Ohio State's student newspaper, The Lantern, is reporting Ohio State will name a president by the end of the week — and it will be current UC-Irvine Chancellor Michael Drake, MD. Neither Ohio State nor UC-Irvine would confirm the report.
Eleven Warriors has confirmed with a source that Drake will be Ohio State's next president.
The Ohio State Board of Trustees will have a closed door meeting Thursday, followed by a public session. The meeting was originally scheduled for Friday before being moved Wednesday afternoon.
Drake has been the chancellor at UC-Irvine since 2005. Prior to that, he served as vice president for health affairs for the University of California system for five years. He's an alum of both Stanford and UC-San Francisco. His medical background will be crucial in his stewardship of Ohio State's budding James Cancer Medical Center.
Drake will be the 15th president at Ohio State. He replaces interim president Joseph Alutto, and ultimately, E. Gordon Gee. And Drake is no stranger to bow-ties.
