This week, the Board of Trustees met to discuss new construction and sustainability projects, as well as financial wellness.
Credit: Becca Duncan | LTV Campus Producer
This week, The Board of Trustees met to discuss new construction and sustainability projects on campus, statistics of the first-year class, an increase in football ticket prices in 2023, student financial wellness, the Scarlet and Gray Advantage program and more. Here is The Lantern’s breakdown.
Wexner Medical Center Board
The Wexner Medical Center meeting saw several resolutions passed Tuesday, including the construction of a new inpatient hospital for $85 million and new implementations for patient care and safety.
In addition, Dr. David Cohn gave a report on the James Cancer Hospital. He said the hospital’s Center for Cancer Engineering is developing 3D printing for head and neck cancer surgery and is using artificial intelligence to predict pathologic fractures.
Academic Affairs and Student Life Committee
The Academic Affairs and Student Life Committee discussed student financial wellness and the status of this fall’s incoming freshman class during its meeting Wednesday. Dr. Melissa Shivers, senior vice president for the Office of Student Life, discussed how the Scarlet and Gray Advantage program, dedicated to providing Ohio State students debt-free education, has assisted students in providing support with budgeting, credit card and debt education.
“We believe it’s critically important, as a part of supporting students mental well-being, that we’re able to provide them with the resources and the education to help them become more financially literate so they can make good decisions about their finances and their financial capability — both now and in the future,” Shivers said during the meeting.
According to a 2022 National College Health assessment presented at the meeting, 47 percent of college students nationwide reported facing problems or challenges with finances in the last 12 months. At Ohio State, 40 percent of students endured financial struggles.
Ben Raines, financial coordinator at the Student Wellness Center, said the program reached over 2,200 students during the 2021-22 school year. He said the plan was accountable for over $44,000 in student fees refunded through the late fee waiver program.
The university admitted 34,000 students out of over 71,000 applications from potential first-year students. Roughly 8,000 students decided to enroll.
Minority students make up 27.4 percent of the first-year class, and 21.6 percent of students are first-generation college students.
According to the Board of Trustees website, 98 percent of this fall’s incoming class ranked in the top 25 percent of their high school class, and seventy percent of new students ranked in the top 10 percent.
Master Planning and Facilities Committee
At the Master Planning and Facilities meeting Tuesday, the committee discussed the university’s sustainability efforts. Ohio State has diverted 40 percent of waste from landfills, and there has been a 30 percent reduction in the university’s carbon footprint since 2015.
The committee gave updates on current construction projects, including the Combined Heat & Power Plant and the new lacrosse stadium. Though currently behind schedule, the power plant is currently set to be completed December 2023. The stadium is on track to be completed next month.
At the end of the 2022 fiscal year, the budget for active projects included 691 projects totaling $3.7 billion.
Research, Innovation and Strategic Partnerships Committee
Directors of Research, Innovation and Knowledge, Executive Vice President Grace Wang and Vice President for research Peter Mohler presented an overview of the department’s goal to nurture campuswide innovation and entrepreneurship at a Board of Trustees meeting Thursday, according to the meeting agenda.
Lewis Von Thaer, chair of the Board of Trustees, announced Wang will be leaving her position to become the 17th president of the Worcester Polytech Institute in Massachusetts. Von Thaer said in the meeting Wang’s work with Ohio State has been deeply impactful.
“In the fiscal year of 2021, Grace oversaw record-breaking research and development expenditures of more than $1.2 billion,” Von Thaer said.
Finance and Investment Committee
Beginning next football season, a $2 fee will be added to each ticket per game to help fund the athletic department’s preservation and maintenance of Ohio Stadium, the Board of Trustees announced in the Finance and Investment Committee meeting Thursday. These funds will go toward projects — such as upgrading bathrooms, concrete repairs and field-level surface repairs. Student tickets will still cost $34 per game, and $204 for the season’s home games.
Membership dues for the Ohio State golf course were also raised 8 percent to account for maintenance, as requested by the Athletic Council.
The University Foundation Report included over $7.7 million donated to the university for scholarship funds and endowed professorships.
Senior Vice President for Advancement Michael Eicher presented the advancement update Eicher said the university has raised roughly $3.6 billion out of the $4.5 billion the university wanted to raise from Oct. 1, 2016, to Oct. 31, 2022.
Michael Papadakis, senior vice president of business and chief financial officer, and Jay Kasey, senior vice president for administration and planning, discussed the eventually approved Capital Investment Plan. The plan dedicated $155 million to deferred maintenance, including $12 million for the Combined Heat & Power Plant and $6 million for the Cancer Inpatient Hospital as part of the Wexner Medical Center.
According to the report, the university is currently in “the final phase of Energy Conservation Measures and anticipates surpassing the 25% efficiency target through these efforts.”
The University Financial Report claims Ohio State’s overall position is “strong” after the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating revenues rose $173 million from July to September compared to the 2021 fiscal year, including increases of $98 million from health care revenues and $23 million from student tuition.
Legal, Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee
At the Legal, Audit, Risk and Compliance Committee meeting on Wednesday, the committee heard an update on the 2022 fiscal year audit.
KPMG, a network of professional firms, was contracted to complete the external audit of the university’s 2022 financial statements. The audit results revealed no significant unusual transactions, no acts of fraud or illegal activity and no noncompliance with laws or regulations, according to the meeting’s agenda and notes.
Dr. Wondwossen A. Gebreyes, executive director of Global One Health, said in the meeting since Global One Health was established by the Board of Trustees in November 2016, the initiative has continued to grow and do “great” work in countries like Ethiopia.
According to the meeting agenda, this work has included vaccinating 141,000 dogs against rabies, creating partnerships with the Ethiopian government and establishing seven molecular diagnostic and epidemiology laboratories.
Aubrey Wright, Jacob Benge, Amani Bayo, Jasmyne Smith and Becca Duncan contributed reporting.
