All the pomp and circumstance normally associated with college graduations were on display at the beginning of the school year, Friday, when Roderick J. McDavis was inaugurated as the 20th president of Ohio University. In his address, the first African-American president of OU outlined some bold initiatives for the advancement of the university. The speech contained both specific plans to reach singular goals and broad campaign-rally-esque proclamations about general improvements and goals. While the latter are exciting to hear, the former represent actual and immediate steps toward progress.
As for the presentation itself, McDavis proved himself as a decisive speaker. He has a very commanding presence, and was not afraid to guarantee; using the word will, as opposed to must, McDavis's speech was succinct and obviously well-rehearsed. More well-rehearsed, at least, than McDavis's actual induction, during which Board of Trustees Chairman Robert Walter initially did not pause for McDavis to recite the words of his official induction.
McDavis echoed some of the goals he mentioned in his earlier public appearances during the hiring process. He mentioned four overriding and broad-based objectives. Ohio University will become a nationally prominent research university. The theory behind increasing research is that while the state provides money for higher education, the real money can be won through the promotion of research and the capture of grants. Unfortunately, for students in the here and now, these increases in research will most likely come out of students' pockets -in other words, the roughly 6 percent tuition increases and 3 percent technology fee increases each year are, combined with waning state support, not likely to become a thing of the past.
In this section of the speech, when stating steps to increase research, McDavis also called for the improvement of Ohio's athletic programs. While some might laugh when McDavis refers to the strong and proud tradition of Ohio athletics, it is not much of a stretch considering that McDavis was an OU student in the late 1960s. Those years featured strong performances from the so-called 'money sports,' including football, men's basketball and baseball.
Nowadays, Ohio's athletic programs, at least in the major sports, have done little to garner the national attention that McDavis hopes would be a benefit of better teams. McDavis claims that elevat(ing) the stature of our athletic teams
will increase visibility for the school on a
national level. While he didn't come out and say it, McDavis implied that athletic spending is more a priority now than in the past.
However, it is difficult to justify increased spending on athletics when the rest of the university is just as desperate for funds. It would be different, perhaps, if OU was in a larger conference and was languishing there. Then, McDavis could more convincingly argue that climbing the ranks in, for instance, the Big Ten, would greatly increase the national visibility of the university.
In other words, if students are that attracted by athletics in Ohio, they will go to Ohio State University. OU should recognize this and compete in the classroom and the laboratory first.
Besides, the theory that athletics and winning has a serious positive effect on universities might be a mirage. A new study commissioned by the Knight Foundation Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics, as reported by the AScribe Newswire, said success in big-time athletics has little if any effect on a college's alumni donations or on the academic quality of its applicants.
Athletics should not be cut but should only receive budgetary increases proportionally with other university programs.
Tomorrow:
2. Increasing diversity
3. Research funding and planning
4. Partnerships 17
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