COLUMBUS — Gov. John Kasich named former Ohio state legislator John Carey as Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Wednesday.

Carey, an Ohio University alumnus who most recently served as assistant to the president for Government Relations and Strategic Initiatives for Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, will officially begin work as Chancellor on Monday.

“There are already a lot of good things happening and I think my job at first will be to assess the efforts already in place,” Carey said. “I want to work with all the partners within the education system of Ohio, the businesses in the state and be a partner in continuing to make Ohio better.”

Carey served nine years in the Ohio House of Representatives, where he was chairman of the Primary and secondary education subcommittee and eight years in the Ohio Senate. His qualifications will help him continue to transform Ohio’s system of universities so higher education can become a stronger partner in Ohio’s job creation efforts, Gov. Kasich said in the press release announcing Carey as Chancellor.

“As Chancellor, Carey will work with businesses to ensure that course work and curricula give students the skills they need to meet the needs of employers,” Kasich said in the release. “John Carey is a thoughtful, devoted public servant who focused on job creation throughout his legislative career, and I am excited to see him inject this job creation mentality into the Ohio Board of Regents.”

Carey said creating jobs is one of his primary focuses. He said his time at Shawnee State and as a legislator for southern Ohio has given him a needed perspective on combating high poverty and unemployment rates through education.

“We need to find the way to have more people take advantage of the opportunities around them,” Carey said. “We need people to know they have the chance to be educated and work in their area.”

Carey said it is important to start educating students early, before they even reach college age, to the opportunities around them.

He said it is also important for Ohioans, both young and old to get out of the mentality of waiting for opportunities to come to them. An entrepreneurial spirit and the desire to build up your area are key toward economic growth, Carey said.

Carey was born in Chillicothe and currently resides in Wellston with his wife and two sons.