Ohio University might have spread the word about the quarters-to-semesters transition to students, but there’s one other group that still needs to be informed — the businessmen and women of Athens.
Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit spoke at the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce 2011 Annual Dinner Wednesday, to explain the effect the Q2S switch will have on local businesses.
Benoit emphasized that students will be in school for about the same amount of time, but Spring Semester will end earlier than this year’s Spring Quarter, and Fall Semester will start sooner than this year’s Fall Quarter. There will also be a shorter winter break.
“Many of the rumors you’ve probably heard (about Q2S) are probably untrue,” Benoit said at the dinner.
In the future, OU could explore the possibility of a trimester system, in which students could take classes every trimester throughout the year to graduate in fewer than four years. Benoit emphasized that the discussion was extremely preliminary, but departments at OU, including Accounting, have already expressed interest.
“We have to get semesters going first,” Benoit said.
She went on to speak about OU’s work promoting economic activity in Southeast Ohio.
“We’re truly building an entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southeast Ohio, but in order to sustain it, we must have good communities that are capable of attracting creative people,” she said.
Benoit named the Edison Biotechnology Institute, the Technology Transfer Office, the OU Innovation Center and TechGROWTH Ohio as some of the ways OU is boosting the local economy and promoting entrepreneurship.
“I think that all of us in this room share a passion for Athens and for southeastern Ohio,” she said. “We live in a unique place, at a unique time with unique resources, and working together, there is little that we cannot accomplish.”
bv111010@ohiou.edu
