CHILLICOTHE — In their first meeting of 2013, Ohio University’s Board of Trustees met Thursday to open a two-day meeting at OU’s Chillicothe campus.
Academics, Athletics, finance and governance were discussed by the university’s top administrators, with focus placed on OU’s debt capacity, the Housing Development Plan, updates on OU Athletics, the Promise Lives Campaign and changes to state funding for the university.
The Resources Committee began with Vice President for University Advancement Bryan Benchoff presenting the current state of the Promise Lives Campaign, which has raised $416 million since 2008.
OU hopes to reach the campaign goal of $450 million in the next two years, Benchoff said.
Finances highlighted the day’s agenda, with Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding projecting an increase in tuition revenue at the Athens campus of 10.8 percent and a 6.4 percent decline at regional campuses — handing OU a $4.7 million increase in tuition income this year.
“(We’re) seeing increases in major revenue streams that we count on, but they are not significant increases,” Golding said. He projected a $46 million positive bottom line at the end of the fiscal year.
OU President Roderick McDavis expressed confidence that if Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s proposed changes to higher education funding are passed, the university would benefit.
Graduation rates, which McDavis said he believes are trending higher at OU, would account for 50 percent of university funding under Kasich’s proposal — effectively 11.5 percent of OU’s revenue, Golding said.
Director of Athletics Jim Schaus presented at length about the success of athletics at OU, both on and off the field.
“I think there is a great value of athletics at an institution especially when it comes to branding, helping with graduation rates, retention, enrollment and attracting students,” Schaus told the Academics Committee.
He added that OU is one of only 17 Division I-A schools to have never committed a major NCAA violation, of the 340 that fall into that category.
Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit rounded out the committee meeting by discussing the importance of accreditation, saying “it allows us to transfer credit, retain students and place students in graduate programs.”
The Audit Committee ended the day’s proceedings with a routine presentation from Chief Audit Executive Jeffrey Davis demonstrating that OU’s audit process is on track and so far, has found no irregularities.
Davis added his audit of the eligibility certification and academic performance program for athletics found no infractions of note, passing the department for the initial part of its review mandated by the NCAA.
dd195710@ohiou.edu
