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Members of Ohio's Board of Trustees listen to Deborah Shaffer, Vice President for Finance and Administration during a BOT meeting on January 19, 2017 in Walter Hall.

Board of Trustees to discuss budget reductions, enrollment numbers

The Ohio University Board of Trustees will meet on the Zanesville campus Thursday and Friday to tackle a number of topics, among them is whether or not to approve the 2017-2018 university budget.

The meeting, which will be livestreamed via the Board of Trustees website, is set to be the first to feature a presidential report by new OU President Duane Nellis, who took office June 12.

It also comes at a time of uncertainty in light of Republican Gov. John Kasich’s proposed state budget, which features a number of provisions affecting higher education, and is quickly nearing its July 1 deadline.

Kasich’s state budget and its potential impact on the university’s finances was a high point of conversation when the Board of Trustees last met in March. Mainly, the trustees discussed the possible implications of the governor’s plan to have public universities cover textbook costs up to $300 per student — a plan which, if instated, could cost OU upwards of $15 million.

According to a memo from outgoing Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit and Vice President for Finance and Administration Deborah Shaffer that was published in the meeting agenda, financial planning for the university is largely dependent on the result of the state budget.

“The proposed FY18 University Budget was developed concurrently with ongoing deliberations on the FY2018-2019 State of Ohio biennial budget,” the memo reads. “As of this memo, it is still unclear what the State’s final Higher Education budget will provide for its state higher education institutions so we have had to make a set of assumptions based on the information available to-date.”

The university has proposed approximately $4.9 million in cost reductions for the 2018 financial year, in addition to another $4 million in reductions, which, if approved, will be implemented in 2019 and 2020 .

The OU Finance and Administration office will be facing the brunt of the proposed reductions, with a total of $2 million on the chopping block. In April, the department announced it would eliminate 12 positions for “budget efficiency,” leaving five individuals out of the job, according to a previous Post report. At the time, University Spokeswoman Carly Leatherwood said no more layoffs were expected in the department.

The intercollegiate athletics department could face the second-highest cuts, with the proposed total currently standing at $480,000.

Spending on intercollegiate athletics has long been a tender subject, and oftentimes a grievance, for student groups such as Graduate Student Senate, which held a 2014 demonstration against the general fee — a fee charged to all OU students that, in part, helps fund the athletic program.

During his first public appearance as a presidential candidate in February, Nellis was asked by a professor in the audience whether or not the spending of millions on athletics was justified in the face of other program needs. Though the spending on athletics “may not be fair,” Nellis said, athletics serve as the “front porch” of how many Americans view the university.

Following intercollegiate athletics, the OU Division of Student Affairs faces the third-highest proposed cuts, with $410,000 in jeopardy. Budget reductions could also affect university libraries, WOUB Public Media, campus recreation and the Office of the President, in addition to several other planning units.

Documents in the agenda also reveal a slightly downward trend in undergraduate enrollment. Despite record-breaking freshman class sizes in recent years, the latest numbers signify that the Athens campus is budgeting for 200 fewer students in its incoming freshmen class.

@lauren__fisher

lf966614@ohio.edu

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