Michael V. Drake, president of Ohio State University, was elected chair of the Association of American Universities. He has served as vice chair of the board for the past year.
The Association of American Universities is composed of 62 leading public and private research universities in the United States and Canada. It advocates on issues that are important to research-intensive universities, such as funding for research, research policy issues, graduate and undergraduate education, and campus life.
Dr. Drake became the 15th president of Ohio State University in June 2014. He is the first African American to hold the post. Earlier this year, the university extended Dr. Drake’s contract through 2021.
Prior to being named president of Ohio State University, Dr. Drake was chancellor of the University of California, Irvine from 2005 to 2014. Earlier, he was the director of education and research for the 15 health science schools of the University of California System.
Dr. Drake began his higher education career at Sacramento City College but transferred and graduated from Stanford University. He earned his medical degree at the University of California, San Francisco. An ophthalmologist, he began his academic career as an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
I am very proud of Dr. Drake’s successful tenure at The Ohio State University. It’s wonderful that you have another four years of your indelible footprints at OSU. Congratulations!!