CAMPUS

Umbrellas to be offered in Baker Center

Ohio University officials are offering a way to stay dry in Athens’ rainy weather with its umbrella sharing program, “yOUr Umbrella.”

Inclusion is Pride Week's focus

Ohio University Student Senate will be loud and proud as they host Pride Week, starting Monday, featuring guest speakers, socials and educational events on LGBTQA issues and focus on inclusion.

Board talks potential changes

The Board of Trustees met in Athens Thursday and will vote on its agenda’s resolutions Friday. The board, Ohio University’s governing body, spent Thursday in individual committee meetings to further dissect the agenda’s topics.

After Mill Fest, OU officials not worried about St. Patrick's Day

Despite the desire to shed Ohio University’s proclaimed party image, administrators did not consider pushing spring break back two weeks to fall during St. Patrick’s Day.

OUPD to hire more full-time officers

Ohio University students would see more cops around campus under an OU Police Department proposal to hire an additional five sworn officers, a notion that has received support from top university administrators.

Board presents “Transforming Ohio” plan, will vote on 2015 budget in June

The Board of Trustees, met in Athens on Thursday and will vote on its agenda’s resolutions Friday. The board, Ohio University’s governing body, spent Thursday in individual committee meetings to further dissect the agenda’s topics.

Delaying some decisions

Ohio University’s Student Senate meeting was devoted to a preview of the Board of Trustees meeting taking place on Thursday and Friday.

Alumnus to address students at graduation

Even if Ohio University’s six regional campuses are scattered throughout Ohio, they will have a presence at this year’s undergraduate graduation ceremony in Athens.

Board of Trustees postpones final budget presentation

Ohio University’s Board of Trustees will break a recent tradition at Thursday’s meeting by postponing the presentation of the final FY 2014-15 budget.Instead, the board will begin its meetings, after an open government training session, with a joint academic and resources committee meeting on prioritizing OU’s financial needs.Discussion will include different tuition increase scenarios for the 2014-15 academic year, although the final decision won’t be made until the board’s summer meeting.They are as follows:No increase, which would give OU $1.26 million to invest in programs toward academic and college needsA 1 percent increase, which would leave $2.56 million to investA 1.5 percent increase, which would leave OU with $3.23 million to investThe extra time to discuss budget options will give trustees the chance to spend more time considering the implications of increasing the tuition, said Peter Mather, board secretary.“I expect very rich discussions in the Thursday meetings about these important issues,” Mather said in an email.The joint committee will also discuss the “Transforming OHIO” plan — a term the university uses to describe its large projects, including the Capital Improvement Plan, or planned construction; the Total Compensation Plan, which is an effort to make all OU salaries more comparable to positions in other Ohio industries; and the $100 Mil. Investment Strategy, aimed at collecting money for specific academic programs.“Our March meeting will provide valuable opportunities to engage trustees in a discussion about Ohio University’s vision and strategic direction as we forge new ways to be entrepreneurial and support transformative learning experiences for our students,” OU President Roderick McDavis, said in an emailed statement.Academics Committee:At the academics committee Executive Vice President and Provost Pam Benoit will provide an overview of the Honors Tutorial and the Graduate colleges. She will provide a similar update on the Office of Information Technology and the Office for Institutional Equity, detailing the offices’ goals and priorities.The board will also discuss the Completion Plan, which aims to increase enrollment by 0.5 percent each year and implement the guaranteed tuition plan by Fall 2015.Resources Committee:The resources committee meeting will begin with an assessment of OU’s endowment assets based on a national survey of higher education institutions through NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments.The board will also receive an annual update on the institution’s debt capacity, and discuss three recommendations for addressing it:Take on debt and accept a temporary high credit ranking to work on projectsTake on debt incrementally in order to maintain credit rankingsLimit borrowing to projects prioritized in OU’s misswion, which often are self-supporting by their own revenue, such as Residential Housing projectsFacilities will then present its plans to begin discussing possibly limiting or removing vehicle traffic on Park Place to create a “pedestrian-friendly” walkway.The discussion is still in preliminary phases, but if the board votes in favor of McDavis continuing talks of the Park Place street study, facilities will take plans to city officials for input, because it is Athens property, said Shawna Bolin, director of University Planning & Space Management.“Every single thing we do for every planning study … will be thought of with the community, not just the OU community but the local community as well,” Bolin said.The items on the consent agenda (which is approved all at once by board members) include:OU’s Investment Policy, discussed at the March board meetingTwo corporate resolutions related to investmentsSchematic design for Boyd Dining Hall, Schoonover Center Phase 2, and OU-HCOM ClevelandConstruction projects for Allen Student Help Center, College Green exterior painting and landscape design, The Convo, Crawford and Mackinnon Hall roof and gutter replacements, Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium UpgradesDublin Campus Permanent Utility EasementThe University Completion PlanThe Faculty Compensation PlanProgram review of the Computer Science Technology Program for OU Chillicothe, Lancaster and Southern campusesEstablishment of the Doctorate of Philosophy in the Translational Biomedical Science Doctoral ProgramPhysician Assistant Program name change to “Master of Physician Assistant Practice”Graduate Student Senate constitution revisiondk123111@ohiou.edu@DanielleRose84 

