UT President Lloyd Jacobs announces he will step down June 30, 2015
President led implementation of merger, hailed as ‘transformative’ leader
After eight years leading The University of Toledo and another three as head of the former Medical University of Ohio, Dr. Lloyd Jacobs announced today that he will step aside as UT’s president effective June 30, 2015.
“My time in Toledo has been among the most personally rewarding years of my life, and Ola and I are looking forward to many more at UT and in the community,” Jacobs said. “I’m excited by a new opportunity to help UT and other universities adapt to the financial and resource pressures that will grow only more challenging over time.”
Joseph Zerbey, chair of the UT Board of Trustees, said Jacobs has defined what transformative leadership truly is.
“Lloyd Jacobs not only led the way to make the merger with MUO a reality, he has led the implementation of the vision behind the merger and in a very literal way transformed this institution into one that is far greater than the sum of the two organizations that came together in 2006 to comprise the new University of Toledo,” Zerbey said.
Zerbey indicated that Jacobs will lead a new Institute of University Transformation. While still an initial vision that will be fleshed out over time, Zerbey said the institute would help integrate the ways technology can be used to improve the learning and retention of skills and information, increase access, and reduce costs for students.
“I have spoken often about the danger of higher education pricing itself out of the market. This is why I’ve been committed to ensuring UT has been a leader in slowing the pace of tuition increases,” Jacobs said. “UT plays a critical role in this community, and it is essential that The University of Toledo keeps pace with the rate of societal transformation taking place all around us.”
“This University and this community owes Dr. Jacobs a debt of gratitude for his success in raising UT’s national profile,” Zerbey said, adding that UT areas like the Interprofessional Immersive Simulation Center and the Ruth M. Hillebrand Clinical Skills Center are examples of pieces with a natural fit into the future Institute of University Transformation.
According to Zerbey, a national presidential search is planned and a formal search process will be announced soon.
