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Top 3 on 2, 3/17/11

March 16, 2011

Why did you choose to work at Ohio State? There’s no place I’d rather work, period. Specifically, I like the culture, diversity, family atmosphere — which of course is all linked to the people at Ohio State.

What do you like about your job? Everything: The drive and passion of our students, faculty and staff are world class and simply inspiring. OSU is a huge family of magnificent people and I am honored to be a part of it! Working in information technology, I get to see the future and with the current streamlining initiatives I hope to have the ability to evolve into the next generation of IT professionals.

How do you apply the “One University” concept? We truly are “One University” and all of us who work here need to keep that in mind. Simply put, we are here to serve students, faculty and staff. Regardless of our position, we all play an integral role in helping OSU meet the missions set forth by our leadership. Knowledge sharing is something I specifically enjoy about working at OSU.

What honor or recognition are you most proud of and why? Frankly it’s the little things that keep me going. The notes and e-mails that faculty, students and staff leave me are some of the most wonderful pieces of correspondence I receive and really keep me going. It’s nice to be remembered, too … I still occasionally run into people from my first job at the Medical Center and people don’t hesitate to thank me for something I did 10 years ago … This shows that no matter how trivial it may seem, doing something right the first time matters.

What is your favorite activity outside of work and why? Whether it’s a trip to Disney or just a family cookout, spending time with my family is my favorite activity outside of work.

What are you going to do when you retire? I sincerely hope I can continue to be part of OSU indefinitely. If I do retire I fully plan to come back and volunteer my time to one of the several colleges I have had the privilege to serve as a staff member.

If you were the university president for a day, what would you do? Continue to embrace the change. This is an opportunity for all of us and I would continue to push forward with this directive set forth for our great institution. I’d also wear a bow-tie for good measure.

More than 5,080 current and retired Ohio State University faculty and staff on the Columbus campus contributed a record $1,280,798 through the 2010 Bucks for Charity Drive.
Cash and payroll pledges surpassed last year’s totals, and it was the eighth year in a row that donations exceeded the $1 million mark.

The funds support research, programs and services of more than 300 central Ohio health, human and environmental service related agencies.

The organizations participate in the Bucks for Charity campaign through 10 federations. The federations include the Community Health Charities of Ohio; Community Shares of Mid Ohio; EarthShare Ohio; United Negro College Fund; United Way of Central Ohio; and United Way of Delaware, Fairfield, Licking, Pickaway and Union counties.

“The generosity of Ohio State faculty, staff and retirees is overwhelming. What a wonderful display of support for our community,” said Michele Bondurant, Ohio State’s Bucks for Charity program manager.

The Bucks for Charity campaign is coordinated by the Office of Human Resources.

Three faculty named to American Academy of Microbiology

March 16, 2011

Three Ohio State University faculty members have been elected to fellowship in the American Academy of Microbiology.

The new 2011 fellows are Michael Lairmore and Kathleen Boris-Lawrie, both professors of veterinary biosciences and members of the Viral Oncology Program of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Larry Schlesinger, professor of internal medicine and director of the Center for Microbial Interface Biology.

Lairmore, an international authority in retrovirology and pathology, has contributed fundamental knowledge of how viruses develop. With expertise in virology and pathology, he has performed pioneering studies in animal models of human retroviruses, defined novel virus-host relationships and created paradigm-shifting approaches to mechanisms of viral diseases.

Boris-Lawrie is widely recognized for her distinguished contributions to the field of molecular virology, particularly for the molecular basis of gene expression of retroviruses that infect humans and animals; she has discovered a fundamental paradigm that cells use to control the growth of viruses. She and Lairmore are funded by the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute to study retroviruses as models of lymphocyte transformation and disease.

Schlesinger’s research focuses on innate immunity in highly transmissible bacterial infections through studies of human immune system interactions with pathogenic mycobacteria, particularly M. tuberculosis. He is also a professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics and was instrumental in the creation of the new Department of Microbial Infection and Immunity at Ohio State.

