The Ohio State University Board of Trustees has recently honored five of its scholars, conferring upon them the title of Distinguished University Professor, an accolade reserved perpetually for those standing at the pinnacle of academic achievement. Among the distinguished are Patrick Green of veterinary biosciences, History Emeritus Peter Hahn, molecular genetics expert Anita Hopper, physicist Michael Lisa, and neuroscience chair Phillip Popovich, as reported yesterday by OSU News.
With this title comes a tangible acknowledgement—a $30,000 award aimed to support further scholarly endeavors. These professors have managed to not only teach and research at the highest level but also deeply engage in service to the academic community. It's clear that to even be considered for this accolade, one must truly stand out from their peers in a broad array of academic areas.
According to OSU News, Board Chair John Zeiger, President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr., and Executive Vice President and Provost Ravi V. Bellamkonda were present to award the medallions. In his remarks on this high honor, Bellamkonda said, “This is the highest honor bestowed by Ohio State. Since its creation more than 35 years ago, the Distinguished University Professor title has been awarded to a very limited group of exceptional faculty members each year. This year, we are fortunate to have five.”
The board meeting also saw the approval of new academic programs and the setting of goals for the institution’s president. A master of systems engineering program is set to open its doors within the College of Engineering to equip practicing engineers with advanced competencies in modeling, planning, and to decisively make strategic decisions. Moreover, the trustees have crafted a set of objectives for President Carter's FY26, targeting areas that range from academic excellence to transformative research and artificial intelligence applications.
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