It always helps to have friends in high places.
Connecting early with these Ohio University leaders — students and administrators — may make navigating college’s later years easier.
Roderick McDavis
President
President Roderick McDavis started at the university in 2004, becoming its 20th president. He graduated from OU in 1970, making him the second OU alumnus to hold the position. He attended OU when it was first on the semester system, a format students are switching back to this fall.
Pam Benoit
Executive Vice President and Provost
Benoit is a co-chair of the Budget Planning Council. The BPC makes budget recommendations to the Board of Trustees. She began working at OU in 2009 and has a doctorate in communication from Wayne State University.
She has also worked as the vice provost and dean at the University of Missouri.
Twitter: @PamBenoit
Ryan Lombardi
Vice President for Student Affairs
Lombardi has served as dean of students for the previous four years. He was appointed to Vice President for Student Affairs after Kent Smith resigned.
Lombardi oversees Student Affairs and serves as an advisor to Student
Senate. Lombardi has also been the associate dean of students at Duke University.
Twitter: @OHIOVP
Jenny Hall-Jones
Interim Dean of Students
Jones was recently appointed to interim dean of students for the summer before a search begins in the fall. Jones has served as assistant dean of Student Affairs for more than four years. Jones, an OU alumna, has also been
OU’s assistant director of residence life and assistant to the vice president for Student Affairs for special projects.
Twitter: @JennyHallJones
Stephen Golding
Vice President for Finance and Administration
Golding, as a co-chair for the Budget Planning Council, also makes budget recommendations to the Board of Trustees. Golding began his tenure in September 2010. Golding has worked as Cornell University’s executive vice
president for finance and administration and at the University of Pennsylvania. He is an alumnus member of the Washington College Board.
Gene Harris
Board of Trustees Chair
Harris, who replaced Robert Kidder as the trustees chair, will preside over OU’s Board of Trustees meetings.
Harris has served as vice-chair under Kidder. She received a doctorate from OU in 1999 in educational
administration.
Twitter: @DrGeneTHarris
Elizabeth Sayrs
Chair of Faculty Senate
Sayrs, who will preside over the monthly Faculty Senate meetings, works as a faculty member in the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts. Faculty Senate represents the opinions of OU’s faculty members and relays
concerns and suggestions to the university’s administration via legislation.
Zach George
Student Senate President
George, previously a Student Senate university life commissioner, will oversee the undergraduate Student Senate meetings. Student senators work to gather the opinion of the student body and pass it on to university
administrators.
Tynita White
Graduate Student Senate President
White, previously an African American Affairs commissioner for Graduate Student Senate, will oversee the graduate student body meetings. Similar in function to Student Senate, GSS represents graduate students at OU.
Twitter: @Justice_White
Allison Arnold
Second-year Student Trustee
Arnold, who will serve her second term during the 2012–2013 school year, will represent the student body at the Board of Trustees meetings. She is a senior studying public relations and political science.
Twitter: @AllisonRArnold
Amanda Roden
First-year Student Trustee
Roden will serve as the first-year student trustee to the Board of Trustees. Roden will sit in on the Board of Trustees meetings with Arnold to represent the student body. Roden is a junior studying Spanish.
Twitter: @amanda_roden
sj950610@ohiou.edu





