In a specially called meeting on Thursday, members of the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) named senior staffer David Chovan as interim executive director. Chovan, who currently serves as the commission’s finance officer, succeeds the current executive director, Richard Hickman, who is retiring from the post, effective Oct. 31.

Chovan’s appointment is effective Nov. 1; he will be paid at the rate of $107,640/year.

In announcing the appointment, OFCC Chairman Tim Keen said that all four senior staff members, also including Jeff Westhoven, Bill Ramsey, AIA and Craig Weise, AIA, were qualified and that he encouraged them to apply for the permanent position. Chovan, however, Keen said, is not interested in the permanent appointment — a circumstance he called “an advantage” as they move forward to identify a permanent replacement.

Keen also explained that there may be future special meetings called as he works out the process for selecting a permanent director — authority granted to him by the commission at its meeting last week.