Following President Kristina Johnsons resignation, The Board of Trustees has also undergone change. Credit: Becca Duncan | LTV Campus Producer
The Ohio State community was left without answers after University President Kristina M. Johnson announced her resignation Nov. 29. Reports claimed Johnson’s resignation came after she was told to step down by Ohio State’s Board of Trustees following concerns raised by staff members. The Lantern is still investigating.
The Lantern decided to look into the board, understanding those who might have played a role in Johnson’s departure and are deciding who her replacement is going to be. Johnson began her term as president Sept. 1, 2020, and it will officially end at the close of the academic year.
All 18 current members of the board did not respond to requests for comment.
The information here was composed primarily of the Board of Trustees website, as well as the board members’ personal websites and biographies. Political campaign donation information was found on the Federal Election Commission website.
To introduce the Board of Trustees — some of the university’s top decision-makers — The Lantern compiled short biographies of each member.
New board members
Since Johnson’s election as university president, seven new trustees — including two student trustees — have joined the board.
Elizabeth Harsh is the executive director of the Ohio Beef Council — which brings consumers to the beef community — and the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association — a nonprofit member organization that works to enhance the voice and business of the cattle industry. She attended Ohio State, where she was a member of the general livestock judging team. Harsh donated to the Ohio Cattlemen’s Association PAC and other beef organizations in the past, and she donated $500 to former President Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign. She was nominated by Gov. Mike DeWine, starting her term Aug. 12, 2020, and will run until May 13, 2029.
Reginald Wilkinson is president of Connecting the Dots, LLC, a consulting company. He previously worked in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction as a prison warden, deputy director and director of the ODRC. Wilkinson served as president of the American Correctional Association and the Association of State Correctional Administrators, the vice chair of the International Corrections and Prisons Associations and the chair of the National Institute of Corrections. Wilkinson was on the Ohio Board of Education from July 2019 until he resigned in August 2020. Before serving on Ohio State’s Board of Trustees, he served on the Board of Trustees at Tiffin University. Appointed by DeWine, Wilkinson’s term on the board started Aug. 12, 2020, and will end May 13, 2029.
Tom Mitevski is the executive vice president of DGD Group, Inc., a private investment office owned by the Donald Dunn family. Mitevski founded Plaskolite, which grew into one of the largest acrylic sheet manufacturers in the world. He served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Delaware County Bank. Appointed by DeWine, Mitevski’s term on the board began May 21, 2021, and will expire May 13, 2030.
Pierre Bigby is the founder of Bigby Financial Planning, LLC, an independent wealth management practice. Prior to founding his company, Bigby provided wealth management services at other institutions and was an instructor for the Certified Financial Planning Certificate Program at Ohio State. Bigby graduated from the Max M. Fisher College of Business and was a member of the Ohio State men’s soccer team. Appointed by DeWine, his term on the board began Nov. 8 and will expire May 13, 2031.
Juan Jose Perez is a founding member of the Perez Morris law firm headquartered in Columbus. He served on the boards of Columbus First Bank and Mount Carmel Health System. Perez also served on the Board of Trustees at the University of Toledo, the board of Make-A-Wish Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana and was a member of the Governance Committee of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of America. Perez has donated to J.D. Vance’s 2022 senate campaign. Appointed by DeWine, his term on the board began Nov. 7 and will expire May 13, 2031.
Tanner Hunt is the undergraduate student trustee and a fourth-year in health information management and systems. Hunt is a member of the Mount Leadership Society Scholars Program and participated in the Fisher Global Consulting Cohort in spring 2021. Appointed by DeWine, his term on the board began July 6, 2021, and will expire May 13, 2023.
Taylor Schwein is the graduate student trustee and a second-year doctoral student in the College of Nursing’s BSN-DNP program. Schwein serves as a student representative on the university’s Commission on Mental Health Work Group. She is also one of a select group of students who was chosen to participate in the federally funded Behavioral Health Workforce Education and Training Program, which focuses on providing evidence-based mental health care to underserved populations. Appointed by DeWine, Schwein’s term on the board began Nov. 7 and will expire May 13, 2024.
Still on the board since Johnson’s appointment
While the board does not look exactly like it did in 2020, six of the seven members who partook in Johnson’s Presidential Selection Subcommittee are still serving on the Board. Erin Hoeflinger’s term expired in 2022.
Abigail Wexner is the chair and CEO of Whitebarn Associates, a private investment company. She also serves on the board for Nationwide Children’s Hospital and the Center for Family Safety and Healing. Wexner has donated money to Joyce Beatty, and she has also made multiple $10,000 donations to Democratic parties across the U.S. Appointed by Gov. John Kasich. Wexner serves as the vice chair of the board, and her term began July 3, 2014, and will expire May 13, 2023.
Alex Fischer is the former president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership, a civic organization of Columbus’s top business leaders that was formed in 2002. He also served as senior vice president for business and economic development at Battelle. Fischer has donated $2,500 to Joyce Beatty, and he has made some low-amount donations to ActBlue, a left-leaning fundraising platform. Appointed by Kasich, Fischer’s term on the board began July 3, 2014, and will end May 13, 2023.
Hiroyuki Fujita is the founder, president, CEO of Quality Electrodynamics, a MRI technology manufacturer. He is an adjunct full professor at Case Western Reserve University, and he is a frequently invited lecturer nationally and internationally. Fujita served two terms of the U.S. Manufacturing Council for the U.S. Tax and Export Subcommittee, and he co-chaired the Energy Policy Subcommittee. Fujita donated $2,900 to Democratic Rep. Shontel Brown. Appointed by Kasich, Fujita is the current chair of the board, and his term began Aug. 26, 2016, and will expire May 13, 2024.
