Corlett in final three for presidency at CSU

by Sara Bisker
Staff Writer

The dean of Ohio University's College of Business is one of three finalists for the Cleveland State University presidency, though he said he is uncertain if he would accept the post.

Glenn Corlett is a candidate in CSU's eight-month search to replace former president Claire Vanummersen, according to sources at CSU's student newspaper.

CSU officials will select the president within a month, according to sources at The Cauldron.

The final candidates in the search are Corlett; Patti Capel Swartz, assistant professor of English at Kent State University; and Defiance College President James T. Harris, according to the source.

"I wasn't interested in making a change," Corlett said. "They approached me."

A search committee chosen by the CSU Board of Trustees narrowed down the candidates. The new president will begin working before May 2002.

Corlett graduated from OU in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, but left Athens to pursue a position as a college professor. He then worked for Price Waterhouse, a public accounting firm based in New York, as partner-in-charge of mergers and acquisitions, he said. He returned to OU as dean of the College of Business in 1997.

"I've loved the school since the day I came here (as a freshman)," Corlett said. "It's been a 40-year love affair."

Corlett said the focus at CSU is to prepare students from the city to return to the community, in contrast to OU, where students disperse to areas all over the country.

"The mission at Cleveland (State University) is to prepare students for meaningful local positions in the community," he said. "(The presidency) is a more externally-focused position than at most universities."

The president is in constant contact with students, faculty members, political and business leaders in the community, he said.

Corlett has met with an advisory and search committee at CSU.

"Until you complete the process and find out what is expected and wanted out of a president, I can't say for sure if I would take the position," he said.

If Corlett decides to take the offer, OU's next step will be to begin the search for a new dean of the College of Business, he said.

OU currently has an interim dean of its College of Osteopathic Medicine, Russ College of Engineering and Technology and University College.