Ohio State appoints its first woman president

COLUMBUS, OHIO - Ohio State University trustees voted unanimously Thursday to hire the school&#39;s first woman president, the latest in a string of appointments of female college presidents across the country. <br> <br> The trustees appointed Karen Holbrook, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the University of Georgia, to run the nation&#39;s second-largest campus. <br> <br> As she was introduced by board Chairman James Patterson, the 59-year-old Holbrook said, ``It would be very hard to be any more excited than I am right now.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Holbrook will begin October 1 with a salary of $325,000. She will replace William Kirwan, who left the Ohio State job to become chancellor at the University of Maryland. <br> <br> Lee Tashjiam, Ohio State&#39;s vice president for university relations, said Holbrook was selected from a pool of more than 100 candidates. He said Holbrook is a likable person who will also be a firm leader. <br> <br> Ohio State, the state&#39;s largest public university, enrolls about 55,000 students, including about 48,000 in Columbus and the rest on branch campuses. Only the University of Texas at Austin has a larger main campus. <br> <br> Holbrook was a dean and anatomy professor at the University of Florida before going to Georgia in 1998. She is a cell biologist who specializes in embryonic development of human skin.