center; staff representative, Athletics Council
• Nina LeFlore, co-president, Student Athlete Advisory Council
• Alex Dediu, co-president, Student Athlete Advisory Council

The committee will be staffed by Anne Garcia, senior vice president and general counsel, and Katie Hall, interim senior vice president for talent, culture and human resources.

As you will recall, Gene Smith announced this summer his plan to retire from his role as athletics director in July 2024. The national search for his successor will begin immediately. Thank you for any support that you are able to provide as the committee seeks engagement opportunities with the broader university community. We will keep you updated on the search, and we will have many opportunities to celebrate Gene for his dedicated and innovative service to Ohio State.

Peter Mohler, PhD

Acting President and Executive Vice President for Research, Innovation and Knowledge