The head of Ohio's higher education system said Thursday he supported the expansion of the Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy into Akron and Cleveland.

''If it stays the way it is now, it will die,'' Eric Fingerhut, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, told a Roundtable luncheon of business, civic and education leaders. ''Many medical schools have more than one campus and NEOUCOM can, too.''

In his far-ranging talk, Fingerhut telegraphed many of the recommendations he said he will make in his 10-year plan to Gov. Ted Strickland on March 31 for the state's public colleges and universities, community colleges and NEOUCOM, Ohio's only free-standing medical school.

The plan will be a road map to build higher education in Ohio and boost the state's economy, he said. Parts of it will require the support of the Ohio General Assembly and infusions of money from the state, foundations, donations and more.

His ideas included:

• Assuring that associate and bachelor's degree programs are within 30 miles of every Ohioan;

• Making the state's tuition among the lowest in the nation;

• And encouraging Ohio's colleges and universities to develop ''centers of excellence'' that spotlight their strengths while
meeting the needs of the state.

Fingerhut said his proposals will build on the January report issued by the Northeast Ohio Universities Collaboration and Innovation Study Commission.

That was created by the General Assembly to find ways to boost cooperation and increase enrollment in Northeast Ohio's four public universities — the University of Akron, Kent State, Cleveland State and Youngstown State — and NEOUCOM, which is consortium of UA, Kent State and YSU.

NEOUCOM has been a key focus of both the Northeast Ohio commission and Fingerhut. The medical school was set in a cornfield in Portage County's Rootstown Township more than 30 years ago because the three founding universities could not agree where to put it. On Thursday, Fingerhut seemed to be on the cusp of forcing their hand.

He said he will recommend the university presidents be removed from the NEOUCOM board because their first allegiances are to their home institutions. He said he will recommend independent trustees be appointed.

He also will recommend that Cleveland State be added to the consortium, which means CSU would send students to the six-year medical school. CSU students already are part of NEOUCOM's pharmacy program.

Perhaps most importantly, Fingerhut said he supports the project proposed by UA President Luis Proenza, Akron's three hospital systems and NEOUCOM to develop an orthopedic research institute in Akron.

These and other partners have submitted a $27.5 million application to a Third Frontier state initiative called the Ohio Research Scholars Program.

The goal is to lure national research leaders to Akron for six endowed positions and turn the city into an orthopedic powerhouse the way Cleveland shines in cardiology.

''He is appropriately convinced in the hospitals' clinical strengths in orthopedics, the biopolymer capacity at the university and the skeletal-muscular biologic work at NEOUCOM,'' Proenza said in a telephone interview Thursday.

''NEOUCOM would have significantly expanded opportunities in Akron. It's very encouraging,'' Proenza said.

In Cleveland, Fingerhut would have NEOUCOM do more to train primary care physicians, which is needed and would complement more specialized training done at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic.

After the luncheon, Dr. Lois Nora, president of NEOUCOM, said she was cautiously optimistic.

''I am very hopeful because we need more physicians and we need to serve Cleveland in a new way,'' she said. ''But clearly this cannot happen if there is not additional resources.''

Fingerhut said the state's colleges and universities have spent too much time competing and the Ohio General Assembly too much time ''dithering.'' That is why the state is 38th nationwide in the number of working age adults with at least an associate degree.

He said his office will develop measures to assess higher education's progress and will report their findings publicly.

''I will not desist from this effort,'' he promised.