Vice Provost Wayne Carlson announces retirement

From the Provost — June 20, 2017

Vice Provost Wayne Carlson announces retirement

Date:
June 20, 2017

To: 
University Community

From: 
Bruce A. McPheron, PhD
Executive Vice President and Provost 

Re:
Retirement of Vice Provost Wayne E. Carlson

I write to share the news that Wayne E. Carlson, PhD, vice provost for undergraduate studies and dean of undergraduate education, has announced his decision to retire from the university. Vice Provost Carlson's tenure at Ohio State has resulted in significant improvements for students, faculty, staff, administrators and support units in the colleges and on each of our campuses.

Dr. Carlson's vision, strategic planning and extensive leadership experience have raised the effectiveness of student support services in several arenas. Working with Colonel Mike Carrell from the Office of Military and Veterans Services, for example, he created a support service that has become a national model. The office currently serves more than 1,800 undergraduate and graduate student veterans, and for the past two years, USA Today and College Factual both ranked Ohio State as the top college in the country for veterans. He was also engaged in the design, pilot and implementation of STEP, the Second-Year Transformational Experience Program, which has also become a national model for student retention.

Dr. Carlson's focus on effective academic advising across colleges led to the expansion of an advising notes system, used in one college, to a university-wide system called AdvisingConnect. He and his staff also established a training and recognition program for advisors across all colleges and campuses, and most recently helped launch OnCourse, the university's new predictive analytics system.

He worked with Fisher College MBA students to plan the restructuring of the Office of Continuing Education, and his collaboration with Vice President and CIO Mike Hofherr led to the expansion of our online presence that has become the Office of Distance Education and eLearning.

He has led numerous programs related to student affordability, including many Ohio Department of Education initiatives, such as the Ohio Means Internships and Co-ops program. He was the principal investigator for the Choose Ohio First scholarships program and authored OSU's Completion Plan and our Textbook Affordability Plan. In addition, he was the principal investigator for our First in the World grant, in collaboration with the national University Innovation Alliance, that focuses on low-income and/or first generation students.

He joined Ohio State's faculty in 1988 and has served as the director of the Advanced Computing Center for the Arts and Design and as chair of the Department of Industrial, Interior, and Visual Communication Design.

Please join me in thanking Wayne for his outstanding academic career at Ohio State, as a faculty member and leader, and in congratulating him and wishing him well on his upcoming retirement.