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Ellen Belcher is the Dayton Daily News opinion pages editor. She writes about state government, education, the environment, higher education and all things Dayton.
Martin Gottlieb is an editorial writer and columnist for the Dayton Daily News opinion pages. He focuses on the political process itself and does such national issues as war, the economy, taxes and Social Security, as well as a hodge-podge of local and state issues.Home > Blogs > A Matter of Opinion > Archives > 2011 > February > 25 > Entry
Editorial: Fingerhut’s work wasn’t wrapped up
Lost in all the commotion this week about collective bargaining in Columbus was this back-page news: Eric Fingerhut resigned as chancellor of higher education.
Four years ago, Mr. Fingerhut might have seemed an improbable figure to so quickly leave a big mark on Ohio, but that he did.
Though regarded as a thoughtful state legislator who also briefly served in Congress, his political resume was run-of-the-mill. His most high-profile move was waging a hopeless campaign in 2004 for the U.S. Senate against Republican George Voinovich.
That effort was most memorable for how Mr. Fingerhut introduced himself to crowds: “I say ‘Finger,’ you say ‘hut,’” he would chant in a futile attempt to get people to remember his name.
Once in the chancellor’s spot, though, he tackled the small “p” politics associated with Ohio’s universities with skill and stubbornness that didn’t count for much when his match was a human political institution like Sen. Voinovich.
Over four years, he led, dragged, bribed and forced Ohio’s public colleges into being something bigger than independent, competitive, often redundant fiefdoms.
His vision — blessed and defended by the governor — was that if Ohio was going to transition from a blue-collar to white-collar economy, the state’s network of colleges would be central to the effort. In a knowledge economy, research-intensive businesses look to universities for research partners. At the same time, university labs are crawling with people who have great ideas but, without the involvement of industry, no clue how to take their work to market.
Ohio colleges, Mr. Fingerhut believed, had great people doing great things, but they had no financial incentive to collaborate and too few partners.
As important, because every institution was a universe unto itself, there was no one asking hard questions about how many history departments or engineering schools Ohio — as a state — really can afford and whether a few excellent programs were better than a lot of mediocre ones.
If there’s one word that’s sums up the Fingerhut years, it’s discipline: discipline about creating programs of excellence; discipline about metrics for measuring success (defined, for example, as graduating students and holding down tuition); discipline about the value of forging partnerships that pay off for universities themselves, businesses and ultimately Ohioans through the creation of jobs.
Mr. Fingerhut, a Democrat, has excellent relationships with Republicans in the legislature. There are many who hoped that Gov. John Kasich would keep him on, especially because his five-year term was not up and some of the initiatives he had set in motion weren’t complete. Though he has riled some university presidents, even his critics knew that in the upcoming budget negotiations, he would forcefully make the case that Ohio isn’t going to move ahead if it leaves higher education behind.
Gov. Kasich had other ideas — or Mr. Fingerhut never would have resigned. He liked the job too much, had too much invested to walk away voluntarily. At the same time, he is too much of a realist to force a public fight. Best not to stay if you’re not really wanted.
It’s a shame. Here was somebody who knows Ohio’s wealth of higher education assets inside and out, someone whom the state has invested in, whose plans are working.
But because the loser in an election anointed him, he’s out. Mr. Fingerhut’s successor has a difficult task. Ohio has seen what excellent leadership of its colleges looks like.
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