Board of Trustees set to discuss Ohio State’s financial status, appoint new trustees

Chahinaz Seghiri
Wed, 29 Jan 2014 03:58:38 +0000
Campus, board of trustees, ohio state, osu

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The Ohio State Board of Trustees is set to meet Thursday and Friday to discuss a variety of matters, including the financial status of the university, the appointment of a new charter trustee and updates on the North Residential District construction. The Wexner Medical Center Board plans to meet Wednesday to talk about the expansion of the Wexner Medical Center.

Wexner Medical Center expansion update

The Wexner Medical Center Board is slated to discuss the current expansion of the Medical Center, which is set to be finished by the end of 2014 and is expected to cost a total of $941 million by the end of fiscal year 2014. Furthermore, the Board will discuss the progress of construction, which is 80.6 percent complete and includes 14 new operating rooms and 52 new emergency department exam rooms.

The Governance Committee is also set to discuss the appointment of two new Medical Center Board members: David Fischer and Abigail Wexner, with terms set to end May 13, 2015, and May 13, 2016, respectively. Wexner is the wife of Les Wexner, who is the chair of the Medical Center Board.

Establishment of a new charter of trustee

Ohio State alumnus Alan VanderMolen, vice chairman of DJE holdings, president and CEO of Edelman Global Practices, who is from Chicago, is set to be approved as a charter trustee to the Board of Trustees at the Friday meeting. VanderMolen’s term would last until Jan. 31, 2017.

The Board created the position in February 2009 as a way of “strengthening the governance capacity of the Board,” according to the agenda. The charter trustee must have attributes including:

diverse cultural, geographic, business, professional, public service and civic backgrounds

be a non-Ohio resident who is an alumna, alumnus or “friend” of OSU

be successful in his or her chosen profession

have state, national or international prominence

have the ability to advocate for higher education

have expertise in areas deemed critical to OSU

have the willingness and ability to offer counsel.

Currently, Corbett Price and G. Gilbert Cloyd are the Board’s charter trustees, with terms set to expire in 2014 and 2015, respectively.

Pending funds and namings

More than $9.6 million in funds are set to be established Friday that will go into a variety of research projects and scholarships. One such fund is the Dot the “i” Marching Band endowment, worth $50,000, which is slated to support OSU Marching Band members at band director Jon Waters’ discretion.

The Board is slated to approve the naming of several areas, including the stadium terrace at the RPAC as the Danny Price Stadium Terrace. Danny Price Charities Inc. “provided contributions” to Student Life and the Recreational Sports Facilities Funds for the development of new and renovated recreational sports facilities, according to the Board agenda.

Financial status reports

An approximately 4 percent increase in revenues was reported in the first five months of fiscal year of 2014, compared to fiscal year 2013. That was an increase of about $86 million, primarily from health care revenues rising by $56 million and state capital appropriations being up by $16 million, according to the Board agenda.

The Finance Committee is also set to discuss an unspecified decrease in attendance for Summer Semester, which was offset by a 3 percent in enrollment growth for Fall Semester and kept student tuition and fees revenues “relatively flat” at $384 million, according to the agenda.

The committee is also slated to discuss the progress of various projects, including the North Residential District Transformation, which is set for completion by Fall Semester 2016 with a budget of $370 million and is reportedly on time and on budget.

Student Development Theory Application?

The Academic Affairs and Student Life Committee is set to discuss student development theory applications for the holistic experience, which look at the how each student as a “whole person” responds to and uses “various stimuli and experiences to grow” throughout their undergraduate, graduate or professional career at OSU, according to the agenda.

The theory is looked at in multiple places, including the College of Education and Human Ecology’s Higher Education and Student Affairs graduate program, and then is then applied “throughout the student experience,” according to the agenda.

According to Student Life’s presentation in the agenda, 85.6 percent of students living on campus feel they are a member of the OSU community.

The committee is also slated to discuss the College of Education and Human Ecology’s profile. With 11 buildings spread out throughout the campus, the college’s main priority in their presentation for the Academic Affairs and Student Life Committee is get a building to replace Campbell Hall.