Karen Ann Holbrook (born November 6, 1942, in

Des Moines Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

) is the regional chancellor of the

University of South Florida Sarasota–Manatee The University of South Florida Sarasota–Manatee (also known as USF Sarasota-Manatee) is a branch campus of the University of South Florida in Sarasota, Florida, near the Sarasota-Manatee county line. USF Sarasota-Manatee was established in 197 ...

since January 2, 2018.

Career

Holbrook earned her B.S. and M.S. from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

, in zoology. After teaching

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

at Ripon College, she earned a Ph.D. in biological structure from the

University of Washington School of Medicine The University of Washington School of Medicine is the medical school of the University of Washington, a public research university in Seattle, Washington. According to ''U.S. News & World Report''s 2022 Best Graduate School rankings, University ...

in 1972, where she served as a postdoctoral fellow in dermatology, faculty member and research administrator. She then pursued further training in

dermatology Dermatology is the branch of medicine dealing with the Human skin, skin.''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary.'' Random House, Inc. 2001. Page 537. . It is a speciality with both medical and surgical aspects. A List of dermatologists, ...

. She is an alumna of

Gamma Phi Beta Gamma Phi Beta (, also known as GPhi, GPhiB, or Gamma Phi) is an international college sorority. It was founded in Syracuse University in 1874 and was the first of the Greek organizations to call itself a sorority. The main archive URL iThe Bair ...

sorority. Holbrook was a professor of biological structure and medicine at

, where she became the first woman to be named associate dean at the UW School of Medicine, vice president for research and dean of the graduate school at the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

, and senior vice president for academic affairs and

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

at the

University of Georgia The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Athens, Georgia, United States. Chartered in 1785, it is the oldest public university in th ...

President of Ohio State

From 2002 to 2007, she was the 13th presiding president of

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

. During Holbrook's tenure, she worked with Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman to improve safety both on- and off-campus. This was in reaction to riots following a Michigan–Ohio State football game in 2002. Holbrook announced in June 2006 that she would depart Ohio State when her five-year contract was up in 2007 to spend more time with her husband, Jim. Joseph A. Alutto, dean of the Max M. Fisher College of Business at Ohio State, replaced Holbrook as an interim president until

Gordon Gee Elwood Gordon Gee (born February 2, 1944) is an American academic administrator. Since 2014, he is serving his second term as president of West Virginia University; his first term there was from 1981 to 1985. Gee is said to have held more univers ...

took his place as the new president. While applying for a position of President at

Florida Gulf Coast University Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU) is a public university in Lee County, Florida, near Fort Myers. It is part of the State University System of Florida and is its second-youngest member. The university was established on May 3, 1991, and is acc ...

in 2007, Holbrook lamented on the student culture at Ohio State. She remarked in a job interview that, "They think it's fun to flip cars, to really have absolute drunken orgies. ... I don't want to be at a place that has this kind of culture as a norm." Holbrook later acknowledged that she might have exaggerated her comments.

Post-Ohio State

In 2017, while serving as executive vice president at

University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

, she replaced Terry Osborn as chancellor who was also serving as vice chancellor of academic affairs. From 2013 to 2016, she had served as senior adviser to the president of the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

system. Holbrook has served on the boards of several institutions. She also served as interim president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University– Embry-Riddle Board of Trustees
prior to moving to the University of South Florida Sarasota-Manatee.

References

External links

Letter of resignation and facts about her years as President
{{DEFAULTSORT:Holbrook, Karen 1942 births University of Washington School of Medicine alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni University of Georgia people Presidents of Ohio State University Ohio State University faculty University of Florida faculty Living people Ripon College (Wisconsin) faculty