The American Academy of Microbiology is the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), the world’s oldest and largest life science organization. The mission of the academy is to recognize scientists for outstanding contributions to microbiology and provide microbiological expertise in the service of science and the public. The academy serves as a resource to governmental agencies, industry, ASM and the larger scientific and lay communities by convening colloquia to address critical issues in microbiology.

Including this new round of fellows, Ohio State has 17 American Academy of Microbiology fellows on its faculty. Lairmore, Boris-Lawrie and Schlesinger will be recognized on May 24 at the 111th American Society of Microbiology meeting in New Orleans.

STRS proposal: Teacher contributions rise to 13 percent

March 16, 2011

New proposals will mean smaller pension checks for teachers
By Jeff McCallister

Ohio State faculty, and teachers around the state, will be asked to pay more now and take smaller increases later in order to assure the solvency of their retirement system well into the future.

The State Teachers Retirement System (STRS Ohio) Board has proposed a series of changes that currently are being debated in the Ohio legislature and will help maintain the required level of funding to ensure the system’s solvency for the foreseeable future.

“Asking for reduced benefits when we know so many people count on what they receive or will receive from STRS Ohio is not an enviable task,” said Michael Nehf, STRS Ohio’s executive director, during testimony before the House subcommittee on Retirement and Pensions in February. “We know that without changes, STRS Ohio will eventually be unable to pay pensions. Disregarding this fact would be shirking our fiduciary duty.”

There’s still much to be debated, amendments to be added and numbers that will likely be tweaked. But OSU administrators expect the legislature to approve the final changes by the end of June, and those changes then would take effect 90 days later.

The changes proposed by the STRS board are broken down into six topics:

Eligibility for retirement

Currently, teachers are eligible to retire with an unreduced benefit at any age as long as they have 30 years of service, or at age 65 with five years of service. The proposed plan would change the unreduced benefit requirements to age 60 with 30 years of service or age 65 with a minimum of five years.

They currently can retire with a reduced benefit at age 55 with 25 years of service or at age 60 with five years. Those numbers stay the same in the proposal, but the benefit would be determined actuarially.

These changes would be phased in for those who will retire between 2015 and 2023.

Contributions

Faculty enrolled in STRS currently contribute 10 percent of their salaries to the plan. OSU contributes another 14 percent. Under the new proposal, the OSU contribution would stay the same, and the employee contribution would rise to a total of 13 percent over the next three years. The STRS board also would have an option to bump that up another percentage point to 14 percent in the future.

Final average salary (FAS)

Currently, one’s FAS is determined by the three highest earning years during a career; the proposal would add another two years to average in to determine FAS.

Benefit formula

Currently, a person’s annual benefit is 2.2 percent of the retiree’s final average salary, multiplied by the number of years worked up to 30 years, with an escalating formula for years beyond 30, up to 2.5 percent of FAS at 35 years.

Under the proposal, the escalating formula will be eliminated, remaining 2.2 percent for all years of service. However, faculty eligible to retire by July 1, 2015, would have their benefits determined under both formulas and have the leeway to decide which formula they’d prefer to use.

Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)

All retirees begin earning a simple 3 percent COLA 12 months after their retirement date. The new proposal reduces the COLA to 2 percent, and beginning in 2012, the first COLA would not be received until 60 months after retirement begins.

Age and service reduction factors

For faculty who retire with a reduced benefit, a reduction factor is applied to the base benefit. Currently, the reduction factor is determined by the legislature; the proposal would shift that determination to an actuary.

“When the STRS Board began to proactively discuss future changes to strengthen the solvency of the pension fund in 2009, it openly recognized and acknowledged that few would be happy with the needed changes,” Nehf told legislators. “Current and future teachers will be contributing more and working longer for a lesser benefit in retirement; current retirees’ pensions will continue to grow, but at a slower rate due to a reduced COLA. However, STRS Ohio members will continue to have the financial security provided by a reasonable and reliable pension.”

•••• What about the ARP? ••••

What is the Alternative Retirement Plan? The Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP) is an alternative to OPERS/STRS for eligible faculty and staff. It provides a retirement benefit, but does not offer additional benefits after retirement (e.g., health care). The ARP is a defined contribution plan where the employee chooses both the vendor and the investment options, keeps all the investment earnings and assumes all the risk for any investment losses.

