The death last week of former Ohio University President Charles Ping, for many, closed the door on a golden time in their personal and professional lives.
âFor those of us of a certain age, this man embodies what a university should be. R.I.P., President Ping,â read a tweet from the Ohio Bobcats Hockey Blueline Boosters.
In interviews and in online comments, those who knew Ping for decades those who met him in passing all described him as a wise and inspirational leader and as a kind and thoughtful man.
âI consider him to be the greatest president of a university that I have ever known,â said Richard Vedder, Distinguished Professor of Economics Emeritus. (And Vedder knows his shareâheâs an internationally recognized expert on the economics of higher education who counts Purdueâs Mitch Daniels and Gordon Gee among his friends.)