University of Akron President Luis Proenza responded to a newspaper report of a possible merger between his school and Cleveland State University by saying, ''There's really nothing to talk about.''

He said said talk of merging all of Northeast Ohio's universities, including Kent State University, has been around for a long time.

''I can't tell you (that) there is a reality here or not,'' Proenza said.

He said the late Richard Shatten, who led the former Regional Economic Institute in Northeast Ohio, had floated such ideas.

''For someone like Richard Shatten to say that 10 years ago, was that a real comment? Yes. Did anything happen? No.''

The Plain Dealer reported today that people ''familiar with the discussions'' say a combination of CSU and UA ''has a real chance of happening.''

That talk apparently has grown out of discussions centered around the creation of a master plan for Ohio's higher-education system, which Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland recently dubbed the University System of Ohio.

Strickland and new Ohio higher-education chancellor, Eric Fingerhut, want more collaboration among the state's 13 public universities, with 24 branch campuses.

They want to eliminate duplication and focus on strengths to benefit students, the different institutions and the state.

Fingerhut is developing a 10-year strategic plan that sets specific goals for the state's institutions of higher learning. He is expected to make a report by the end of March.

At the same time, a group called the Northeast Ohio Universities Collaboration and Innovation Study Commission has been meeting to develop ideas to improve higher education. Proenza is a commission member.

Proenza said this morning that UA officials are ''very interested in the work of the commission and the chancellor. . . . He recognizes that Northeast Ohio deserves and needs a major world-class public research university.''

Asked whether a merger of Northeast Ohio universities is a way to create that premier institution, Proenza said, ''That's one way to get there, but there would be many different ways.''

Proenza said that UA is celebrating its enrollment increase and dramatic physical changes to its campus.

''The interest and image of the university is quite simply on an upward trajectory,'' he said.

UA has the second-highest increase in enrollment among public universities statewide, according to figures released so far by individual schools.

Total combined enrollment at UA's main campus in downtown Akron and UA's Wayne College in Orrville is 24,704, up 4.9 percent from last fall.

That percentage increase is double that of many colleges in the state university system.