Panelists debate pot legalization

Whether panelists and audience members were pro-legalization or not, they all had passionate stories and opinions Tuesday night at the Amazing Blazing Marijuana Debate in Baker University Center Theatre.

New day off for students next fall

Fresh off spring break, Ohio University students received news they’ll get another — albeit shorter — reprieve from classes midway through next Fall Semester.

Panelists debate pot legalization

Whether panelists and audience members were pro-legalization or not, they all had passionate stories and opinions Tuesday night at the Amazing Blazing Marijuana Debate in Baker University Center Theatre.

A revolutionary kind of speech

New day off for students next fall

Fresh off spring break, Ohio University students received news they’ll get another — albeit shorter — reprieve from classes midway through next Fall Semester.

Student Senate prepares for top university officials

Ohio University administrators and faculty are not the only ones preparing for this week’s OU Board of Trustees meeting.

OIT offers 50GB free online storage

Ohio University students and faculty will soon have more space up in the clouds.Box, an online storage solution, has been recently purchased for all OU students and faculty.Similar to services such as Dropbox or Google Drive, Box allows its users to store documents, images, video and more online. These services provide a place to back up important documents or expand the storage space of one’s computer.Sean O’Malley, communications director for OIT,  announced the service Feb. 12 via a university press release.According to the release, students, faculty and staff will all have access to 50GB of online storage as soon as the license is activated. For larger institutions such as OU, this can take 30-60 days to accomplish. The university spent $340,600 for a three-year license, O’Malley said.The new service has the ability to change how some people accomplish their day-to-day tasks.“I use Dropbox now,” Trent Lindsay, a sophomore studying aviation flight, said. “Since (Box) has an app, I would switch. The 50 gigs is really nice.”Box has integrated collaboration features, meaning people can create documents and then share them with coworkers or classmates so they may see and edit the documents.Professors also have the ability to request assignments through Box. Students could submit homework or projects through the program, where professors could then give comments.Individual users are able to sign up for personal accounts through the Box website, but are only offered 10GB for free. Users who already have personal accounts will not be able to combine these accounts with the coming OU accounts, but they can still keep both accounts.Students also would not be able to have more than 50GB of storage under their university accounts, O’Malley said.O’Malley lead two demos on Box during Fall Semester to show people how to use the service and gauge its popularity among students, faculty and staff.“There’s been a lot of requests coming in, where people were asking ‘what are my options for being able to do secure file storage somewhere other than my hard drive?’” O’Malley said. “We saw the need building, and we tried to address that.” 

New versatile survey tool offered at OU

Ohio University officials have purchased an information gathering tool for students and faculty.

Outstanding admins awarded for services

Students spend only a few years at Ohio University, but for some administrators, OU has been their home away from home for as many as 40 years.

HCOM will offer a new expansive program for incoming medical students

A handful of students will attend Ohio University in Fall 2014 knowing exactly what they will be doing for the next seven or eight years.

Pilcher house gives idea of OU's past

An Athens historic landmark and a previous home to The Post in the 1970s, the Pilcher House, is full of history.