Will pension reform affect my ARP account? Under proposed legislation, for faculty ARP members (STRS) the employee contribution to the ARP would increase at the same rate as the STRS employee contribution.

• Beginning July 1, 2012 faculty contributions would increase each year through July 1, 2014.

• Increase would be phased in 1 percent each year to a total of 13 percent in 2014.

• STRS Retirement Board would have the authority to increase the employee contribution to 14 percent.

• Under proposed legislation, for staff ARP members (OPERS) the employee contribution would remain at 10 percent.

• Staff members (OPERS) had their employee contributions to the ARP increased from 2006 through 2008.

Can I change my ARP vendor? You may change your ARP vendor once per year by returning an ARP Vendor Change Form on or before Dec. 15 of each year. Your new vendor election will become effective with the first pay in the following January.

More information about the Alternative Retirement Plan is available at hr.osu.edu/benefits/rb_arp.aspx.

Related stories

♦ OPERS members could see new age requirements
♦ Proposals balance individual’s funding and systems’ viability

OPERS members could see new age requirements

March 16, 2011

By Jeff McCallister

The Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS) is the largest pension system in Ohio, and one of the strongest financially.

But it has not been immune to the forces affecting other pension systems, and changes are currently being debated in the Ohio legislature to further strengthen OPERS and keep it on strong footing for its mandated 30-year solvency period.

“The proposed changes are intended to strike a balance — a balance between not effecting enough changes, which will require additional, more drastic changes at a later date, and making changes that are too severe, which will cause undue hardship on our members,” Karen Carraher, interim executive director of OPERS, told the House Subcommittee on Aging and Pensions in late February.

The OPERS Board has proposed a series of changes in seven categories:

Eligibility for retirement

Currently, public employees are eligible to retire with an unreduced benefit at any age with 30 years of service or at age 65 with five years. The OPERS proposal changes that to age 55 with 32 years or age 67 with five years.

Employees currently can retire with a reduced benefit at age 55 with 25 years of service or at age 60 with five years in. The new proposal adds two more years of age to each of those — 57 with 25 years or age 62 with five years.

“Retirees are living longer in retirement — the length of time our retirees are living in retirement has nearly tripled since the 1940s,” Carraher said. “Our plan design was never intended to fund retirement benefits equal to or in excess of the timeframe that members actually worked.”

Contributions

Staff currently contribute 10 percent of their salary to the pension fund, while Ohio State contributes 14 percent. Neither would be changed under the current proposal.

Benefit formula

A person’s annual pension benefit currently is 2.2 percent of that employee’s final average salary times the number of years worked in the system, up to 30 years and 2.5 percent of FAS for each years in excess of 30.

The proposal would keep the 2.2 multiplier in effect for the first 35 years, then increase to 2.5 percent for years after 35.

It’s another concession to the increased lifespan of retirees.

Final average salary (FAS)

The plan would use an employee’s five highest-earning years to determine the final average salary to plug into the benefit formula rather than the current three highest earning years.

Cost-of-living adjustment (COLA)

All retirees begin earning a simple 3 percent COLA beginning 12 months after their retirement date under the current system. The new proposal would determine COLAs using an average change in the Consumer Price Index, up to a maximum of 3 percent.

Age and service reduction factors

For staff under age 65 or who have less than 30 years of service, who retire with a reduced benefit, a reduction factor is applied to the base benefit. The new proposal increases those numbers to age 67 or less than 32 years of service credit. Also, the reduction factor currently is determined by the legislature; the proposal would shift that determination to an actuary.

Minimum earnable salary

Currently, employees must make at least $250 per month in order to earn full-time work credit. The proposal would increase that requirement to $1,000 initially, then tie the number to an index based on the Average Wage Index used by the Social Security Administration.

The transition to the new plan design will be an important part of any new law. The OPERS Board proposed three groups that would allow a phase-in of the changes.

Group A are those eligible to retire within five years after the effective date of the legislation. They will be grandfathered under the current law with the exception of the COLA.