Alan Stockmeister is the president and owner of Foremost Management, Inc., a business management consultant company. He built multiple business enterprises in Appalachian Ohio — including developing motels, restaurants and theaters. Since 2020, Stockmeister has donated $2,900 to Tim Ryan, $2,500 to Ohio Republican Representative Bob Peterson, $29,400 to the National Republican Committee and $35,000 to Trump Victory and $5,600 to Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign. Appointed by Kasich, Stockmeister’s term on the board began Feb. 3, 2017, and will end May 13, 2025.
John Zeiger is a founding partner of Zeiger, Tigges & Little LLP, a Columbus based law firm. He previously served as a bar examiner and commissioner of the Supreme Court of Ohio. Zeiger serves as a member of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Board. In 2022, Zeiger donated to Ohio Republican Senator Matt Dolan. Appointed by Kasich, his term began May 15, 2017, and expires May 13, 2026.
Gary Heminger is the former chair and CEO of Marathon Petroleum Corporation. He spent 40 years with the company until he retired in 2020. Heminger previously served as the chair of the Board of Trustees at Tiffin University and has consistently donated to Marathon Petroleum Corporation Political Action Committee, which frequently lobbies and donates to Republican politicians, according to OpenSecrets. He also donated $1,000 to Sen. Lindsey Graham. Appointed by Kasich, his term on Ohio State’s Board of Trustees began June 11, 2018, and will end May 13, 2027.
Elizabeth Kessler is the partner-in-charge of the Jones Day law firm in Columbus. She serves on many central Ohio boards, including the John Glenn International Airport Board. Kessler serves as a lawyer for a global retailer in consumer class action litigation. She was appointed to the board by Kasich June 11, 2018, and her term expires May 13, 2027.
Lewis Von Thaer is the president and CEO of Battelle, the world’s largest independent research and development organization. He serves on the boards of the Defense Science Board, the National Defense Industrial Association, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. Von Thaer donated $250 to Ryan for Congress in 2017. Von Thaer was appointed by Kasich and served his first term on the board from Nov. 2, 2018, to May 5, 2019. He was later appointed by DeWine for his current term, which began May 14, 2019, and will expire May 13, 2028.
Michael Kiggin is a founding member and principal of Capitol Strategy Group, an Ohio-based private and government policy consulting firm. He is currently affiliated with Taft Law government affairs. In addition, Kiggin donated to Sen. Rand Paul’s 2022 campaign. Kiggin went to law school with DeWine and was appointed to the board by him twice. He was appointed to the board in 2019 for his first term and currently serves from May 14, 2021, to May 13, 2030.
Jeff Kaplan served as secretary and senior advisory to the Board of Trustees from 2018-19. His tenure ended when he was appointed to the board in 2019 by DeWine. Kaplan has served the university in various roles over the years — including graduate assistant football coach, senior vice president and executive officer of the university. Kaplan has made frequent, low-amount donations to a Republican fundraising platform titled WinRed and $28 to the Pro-Israel America PAC. His term on board began May 14, 2019, and ends May 13, 2028.
James Klingbeil, an Ohio State alumnus, serves as the charter trustee. He was on the university Foundation Board of Directors and has chaired its Development Committee. Klingbeil is currently the CEO Emeritus of Klingbeil Capital Management and The Klingbeil Company. He serves as the lead independent director and non-executive chairman of the Board of Directors of UDR, Inc., as well as co-founder and chairman of the Anden Group from 1975-85, which built housing in the U.S., Paris and London. Klingbeil began his first term as charter trustee June 5, 2015, and is currently in his third term, set to expire May 13, 2024. Who appointed Klingbeil was not stated.
Members who left since Johnson’s appointment
Timothy P. Smucker is the chairman emeritus of J.M. Smucker Company, where he has served on the board since 1973. Smucker donated to Friends of Sherrod Brown and Jane Timken for Ohio, and he donated over $115,000 to Trump Victory and Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. from 2019-20. His term on the Board of Trustees ran from June 30, 2011, to May 13, 2020.
Alex Shumate is a senior Columbus office partner of the international law firm Squire Patton Boggs. He was also a director of J.M. Smucker Company and served as the chair of the Columbus Chamber of Commerce. Shumate donated to multiple Democratic candidates — including Beatty, Ryan and Brown. Shumate served three terms on Ohio State’s Board of Trustees. Shumate served two separate terms as chairman of the board from 1997-98 and 2016-18. Shumate’s term expired in 2020.
Cheryl Krueger is the founder and former president of the cookie corporation Cheryl and Co. She supported the James Cancer Hospital and the Wexner Medical Center, and she led lectures and discussions on women-focused leadership across the U.S. Krueger had no donations to political campaigns but donated $50 to WinRed. Krueger’s term on the board expired in 2021.
Hoeflinger served as the senior vice president of business strategy and execution at Aetna. She held leadership roles in other health care organizations — including Midmark and Anthem. Hoeflinger’s term on the board expired in 2022.
Brent Porteus is a managing partner of the family owned agriculture business Blair Porteus & Sons, and he serves as a director of the Coshocton Grain Company. He held many leadership roles within the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, including serving as president from 2008-11. Porteus was elected to the Nationwide board in 2011. Since 2019, Porteus has donated $1,000 to Troy Balderson. Porteus’s term on the board expired in 2022.
Janice Bonsu was a graduate student trustee. She was a student in the College of Medicine and a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. Before going to medical school at Ohio State, she received her bachelor’s from Johns Hopkins University and her master’s from the University of Pennsylvania. Bonsu’s term as graduate student trustee expired in 2020.
The story has been updated at 9:49 a.m. to correctly reflect when Fujita’s term started and Johnson’s start date at 4:20 p.m.
