Dr. Karla Zadnik will soon be leaving her role as Ohio State’s interim executive vice president and provost. Credit: Courtesy of Karla Zadnik
Dr. Karla Zadnik — Ohio State’s interim provost, as well as an optometrist, researcher, professor, dean and lifelong lover of learning — will officially step down from her year-long provost role Jan. 14.
Having spent nine months in her role as Ohio State’s interim executive vice president and provost so far, Zadnik has a career history that goes beyond her administrative capabilities.
From her higher-education experiences at California universities to becoming a professor and teaching classes at Ohio State, and even the other administrative roles she has filled, Zadnik said she looks back on her career with joy. She also sees life’s complexities clearer, one day at a time.
Education and research in optometry
Born and raised in Kent, Ohio, Zadnik spent her childhood squinting to see the board in class and struggling to distinguish faces in front of her.
Zadnik is nearsighted, wearing glasses and contact lenses to correct her vision from a distance, and after her grandfather — who worked as an optometrist in Stowell, Ohio — passed away, a passion was ignited in Zadnik to pursue a career in optometry.
“I sort of dramatically declared and thought I was going to be an optometrist,” Zadnik said. “I just kind of never got off that track.”
After graduating high school, Zadnik’s family moved across the country to California. There, Zadnik began her journey in higher education at the University of California, Santa Barbara for three years, later transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, where she graduated and received her Bachelor of Science. She then received her Doctor of Optometry — also known as an OD — from Berkeley’s School of Optometry.
Zadnik subsequently began working in the Department of Ophthalmology in the University of California, Davis’ School of Medicine. It was there that Zadnik discovered her passion for conducting research, and not long after, she went back to UC Berkeley to earn her Ph.D. from the university’s School of Optometry.
“When I was at UC Davis working in the school of medicine, I kind of got bit by the research bug,” Zadnik said. “And I went back for my Ph.D.”
During her Ph.D. journey, Zadnik started a research program and served as study chairman for the National Eye Institute-funded Collaborative Longitudinal Evaluation of Ethnicity and Refractive Error — also known as CLEERE. Through CLEERE, Zadnik directed a study of 5,000 children across the country to study the development of nearsightedness in adolescents.
Zadnik remained as CLEERE’s study chairman for 20 years, and her efforts led the research team to find new developments related to children’s eyesight.
“The main finding of our study was that children who, before they developed nearsightedness — because kids usually develop nearsightedness — if they had been a kid who spent more time out of doors, they were less likely to become nearsighted,” Zadnik said. “Kids who spent more time out of doors at younger ages, that was protective against them developing nearsightedness. Nobody had ever figured that out before.”
Zadnik’s extensive research in optometry led her to be named UC Berkeley’s School of Optometry Alumnus of the Year. During her research career, Zadnik received a total of $40 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health, according to her university professional overview on Ohio State’s website.
Experience at Ohio State
Though Zadnik started her higher education journey in California, she said her “Buckeye blood runs deep.” Having spent her childhood in Ohio, Zadnik sees it fitting to have been recruited by Ohio State in 1996 as an assistant professor.
Zadnik, however, did not show up alone. Instead, she brought along a colleague from UC Berkeley and Ohio State’s current acting dean of the College of Optometry, Jeff Walline.
“I told a friend one morning that I was going to spend the rest of my life at UC Berkeley,” Walline said. “And the reason was that I was going to go to graduate school there, I was going to become a faculty member and spend the rest of my life there. Literally, the next morning, Dr. Zadnik called me into her office and she said, ‘Hey, I’m thinking of going to Ohio State. Are you interested in going?’”
Walline worked with Zadnik during his Ph.D. process at Ohio State’s College of Optometry, as a faculty member and through his time spent as associate and now acting dean. His experience with and admiration for Zadnik are firmly embedded.
“I really, truly think she is a visionary,” Walline said. “And she is a motivator. One hundred percent, she is a motivator. All she has to do is ask somebody to do something, and they feel like they’re so excited that she even asked them to do something that they can’t wait to get it done.”
Since coming to Ohio State 28 years ago, Zadnik has taught a wide range of classes, such as public health courses for “budding optometry students,” graduate courses in grant writing and the course she currently teaches — Ethics in Biomedical Research. Zadnik has also overseen and supervised eight Ph.D. students throughout her time at Ohio State.
“I have taught a graduate course every Monday evening, at 5:30 in the evening, for probably at least 20 years at this institution, and when I became interim provost, I just couldn’t imagine not teaching,” Zadnik said. “To me, I get this two hours a week that I remind myself why we all do what we do. For those two hours a week, I get to say, ‘Oh, I’m still a professor, I’m still a teacher, I’m still helping students learn towards their own journey for creating and disseminating new knowledge.’”
Beyond the classroom, Zadnik has filled administrative roles across the university’s colleges. Zadnik served as dean of the College of Optometry for nine years from 2014-2023, and she currently serves as interim dean of the College of Public Health. With a full plate, Zadnik said her mutual love for students and the field of optometry drives her forward.
“I love the students, and I love my profession,” Zadnik said. “The field of optometry has really changed over the decades since I was an optometry student, when I started optometry school at UC Berkeley. It’s been an exciting time in a really dynamic profession to get to be involved in educating the future of that profession.”
Zadnik said her connection to Ohio State is far-reaching, and has “made a home for other members of [her] family,” including a recent addition who was born a Buckeye Sept. 17.
