Southern State welcomes Chancellor Duffey to speak at 50th anniversary commencement ceremony
Mike Duffey
By Elizabeth Burkard
Director of Marketing
Southern State Community College
Southern State is delighted to announce that the chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education, Mike Duffey, has graciously accepted the invitation to speak to graduates during the college’s upcoming commencement exercises in May.
Duffey was appointed by Governor Mike DeWine as the 11th chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education (ODHE) in January 2024. As chancellor, he oversees the state’s two-year and four-year colleges and universities and Ohio Technical Centers. In addition, the chancellor provides policy guidance to the Governor and the Ohio General Assembly and carries out state higher education policy.
Before being named chancellor, Duffey served ODHE as senior vice chancellor for five years, collaboratively working on policy proposals for the administration, including tuition guarantees, transcript release, student debt relief, short-term credentials, and support for innovation and technology commercialization, among other topics.
Duffey has a master of business administration degree from The Ohio State University and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan. He graduated as a Weidler Scholar at The Ohio State University.
Duffey and his wife, Lindsay, a teacher and librarian, live in Worthington and are the parents of two children, Jack and Annie. The family has two goldendoodles, Comet and Clover.