President Michael V. Drake speaks at a Board of Trustees meeting at the
Secrest Welcome and Education Center at Ohio State’s Wooster campus on Aug. 30. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Managing Editor for Multimedia

The full Board of Trustees met Friday to conclude the week’s meetings at the Secrest Welcome and Education Center at Ohio State’s Wooster campus, with a focus on the university’s land-grant mission.  

The Board’s approvals included the termination of a university faculty member, a variety of construction projects and a resolution in memory of former University President Edward Jennings.

The trustees approved the termination of Deborah Mitchell, a faculty member in the Fisher College of Business. Mitchell was accused of improperly steering a $1.6 million project with Ohio Department of Medicaid to a company she founded and for which she serves as president, University President Michael V. Drake said Thursday at the Committee of Academic Affairs and Student Life meeting.  

The Board also authorized a number of construction contracts, including a $33.3 million parking garage in the former Dodd Hall surface lot. 

“Parking garages are not always exciting but…creating a balance of employee satisfaction and meeting the needs of our employees is always on the top of our mind,” Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership, said.

The Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Center, which will cost $155.9 million, was also approved. The center, which Fischer said will “enhance teaching and learning across multiple disciplines,” will include renovations to Hamilton Hall, located at the corner of 10th and Neil avenues, as well as the construction of a new wing extending onto 10th Avenue. 

“It would be fair to say for anybody who has toured the current complex and facilities would acknowledge that they’re not up to the standards of this great university,” Fischer said. 

Construction of the Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Center is set to begin October 2019 and the facility is slated to open August 2023. 

The Board approved $2.3 million for a new lacrosse stadium, which will cost $20 million in total. The stadium will be east of the Covelli Center on Irving Schottenstein Drive in the Athletics District, with seating for 2,500 occupants.

Drake requested a moment of reflection and remembrance for Jennings, the 10th president of Ohio State who died Aug. 10, and the board approved a resolution in memoriam for Jennings.