“I had the distinct pleasure to go over to the [Wexner] Medical Center and meet my great, great niece, who was born in labor and delivery,” Zadnik said. “So, that was pretty fun.”
Role as interim vice president and provost
Zadnik added onto her responsibilities last October when Melissa L. Gilliam — Ohio State’s previous university vice president and provost and current Boston University president — announced she was leaving at the end of 2023.
Not long after, Zadnik received a phone call from Peter Mohler — then-interim university president — who offered Zadnik her current interim position.
“Sometime in the next month or so, I got a call from then-acting President Peter Mohler, and he asked me if I would want to be considered for the role of interim executive vice president and provost,” Zadnik said. “I thought, ‘You know, I’m a company gal. Peter, if that’s what you need me to do, then sure, you can consider me for that role.’”
Mohler said the job is challenging, but Zadnik could handle it.
“It’s an exciting job, but it’s really a lot of responsibility to be the lead academic for our university, where there’s 15 incredible colleges, 15 incredible deans and the responsibility of all these wonderful students across the colleges,” Mohler said. “To sort of have someone that is that solid, that well respected, that trusted, I think speaks highly of the types of leaders we have across Ohio State, and the type of leader that Dean Zadnik is.”
The role of provost at Ohio State encompasses responsibilities like aiding the university president, connecting with students, promoting strong academics, overseeing university deans and many other administrative duties, according to a university description outlining the role of provost.
“The Executive Vice President and Provost reports directly to the president and is the chief academic officer of the university,” the description states. “As such, the provost oversees a broad portfolio in the Office of Academic Affairs that spans the entire university and advances initiatives that drive excellence in the academic mission and support student and faculty success.”
After some shifting in her position at Ohio State, the university Board of Trustees approved Zadnik’s appointment with a term starting Jan. 1, 2024 — the same day that current Ohio State University President Ted Carter Jr. took office.
“I was interim dean of public health at the time and the dean of optometry as well,” Zadnik said. “What we ultimately navigated was that we would appoint an acting dean of optometry — that’s [Walline] — and I would continue as interim dean of public health until a new dean could be found for them. So, that went to the Board of Trustees in November of 2023, and they approved it on January 1, the same day that President Carter started.”
Working as interim provost is not something Zadnik does alone. Zadnik said with help from the university’s extended faculty and staff, she is able to balance her responsibilities — especially in this new, dynamic role.
“I’ve got a wonderful team over in the Office of Academic Affairs and a wonderful team in the College of Public Health,” Zadnik said. “I rely on them so heavily, and that really makes the difference.”
Leaving the interim role
The university announced Ravi V. Bellamkonda — who currently serves as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Emory University in Atlanta — as Ohio State’s new executive vice president and provost, according to previous Lantern reporting. Bellamkonda will take over Zadnik’s position Jan. 14, pending approval from the Board of Trustees.
The end of Zadnik’s year-long appointment as interim provost and vice president marks a great achievement in her Ohio State experience. Though many emotions run through Zadnik’s head, she said the one that takes the foreground is gratitude.
“It has been my pleasure to serve as interim executive vice president and provost of Ohio State,” Zadnik said. “I have thoroughly enjoyed this experience and the opportunity to lead the Office of Academic Affairs in service to the excellent faculty, talented students and dedicated staff of this great institution.”
After spending the last year working within and overseeing the university’s academic center, Zadnik will leave as the first doctor of optometry to fill the role of provost.
Zadnik also received a lifetime achievement award in June for her commitment to education in optometry and worked with students, faculty and the Board of Trustees to teach, create and disseminate new knowledge to maximize student success, she said.
“I look forward to passing the leadership baton to [Bellamkonda], and I am confident that he will make a truly outstanding provost,” Zadnik said. “This is such an exciting time for our university, and I am proud to have played a small role in Ohio State’s story.”
Zadnik’s role as provost will come to an end at the start of Bellamkonda’s appointment in January, but her colleagues wait patiently for the day when she returns back to her role of dean at the College of Optometry.
“I’m excited for her to come back to the College of Optometry as the dean, I really am,” Walline said. “I have no reservations. I’m happy for her to come back because she is the right person to be the dean at the Ohio State University College of Optometry right now, and so I’m really excited for when she comes back.”
Advice to students
Zadnik’s years of experience in the optometry field, her time as a professor and dean and even her recent role as interim provost and vice president do not come without reflection and advice.
When she is walking from class to a Board of Trustees meeting, preparing the presentation she is about to give, Zadnik reminds herself that life can be overwhelming when you try to take it all in at once.
“It’s just one day at a time,” Zadnik said. “This work and this life is pretty hard, and on any day you can, when you can, approach with a positive attitude.”
Zadnik’s backbone and motto revolve around active participation in everything that she engages with, and she tells students to build off of these vertebrates as well.
“[The] last time my students wanted to know the parameters and attendance requirements for my class, what I said was, ‘You will learn the most in this class if you show up and participate,’” Zadnik said. “And after I said it, I thought, ‘Isn’t that kind of my life philosophy?’ Be engaging and engage. And I would say that to students across this whole campus as a recipe for short term and long term success.”
The search for a permanent university vice president and provost has concluded at Ohio State, but for now, Zadnik continues to fill the interim role. She can be found teaching class on Mondays, attending Ohio State’s annual Science Review, conducting research in optometry and, at the end of the day, buying a scarlet and gray onesie for her newborn great, great niece.
This story was updated at 1:15 p.m. to correct the spelling of Peter Mohler.
