COLUMBUS - A woman reportedly to be named Ohio State University's president today is a biologist and the second-ranking administrator at the University of Georgia.

        Karen Holbrook, senior vice president for academic affairs and provost at the Georgia school, was selected to lead the nation's second-largest campus, WBNS-TV of Columbus reported, citing unnamed sources.

        Dispatch.com, the Web site of the Columbus Dispatch, also reported Dr. Holbrook's selection.

        Dr. Holbrook, 59, a biologist who researches skin diseases and the development of fetal skin, would be the first woman president at Ohio State. She was a dean and anatomy professor at the University of Florida before going to Georgia in 1998.

        “She's quite a leader,” said Neil Sullivan, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Science at the University of Florida. “One of the things about Karen is she inspires confidence - she reaches out to people, listens to everybody's views, brings people together in ways not everyone can.”

        Dr. Holbrook was also an associate dean for scientific affairs and a biology professor at the University of Washington School of Medicine.

        Former Ohio State President William Kirwan left the job last month after four years to become chancellor at the University of Maryland.

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