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UPDATED 7/5/22: The below press release has been updated with Christian Palich’s new job.

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has appointed Christian Palich of Plain City, Ohio, to the ����ֱ�� State University Board of Trustees. Palich will serve through May 16, 2031. He succeeds Virginia Addicott, who completed her nine-year term on the Board. 

A ����ֱ�� State alumnus, Palich is vice president of public affairs for the firm Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, where he advocates on behalf of clients in multiple sectors in Washington, D.C.; Columbus, Ohio; and states across the nation. He is a proud Northeast Ohio native, born and raised in Cortland, Ohio, where he attended Maplewood High School.

Palich earned a bachelor’s degree in political science in 2009 from ����ֱ�� State. Upon graduation, he began his professional career on the first campaign for U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson. Palich served several years in a variety of roles on Capitol Hill as well as in the U.S. representative’s district office, gaining valuable experience in public policy and the legislative process. 

In 2013, Palich was selected as president of the Ohio Coal Association, the state’s oldest energy trade association. He led that organization for nearly four years, advocating policymakers at both the state and federal levels. In 2016, he was named one of the “20 People to Know in Energy” by Columbus Business First.
 
Palich returned to public service in Washington, D.C., in 2017 as he was appointed by the president of the United States to serve as senior political staff at the Environmental Protection Agency. He served as a deputy associate administrator of congressional affairs for the EPA administrator, and his chief responsibility in this role was to interface with the U.S. Senate on confirmations and EPA legislative priorities. 

In 2019, he received his second presidential appointment to the U.S. Department of the Interior, working on mining and energy policy as a senior advisor to the secretary of the Department of the Interior. During this time, Palich was involved in several successful policy initiatives, rulemakings and legislative victories.

Prior to joining Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, Palich worked in Columbus, Ohio, as vice president of government and external affairs for Eagle Forge Services Company LLC, an energy company operating in several states across the country. 

“As a proud ����ֱ�� State alum, I want to thank Gov. DeWine for appointing me to serve on the university’s Board of Trustees,” Palich said. “It is truly humbling to have the opportunity to serve my alma mater and contribute to the bright future of such a great institution.”

����ֱ�� State’s Board of Trustees currently consists of 14 members, nine of whom are voting members appointed by the governor of the state of Ohio, with the advice and consent of the state Senate, to nine-year terms of office. Two student trustees, one undergraduate and one graduate, are appointed by the governor to two-year terms of office. The Board currently has three national trustees, who serve three-year terms as additional nonvoting members appointed by the Board of Trustees.

For more information about ����ֱ�� State’s Board of Trustees, visit www.kent.edu/bot.

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Photo Caption:
Christian Palich of Plain City, Ohio, has been appointed to the ����ֱ�� State University Board of Trustees by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine. 

Media Contacts:
Eric Mansfield, emansfie@kent.edu, 330-672-2797
Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595