Group B are staff who will become eligible to retire in the 10-year period after the bill’s effective date and those who have at least 20 years service credit on that date. Group B will be grandfathered under the old law with the exception of the COLA and the age and service reduction factors.

All others are in Group C and would be subject to all of the new changes.

“The proposed plan design changes will enable OPERS to preserve future funding for health care coverage for our retirees — coverage we believe is an integral part to retirement security,” Carraher said.

Ohio State administrators expect the legislature to enact final changes by late June, with an effective date 90 days thereafter.

•••• What about the ARP? ••••

What is the Alternative Retirement Plan? The Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP) is an alternative to OPERS/STRS for eligible faculty and staff. It provides a retirement benefit, but does not offer additional benefits after retirement (e.g., health care). The ARP is a defined contribution plan where the employee chooses both the vendor and the investment options, keeps all the investment earnings and assumes all the risk for any investment losses.

Will pension reform affect my ARP account? Under proposed legislation, for faculty ARP members (STRS) the employee contribution to the ARP would increase at the same rate as the STRS employee contribution.

• Beginning July 1, 2012 faculty contributions would increase each year through July 1, 2014.

• Increase would be phased in 1 percent each year to a total of 13 percent in 2014.

• STRS Retirement Board would have the authority to increase the employee contribution to 14 percent.

• Under proposed legislation, for staff ARP members (OPERS) the employee contribution would remain at 10 percent.

• Staff members (OPERS) had their employee contributions to the ARP increased from 2006 through 2008.

Can I change my ARP vendor? You may change your ARP vendor once per year by returning an ARP Vendor Change Form on or before Dec. 15 of each year. Your new vendor election will become effective with the first pay in the following January.

More information about the Alternative Retirement Plan is available at hr.osu.edu/benefits/rb_arp.aspx.

Proposals balance individual’s funding and systems’ viability

March 16, 2011

As you may know, the Ohio legislature is considering several proposals to maintain the solvency of the state retirement system’s defined benefit plans, including the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) and the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System (OPERS). We believe it’s important that you understand the current proposals and how these changes may affect you.

Currently, legislation is pending that would make changes that are required to maintain the long-term viability of the state’s pension programs. STRS and OPERS have made recommendations that cover areas such as pension contributions, retirement eligibility, and cost of living adjustments. Detailed information about the recommendations is available on pages 6 and 7 of this issue of onCampus, as well as on the STRS and OPERS web sites. The contact information for each organization also is listed below.

Continue reading ‘Proposals balance individual’s funding and systems’ viability’

Unique collection guaranteed to ‘push your buttons’

March 2, 2011

By Adam King

A button is more than simply a necessary accessory that, when paired with a buttonhole, has kept shirts, dresses and pants securely in place for centuries.

It can actually be a telling portrait of the styles of the time from whence it came. Continue reading ‘Unique collection guaranteed to ‘push your buttons’’

Old-fashioned honesty

March 2, 2011

This university’s genuine, daily determination to live up to its values truly hits home with me. I grew up in a blue-collar steel town and was raised by my parents to embrace some pretty basic, “old-fashioned” values from a young age: Work hard, be honest, look a person in the eyes when you shake their hand and always do what you say you’re going to do. Those early lessons stuck with me, served me well at each of the universities for which I’ve worked and remained relevant through my transition from basketball coach to enrollment services professional.

When I look at how the values my parents taught me complement the university’s values, the underlying foundation in both cases is openness and trust. While it seems like a simple, easy-to-follow concept, creating and maintaining openness and trust takes conscious effort, and it’s something I work on every day.

Here are three ways I do so.

Create opportunities for openness

As simple as it sounds, we have to be mindful about building openness. People have good intentions and don’t plan to withhold information; they generally are so busy they forget to share. To help me create that openness with my team, I host “Drinks with Dolan” every Thursday morning. I spend an hour over coffee with 8-10 people on my team so they can ask questions, tell me what is and isn’t working and share ideas. It’s an open, honest conversation, which is much easier in a smaller group.

