Ohio State has hired a new senior vice president for Advancement, according to a Monday university release.
According to the university release, Michael Eicher, who is currently the senior vice president for External Affairs and Development at Johns Hopkins University, will start his position with OSU Nov. 1. Eicher will “oversee the full integration of OSU’s fundraising, alumni relations and communications efforts, and lead the university’s current $2.5 billion campaign.”
Gayle Saunders, university spokeswoman, said in an email that Eicher will make a $700,000 per year salary and said he is “among the nation’s most accomplished leaders in higher education fundraising.”
According to a public database listing the salaries of OSU employees, only four employees have a higher salary than Eicher will have, including President E. Gordon Gee. The most recent numbers available in the database were from 2010.
Eicher will be replacing Jeff Kaplan, who was appointed to the position in April 2011 after the sudden death of his predecessor Andrew Sorensen.
Kaplan however, will still hold a position at the university.
“Jeff Kaplan will report to (Gee) and will continue to work with senior leaders throughout the university on projects critical to the university’s success,” Saunders said.
Further details about his position were not provided Tuesday.
In a Sept. 10 interview with The Lantern, Gee said OSU “is in the best financial shape of any institution in the country.”