In 2011, Ohio University prepared for budget cuts of almost $10 million, saw major turnover among its administrators, welcomed Jesse Jackson to campus and saw multiple protests of Ohio Senate Bill 5. Read on for a recap of major events on campus during the past year.
After an OU student, Andrea Robinson, died from meningitis, her parents sued OU for negligence and the university denied responsibility in Robinson's death. The case is still pending. After Robinson's death, the Centers for Disease Control began a study of meningitis cases on OU's campus, but the study was later suspended because of a lack of funding.
OU saw many administrators and faculty members leave and hired new leaders during 2010. OU-Lancaster professor Regis Noroski resigned in February after it was discovered he invited a student to his house and gave her a $600 diamond ring. In April, African American Studies Director Ronald Stephens stepped down after an investigation concluded he verbally harassed a faculty member. Graduate College Dean Rathindra Bose and Executive Dean of Regional Higher Education Dan Evans said in May they were leaving — Bose for a position at the University of Houston and Evans to retire. Joe Shields, formerly the chair of OU's physics and astronomy department, was named as Bose's replacement.
Arts and Sciences Dean Ben Ogles left for a position at Brigham Young University. Robert Frank, associate dean for research and graduate studies in the McMicken College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Cincinnati, was named as Ogles' replacement. Scripps College of Communication Dean Greg Shepherd left for a position at the University of Miami. After a failed search, interim dean Scott Titsworth will serve another year. Donna Burgraff, dean of OU's Chillicothe campus, also stepped down in May. Richard Greenlee, dean of OU's Eastern campus, announced last May that he would retire this year. Jack Brose, dean of the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, is stepping down as dean in July and will hold a new position in the provost's office.
OU went through numerous budgetary changes during 2011. After the university revealed target budget cuts to cope with an almost $10 million drop in funding, individual colleges and departments put forth budget scenarios to manage their portion of the cuts. In June, OU's Board of Trustees approved a 3.5 percent tuition increase and a 2.5 percent increase in housing fees. And at its November meeting, the Board of Trustees approved the issuance of up to $160 in debt to chip away at deferred maintenance across OU's campus.
Ohio Senate Bill 5, which limits the collective bargaining rights of public employees, sparked strong reactions from OU students. In March, hundreds of students marched across campus to protest the bill. When Student Senate kept a resolution condemning the wording of SB 5 off its agenda, students attended senate meetings for several weeks to protest the decision. Although the resolution made it on the agenda, it ultimately failed. Later, students and alumni campaigned for and against the bill, and it was repealed in a November vote.
This year's Student Senate elections were noteworthy as well. The campaign season pitted the FACE and RSVP tickets against each other, and after several weeks of disqualified candidates and accusations of negative campaigning, student Chris Wagner launched a write-in campaign days before the election. RSVP presidential candidate Kyle Triplett won the election, and days later, the two FACE candidates who won seats were disqualified because of a misreported campaign budget. The Graduate Student Senate election drew attention as well, when incumbent Tracy Kelly won the president's seat for the third year in a row after being challenged for the first time.
OU continued to make progress on its Promise Lives capital campaign, which hopes to raise $450 million by June 2015. The campaign made significant strides with a $105 million gift to the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine from the Osteopathic Heritage Foundations and an increase that brought the value of a gift to the Russ College of Engineering and Technology to $124 million. The Promise Lives Campaign has culled about $377 million so far toward its goal.
Student trustee voting rights have split student and local politicians several times this year. Current and past trustees argued for and against the benefits of voting rights, and state congress members proposed a bill in November that would require student trustees be given a vote. However, at a Board of Trustees meeting later that month, OU trustees said they believed student trustee voting rights are unnecessary.
In August, OU was named the top party school in the country by the Princeton Review — but it defied the ranking several months later with what administrators and local officials called the quietest Halloween in years.
September 2011 marked the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. OU students and employees organized several events to remember the victims of the attacks.
Later in September, noted civil rights activist Jesse Jackson visited OU — sparking protests from some students about his call for a Lyndon B. Johnson-esque nationwide War on Poverty, with a student support system headquartered at OU.
Activism-minded students took the Occupy Wall Street protests to heart and created a week of "Occupy OhioU" events to protest big government and the lack of a voice given to the common man — a problem students said trickled down to university administration. The week of protests, which saw students camped out in the spot that formerly housed the Oasis dining facility, was carried out peacefully.
All photos by Post staff members.
