The last time the Board of Trustees met on campus at Ohio University, the 2012 Summer Olympics were about to begin.
The board is meeting again Thursday in Walter Hall to discuss a full agenda on tuition, the fiscal cliff, the capital campaign, sustainability, retention and enrollment, among other things.
“At this meeting they’re doing a joint meeting and it’ll be a great opportunity for Provost Benoit to lay groundwork and see how the university can move forward,” said Jennifer Kirksey, chief of staff to OU President McDavis. “They will address rising costs of tuition and see how college can stay affordable.”
Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit said that at the joint meeting trustees wiProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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talk about smart growth, state funding and various tuition concepts.
“In the academics committee we will talk about retention issues and peer comparisons, and we’re going to talk about living in learning communities.”
Benoit said that the university will start discussion on expanding learning communities beyond freshman year at Thursday’s meeting.
Interim Vice President for Student Affairs Ryan Lombardi and Interim Executive Vice Provost and Dean David Descutner will present to trustees a “vision for expanding the second-year experience” and an implementation plan of second-year learning communities at OU, according to the agenda.
“There is a real opportunity to expand our concepts beyond the first year and what we might do with the students in a second year and we think that residential halls are not just places to eat and sleep but you can work in academically as well,” Benoit said. “We will talk about how there can be an intersection between academics and the residential facilities, particularly for the second years.”
Ann Fidler, chief of staff for the provost and chief financial officer said the trustees will try to see what “we are doing as a university” and they will take a look at the past and see if there is anything they can do to “predict the future to make strategic decisions.”
“We have to pay attention to what other institutions are doing so we will compare costs of other universities,” Fidler said.
Trustees will also vote on resolutions to decide whether or not to approve $21.25 million in construction projects, which include the restoration of Galbreath Chapel, renovations to Bush and Bromley residence halls and the OU Central Food Facility.
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