President Bellamkonda responds to an interview question during an interview on Friday. Credit: Michael Goulet | Campus Photo Editor
The ongoing strength of Ohio State’s academics, research, medical expertise and athletics will overcome and outlast any outside criticism and scrutiny of this institution, President Ravi V. Bellamkonda said Friday.
In an interview with The Lantern, Columbus Dispatch and Columbus Business First, Bellamkonda also said he plans to keep many of former President Walter “Ted” Carter Jr.’s key initiatives in place while working to make Ohio State’s bureaucracy more responsive and efficient. He also said he was committed to supporting Ohio State athletics and the university’s students.
His comments came 50 days after his appointment as the 18th president of Ohio State, following the sudden resignation of Carter and his disclosure of an inappropriate relationship and misuse of university resources.?
Since then, Bellamkonda said he has spent his time adjusting to the position, appointing Dean Trevor Brown from the John Glenn College of Public Affairs as interim provost and continuing to lead the university to the best of his ability, regardless of the quick turnaround.?
Here’s what Bellamkonda had to say:?
Ohio State’s reputation
The ongoing Richard Strauss lawsuit, protests surrounding Les Wexner’s involvement at Ohio State and his name on campus buildings, a professor facing charges over tackling a documentarian, free speech concerns and other issues have led to increased scrutiny of the university and national coverage.?
Bellamkonda said there’s a need to remind people, longstanding Buckeyes and the general public, how impressive the university is outside of the debates surrounding it. As a Big Ten university with national accolades, the relevance of the institution lies beyond current news coverage, he said.?
“Our job is to remind people about why we are consequential. The reasons we are consequential is because we are a powerhouse in all three of the things we do: academics, athletics and healthcare,” he said. “The work we have ongoing and are planning to do, building on a strong foundation addresses not just these interesting times, but the national conversation about what it means to lead. I’m confident we will do that.”
Bellamkonda said he hopes the broader Ohio State community will feel comfortable trusting the university.?
“My hope is as I have a chance to build trust by inviting people to think about Ohio State as ‘us’ and not ‘them,’ and then anchor that conversation [in that it’s] important for us to have an entity, an institution, that’s committed to the pursuit, discovery and the learning mission.”?
What Bellamkonda will change
One of the biggest shifts Bellamkonda said he wants to implement is being more mindful of the university processes and efficiency with students.?
In order to better involve regional students, admissions and students studying in different colleges, certain processes might shift, Bellamkonda said.?
A key idea, Bellamkonda said, is remembering the scope of the university, and working to make it the best version of itself.?
“We are a bureaucratic place, and we need to be more efficient with our processes so we’re better stewards of taxpayer dollars, so it’s more efficient and less paperwork, [which] is important for us to keep our costs down and be more efficient,” Bellamkonda said. “That’s the other piece we need to do, is to be mindful of efficiencies and productivity, which isn’t exciting, but it’s important for every organization.”?
Continuing Carter’s plans
Before his resignation, Carter designed a plan for Education for Citizenship 2035, which included initiatives such as expanding scholarships, launching a fund to attract and retain faculty and furthering the AI Fluency plan, among other goals, according to previous Lantern reporting.?
The question has since been whether Bellamkonda will keep moving towards those goals, or shift into his own plans for the university. Even in the short time he has been in the role, he has continued to advance initiatives and funding for faculty, Bellamkonda said.?
“[Carter had] powerful ideas and we will not change them,” Bellamkonda said. “There’s a whole set of things we’re working on, which we will continue.”
AI Fluency and its first year
As provost, Bellamkonda worked closely with Carter to create the AI Fluency initiative. The program is designed to make all students, beginning with the class of 2029, fluent in both their field of study and AI use.?
In its first year, the directive has been implemented into first-year General Education Launch Seminar, GenAI workshops in the First Year Success Series and creating courses designed to learn AI, according to a university website. The College of Arts and Sciences recently launched the Arts and Humanities AI Institute to help less-computer focused majors become fluent as well.?
“It is by far the boldest, most comprehensive AI effort in the country. This notion of [being] bilingual in the AI world, including ethics and thinking [of the] responsible use of AI is by far the boldest thing,” Bellamkonda said. “There’s a hunger and appetite for leadership and doing bold things on campus, and I’m optimistic about our future.”
Bellamkonda’s relationship with students
Bellamkonda has said that, at its core, a university is meant to serve its students. Even though students might not have the most interest in the administration, Bellamkonda said he believes the university has a “sacred duty” to do right by the students.?
Bellamkonda said students are meant to be included in discussions and the university has a duty to do its best job to support them.?
“It’s important to curate at the university, especially at the undergraduate level, experiences and opportunities for students to discover who they want to become as people,” Bellamkonda said.?
The biggest aspect is making the experience feel more personable, giving each individual student a chance to grow at such a large university, Bellamkonda said.?
“You want to go to a place which is academically rigorous, gets you your jobs and you do well in your career, but you also want to go to a place where you’re treated as a whole person, not just a customer or consumer,” Bellamkonda said. “We have an expansive, capacious vision for how we will do this at Ohio State.”?
Response to student activism?
Amidst the changes and current political scene, there have been protests and students who are vocal with their opinions. Even aside from global issues, students and faculty have spoken out when a university policy doesn’t seem right.?
Bellamkonda said he wants to create a collaborative space, including student perspectives whenever possible. Transparency is also key, he said, ensuring there’s no closed doors between the administration and students.?
“If the students say something that makes sense and we’re not doing it, we will do that. I have no agenda other than to do the right thing if possible,” Bellamkonda said. “The challenge is, some of these issues are complex, and one student group represents a certain perspective, but there’s other perspectives too. It is my job as the president of the university [and] our leadership team’s job to be aware of all the perspectives and factor them in [when] making our decisions.”?
What people can expect
For students, alumni and Columbus natives who have campus in their peripheral vision, people are always curious as to what they can expect from the next president.?
“I hope that with time, my actions lead them to believe that Ohio State is on a great path to interpreting and realizing its full potential to be a transformative player locally in the state and nationally,” Bellamkonda said. “We don’t shy away from hard things; we will take them on, because the gift that’s on the other side of hard things is that we accomplish something worth doing.”?
Ohio State athletics
Similar to Carter, Bellamkonda said he is committed to keeping all 36 Division I sports in place and active on campus. As an avid football fan and Olympic sport supporter, Bellamkonda said that it’s important to keep the athletic image of the university alive, unless an unforeseen circumstance comes up preventing the success.?
“We will try very hard to preserve those and the only consideration that would make me rethink that is if we’re not able to be really good at all the things we do,” Bellamkonda said. “As long as we’re able to compete, take care of all these sports and do well, our intention is to try to continue that.”