At first, people were a bit nervous and felt like they were being called to the principal’s office. But as word got out from those who participated that I was open to ideas and feedback, people became excited to attend. Today, these sessions are a source of inspiration and energy, and we’ve implemented several great ideas as a result — for example, a new photo directory to connect people who work in different locations is in the works and we’ve introduced a forum to gather student feedback at all-staff meetings. These are not ideas that I would have thought of myself!

Be open to giving and receiving coaching and feedback

As a former college basketball coach, this comes pretty naturally to me. Coaching should occur every day, not just when there is a problem to confront. As others have said, you don’t have to be sick to get better. We each need the different viewpoints and improvements that coaching offers to become even more effective. That’s what the university’s Excellence to Eminence movement is about; we are a great institution, but we are working on becoming the nation’s preeminent institution. I constantly ask my team for coaching and am implementing programs that formalize the coaching and mentoring process for others.

Some people are uncomfortable offering coaching, but it isn’t something that has to be difficult or time consuming. When you offer coaching in a positive, constructive way, people are open to it — who doesn’t want to get better? Put yourself in the right frame of mind, and you can offer valuable coaching. When we have positive intentions, we can always help someone look at something in a new way.

Listen better

With everything that bombards us these days — text messages, the Internet, e-mail, radio and television — we don’t always listen to what people are saying. Truly listening to someone lets them know that you are willing to focus on them and that what they have to say is important. That builds openness and trust.

It sounds simple, but think about it: If someone doesn’t pay attention when you come to them, are you likely to share information with them in the future? Do you trust that they have your best interests in mind?

This is even more important when you receive coaching: Look for what’s behind the coaching and take time to process it so you can see the benefit of the coaching. I take steps to ensure I’m listening to my staff, including small group meetings, and paying close attention to Pulse Survey results.

It’s important to act on what you learn when you listen. If you ask for feedback and then don’t act on it, others will be much less likely to share it in the future. My unit told me they struggled with inconsistent performance management processes and wanted to receive more coaching and growth opportunities. Based on that, we are implementing a consistent performance management process, and we have increased our coaching and mentoring activities.

I believe that my group will continue to share candid feedback because they know I listen.

As we head into challenging economic times, building and maintaining openness and trust will help us navigate the rough waters that lie ahead. Working together, sharing information and trusting that people are acting in the best interests of others will allow us to respond quickly to changing needs. We are all very fortunate to work at a values-driven place like Ohio State and I am personally grateful for the opportunity to get better every day.

Capturing an elusive quarry

March 2, 2011

Vet study uses ACCAD’s Motion Capture Lab to close in on a pressing problem for large dogs

By Julia Harris

Even though this Saturday morning was shaping up to be quite unusual for 1-year-old Slick — awakened just after dawn, packed into the car with his brother and driven the three long hours from Pittsburgh to Columbus — he seemed to be in pretty good spirits.

At least, until the folks at the ACCAD Motion Capture Lab got him wedged into a body-hugging black suit and made him stand perfectly still while they attached small silvery balls to him. Continue reading ‘Capturing an elusive quarry’

Gee tackles issues head-on at town hall

March 2, 2011

By Jeff McCallister

Sometimes, there’s so much going on, so much that people need to know, President Gordon Gee wants to tell everyone personally.

Since he can’t go around to every office and work space at the university, it seems town hall meetings such as the one he hosted Feb. 17 at the Ohio Union are the next-best thing. Continue reading ‘Gee tackles issues head-on at town hall’

New policy sets guidelines for flex schedules

March 2, 2011

There are numerous colleges and units at Ohio State that have allowed staff to work on flexible schedules for some time.

Now the university has a single policy that standardizes the rules and procedures for flex time.

Flexible Work Policy 6.12 became effective March 1. It applies to staff and covers flexible work arrangements lasting longer than two months.

Examples of flexible work arrangements include flex time, where start and ending times for work shifts — as well as the number of hours worked in a day —can vary; compressed work week, where the number of hours can be completed in fewer than five days; telecommuting;  temporary change of appointment percentage; or job sharing.

The policy is part of Ohio State’s move to eminence, a recognition of the growing demands on staff and the increasing challenge of finding new and better ways to both provide service and meet university goals.

For more information about the policy, see hr.osu.edu/worklife/flexiblework.aspx.

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