Governor's Statement on Attorney General Appointment

Statement

Governor's Statement on Attorney General Appointment

Governor Ted Strickland today made the following statement regarding the appointment of Nancy Rogers, dean of the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, as acting Ohio attorney general.

"Two weeks ago a vacancy occurred in the office of Ohio's Attorney General. At that time, I indicated that much needed to be done to allow the hard-working and committed public servants in that office to do their work on behalf of the people of Ohio without distraction. And much needed to be done to refocus the public's attention on the good and important work being done there everyday.

Today, by appointing as Ohio's Attorney General a woman of great integrity, accomplishment, intellect, humility, dignity, experience and maturity, I believe we are taking an important step to restore orderliness and public confidence in the Office of the Attorney General.

Until today, Nancy Rogers served as the Dean at Ohio State University's Moritz College of Law. She has stepped down from her Deanship to take on this important challenge.

Attorney General Rogers will, for approximately six months, take a leave from the OSU law faculty to right the ship in the Attorney General's office. She has made it abundantly clear to me that she has no interest in running in the November election to finish out the remaining two years of the Attorney General's term. Once the November election results are final, she will return to the OSU law faculty with, what I am confident will be, the sincere thanks of the people of Ohio.

Why have I chosen Nancy Rogers for this important post? She is a person of great accomplishment. She is widely admired by her colleagues and peers for her judgment and leadership capabilities. And, Attorney General Rogers is a national leader in the field of dispute resolution - a skill that I can assure you will come in handy as our state's Attorney General.

Nancy has been a superb leader and administrator during seven years as the Dean at OSU's Moritz College of Law. Before serving as Dean, she was the Vice-Provost for all of Ohio State University and held a number of other leadership and senior administrative positions at the Law School during her more than 30 years teaching there.

Nancy has garnered the deep respect of her peers for her effective and thoughtful performance in those positions. In January of 2007, Dean Rogers was elected the national President of the American Association of Law Schools, the organization setting the course and priorities for legal education across the United States. And just last month, Nancy received the Ohio State Bar Association's highest honor when she was presented the Ohio Bar Medal in recognition of her sustained, exemplary service to the bar of Ohio.

Attorney General Rogers deeply understands the importance of public service. Her father, Clifford Hardin, served in Washington as the Secretary of Agriculture; her father-in-law William Rogers served in two administrations, first as Attorney General and then later as the Secretary of State. Her husband, Doug Rogers, is an intellectual property attorney who is also an expert in the area of the rights of the disabled. Doug has served as the Director of the Ohio Legal Rights Service agency, which fights for those rights every day.

With a distinguished family history of public service, it should be no surprise that Attorney General Rogers has been keenly involved in serving the community. Nancy has given nine years of service, as a presidential appointee, to the Board of the Legal Services Corporation which works to meet the legal needs of the poor. While General Rogers has assured me that she will be working well more than full time to fulfill her new duties, the one bit of non-profit involvement she has decided to continue is her leadership, with U.S. District Judge Marbley, of a local program which mentors ninth graders interested in a career in the law.

It is my very distinct honor to present to you a woman who I am certain will bring to the Ohio Attorney General's Office the dignity, professionalism and focus that Ohio's people and the staff there deserve: Attorney General Nancy Rogers."

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