After being pushed aside for three years by Governor Parris Glendening, University of Maryland President William Kirwan resigned to become the President of Ohio State University.

On January 6, 1998, The Columbus Dispatch reported that Kirwan had been extremely well received at Ohio State. In referring to Kirwin, the Dispatch reporter, Scott Powers, said, "He particularly noted the statewide enthusiasm he sensed for Ohio State, something Maryland has not offered its state school."

Kirwan told the paper that he had been "considering" the idea of stepping down for a few months, but was not actively looking for another job when Ohio State contacted him in the fall.

There have been troubling reports for at least the last two years. On October 13, 1997, The Sun took issue with Glendening in an editorial saying, "Mr. Glendening should do more. Public education has not been a priority for him."

Eileen Rehrmann has challenged Glendening’s record on higher education, saying that he had failed to support Kirwan on a number of fronts. "The governor left Dr. Kirwan and the state’s other 12 public institutions of higher learning with no reasonable way to fill large gaps in their budget requests. This is not leadership."

Dr. Kirwan made it clear he was leaving because he was disappointed at the level of state support for his institution.

Since 1992, faculty salaries at the University of Maryland have increased 10%, while salaries at Ohio State University went up 19.5%, University of Michigan 21.8% and the University of California-Berkeley 21%.