Longtime Akron Children’s Hospital head and community leader William “Bill” Considine is taking on another national leadership role: board member of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.The philanthropic group with strong Akron roots announced Wednesday morning that Considine is joining its board of trustees.“This work is incredibly meaningful,” Considine said. “The Knight Foundation is an entity I’ve been able to see firsthand over the years.”The Knight Foundation trains journalists from around the world while supporting arts, education and civic-engagement programs in the 26 communities — including Akron — where the Knight brothers once owned newspapers. The foundation was started in Akron before relocating to Miami.Since 1950, the Knight Foundation has invested $131.3 million in Akron and Northeast Ohio.The foundation was one of the leading financial backers of the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, which Considine chairs. The institute brings together Akron’s three hospital systems, the University of Akron and Northeast Ohio Medical University to promote medical-related research and job creation.“We have admired his leadership in Akron,” Alberto Ibarguen, the Knight Foundation’s president and chief executive, said of Considine. “Specifically, his leadership role in the Austen BioInnovation center really brought him to the floor in our minds.“He has done a masterful job of bringing a lot of people to the table and hearing them and making them feel heard. I don’t think that’s a very easy task when you’re talking about professionals who have a track record and a history of independent action — to get them to collaborate in the way they’ve begun to collaborate. “Bill has played a major role in making it happen.”Considine’s ties to the Knight brothers date to his youth, when he worked as a newspaper carrier for the Akron Beacon Journal.He later met the Knights when he was a student leader at the University of Akron and again as president and chief executive of Children’s Hospital.John Knight, in turn, had strong ties to Children’s, Considine said. His first wife volunteered at the pediatric hospital before she died. He then met his second wife at a Children’s Hospital charity ball.Considine said he believes he and Knight shared a passion for community service.“I want to carry out his vision for the community and his love for this community,” Considine said. “My life value is very much aligned with the work of the Knight Foundation.”Considine is filling one of four openings on the 15-member board created by retirements. He joins GAR Foundation President Robert Briggs, who is chairman of the Knight Foundation board; and James N. Crutchfield, former publisher of the Akron Beacon Journal.The board is responsible for setting strategy for investment and for funding the $110 million worth of grants issued each year, Ibarguen said. Board members also must approve all grants for more than $250,000.Board members receive varying amounts of compensation for their service, Knight Foundation spokesman Marc Fest said. The exact amount of Considine’s compensation wasn’t available.Considine said he will attend training for new board members in early December and will participate in his first board meeting that month.The announcement comes one day after the Akron Community Foundation honored Considine with its annual Bert A. Polsky Humanitarian Award, which recognizes community service.In addition to serving as head of Children’s Hospital since 1979, the Akron native has held numerous national and local leadership positions.“We’re thrilled to have him,” Ibarguen said. “When you do these things, you know that there’s an obligation to maintain a tradition, and then, at the same time, move the organization forward. When you get somebody who has the skills, the capacity, the personality, the vision and the intellect to do both, you hit the lottery.”Cheryl Powell can be reached at 330-996-3902 or chpowell@thebeaconjournal.com.