The Ohio University Board of Trustees praised President Roderick McDavis Friday after reviewing a report of his comprehensive evaluation.
The report acknowledged faculty and student dissent on campus, but looking at (McDavis') record of accomplishments suggests that criticism has not kept the president from exercising leadership.
It concluded, regardless of the praise and criticism leveled at McDavis, the most important task facing all members of the Ohio University community now is to move beyond these disagreements and focus on working together to sustain excellence in the face of daunting economic challenges.
McDavis said he was lifted by the report, adding he is ready to go to work.
We have got to bring our community together in a way that we have never come together before
he said.
McDavis added he would commit more time talking to various groups within the university in the hopes of further uniting the campus.
The report cited a stronger reputation for quality and improvements in already solid student retention figures as evidence of McDavis' success, along with fundraising success and increased diversity.
OU has dropped 18 ranks in U.S. News & World Report's annual college rankings since McDavis took office in 2004.
McDavis and board Chairman C. Daniel DeLawder said these rankings are only one part of what goes into measuring national prominence, citing improvement in ACT scores and national awards as positive indicators.
McDavis said OU leads the state and is in the top 15 in the nation for student and faculty awards.
OU's retention rate has gone up 2 percent in the last year. Including this increase, OU's retention rate is down 2 percent since McDavis became president in 2004.
McDavis said the comprehensive review focused on the progress OU had made, adding moving forward was most important.
When you look at any one period of time you have to look at what you've done most recently as the most recent indicator of where you're headed McDavis said. And the most recent indicators indicate to me that we're moving forward.
Announced in October, the evaluation was conducted by Dr. Terry MacTaggart, a senior fellow in the Association of Governing Boards and former chancellor of Maine's public universities.
MacTaggart visited the Athens campus in November, interviewing about 85 members of the university community to gauge opinion regarding McDavis' performance.
DeLawder said the report affirms the board's decision to extend McDavis' contract and grant him a raise this summer, adding even though the board wasn't looking for assurances that it made the right decision, it was glad to have them.
Last February, the trustees passed a policy requiring the board to conduct a comprehensive evaluation the year prior to the expiration of a president's contract. The board later delayed this evaluation, citing lack of time.
In June, the board approved a contract extension for the president that raised his base salary by $85,000.
Since its announcement, the evaluation had drawn scrutiny from faculty and students who have questioned its legitimacy.
Will Klatt, of the OU chapter of Students for a Democratic Society, said in an interview before the report's release, the evaluation is a neatly choreographed puppet show and is nothing less than the tokenization of the democratic process.
McDavis is not the problem. McDavis is a symptom of a much greater problem
he said, adding OU faces problems in its own governance and (the OU community) needs to make a choice about whether or not they think democracy is a value system that is important to a free society.,",1,News,Frank Thomas,",",",",",","
26762,2009-01-25 23:45:00,Woman's basketball: Lack of size hurts Bobcats in home loss to Huskies,Without Chandra Myers and with her replacement in early foul trouble
Bobcats lose a tough one to Northern Illinois.,The Bobcats missed Chandra Myers on Saturday.
Ohio was outrebounded 44-33 without its starting center
who is out indefinitely with a knee injury
during the Bobcats' 67-59 loss to Northern Illinois at
The Convo.
The Huskies' Ebony Ellis had 10 offensive rebounds
many of which she put back for points. Ellis scored 19 points on the Bobcats.
It was one of the very few times that we do get outrebounded, coach Semeka Randall said. When you let a kid get 10 offensive rebounds, it's really hard to win basketball games.
Ellis had four offensive rebounds in the first half with Ohio's starting post players out of the game with foul trouble.
Sophomore Thia Gholson
Myers' replacement in the starting lineup
got her second foul at 18:07 left in the first half. She played only two minutes in the half.
Kamille Buckner followed Gholson about three minutes later. The sophomore received her second with 15:11 remaining in the first half and was taken out of the game immediately.
The starting post players combined for a total of seven minutes in the first half.
The only thing I was thinking at that point was, 'How can we keep it within (a certain number) of points?' Randall said. If we would have been down by 20 or 30, that would have been scary.
Ohio was down 15 points
40-25
