Ohio University’s Ping Center is offering additional incentives to university faculty and students who visit the fitness center this week.
Ping 101, which made its debut in November, invites faculty members to bring their classes to the facility, providing students the opportunity to interact with professors beyond the classroom.
“The concept is, and the research is based on it, that the more you’re involved with faculty outside of class, the more willing you are to persist and be more successful in college,” said Douglas Franklin, assistant dean for campus recreation.
However, the program originally came to fruition after the Ping Center faculty decided to focus on attracting more university faculty members to the facility.
“When we were looking at things, we noticed that we really didn’t have a whole lot of faculty staff members … the faculty staff didn’t realize they could come in to Ping. A lot of them thought it was only open to students,” said Melissa Toretch, assistant director at Ping.
From Jan. 23 to Jan. 28, faculty members can opt to hold their classes at the center or exercise solo at no charge, Toretch said.
Additionally, the quarterly fee for faculty members will drop from $115 to $80, Toretch said, which is part of the incentive plan to draw more faculty members to Ping.
“We’re trying to get the information out there that Ping is not just for students. It’s for the university community,” Toretch said.
Ping has about 80-120 faculty members enrolled at the center, Toretch said, adding that only about 40 of those members are annual membership holders.
Hafedh Benhadj, Ping Center director, said he expects to see a variety of classes utilizing the facility for Ping 101 this week.
“There’s a variety of potential. It depends on the instructor, the professor, whatever they’re trying to integrate into their curriculum,” Benhadj said.
Benhadj said that one of the more popular activities for classes to choose from is the climbing wall.
“(Ping 101) really encourages student and faculty interaction while using the Ping Center and what we have here,” Benhadj said.
