By Kevin Fitzsimons

The atrium in the Younkin Success Center, which began providing academic, counseling and career services to students this spring.

Offices under one roof in name of student success

Center functions as a 'supermarket open to everyone on campus'

Kate Riffee and her colleagues in other offices, who provide a variety of services to students across campus, think about those services in terms of before and after construction of the Younkin Success Center.

Before moving into the newly constructed center, for example, student athletes and people in her office "spent the majority of their days commuting, driving to practices and going to study tables. It just wasn't convenient for us or our students,"said Riffee, director of student athlete support services. The unit was scattered all across campus, with offices in St. John Arena and in the basement of Raney Commons.

The after is now a reality.

The $8.6 million Younkin Success Center, located at 1640 Neil Ave., opened this spring, consolidating several student -- and some faculty -- services under one roof. The center also houses the new Academic Learning Lab, Counseling and Consultation Service, the Career Connection office, Faculty and TA Development, and a resource library.

The facility is open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, with the possibility of extended hours during finals weeks. The computer lab is open from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. as a public computing site.

Riffee's feelings echo throughout the building. "It's wonderful. My sense is that everyone is quite positive,"said Chris Rideout, director of Career Connection and staff psychologist in the Counseling and Consultation Service. "Our initial goals haven't really changed. We've always worked together for what's best for the student. Now it's easier for us and the student because we're just floors apart."

Rideout also is this year's chair of the Younkin Success Center Coordinating Council, which meets on a regular basis to discuss unit programs, ways the units can continue to work together and building issues.

"Synergy is the buzz word around here,"Rideout said.

Synergy led to development of the building in the first place. The offices of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs combined efforts to make the center possible. At the time of its inception, it was to be the first such center of its kind in the country.

The overall goal of the center is to help Ohio State students meet their full potential. It also is designed to attract and retain high-caliber students, promote student learning and integrate services.

Bruce Tuckman, director of the Academic Learning Lab, heads the only new unit housed in the Success Center. Tuckman and his staff are using computers to assess and, where possible, provide those services that will best suit individual students, particularly in regard to learning and self-motivational strategies.

"We think we have some ideas and some strategies that are going to be very unique around here -- if not in the country,"he said. "Computers will be used to provide instruction in learning and self-regulation strategies designed to meet students' needs. It should be more efficient for all involved."

Career Connection is a service for all students that works to fill gaps in other University career services, which are decentralized at Ohio State, Rideout said. The unit offers career planning, self-assessment, interviewing and resume-writing assistance, but does not actually function as a placement service.

Even the CVS store that will occupy the first floor of the Younkin Success Center will contain an educational and career guidance opportunity: OSU pharmacy students will manage the store's pharmacy.

The center is not just for undergraduate students or student athletes, according to Rideout. "We want faculty, TAs and graduate and professional students to feel comfortable coming to the Success Center,"she said.

"It's like a supermarket open to everyone on campus,"Riffee said. "Students can type a paper, hang out between classes, see a tutor or a counselor and not leave the building. We're all so very excited. The possibilities are endless, and that's a very good challenge to have."

The center will be dedicated in an invitation-only ceremony June 6 to recognize the family of the late Floyd Younkin of Columbus, which contributed a $2 million naming gift to the project.

CWA back to work, voting on agreement

Members of the Communications Workers of America Local 4501 are back at work and today (May 25) were to conclude three days of voting on a proposed three-year contract.

Meanwhile, President Kirwan has acknowledged that it is time to heal at Ohio State in the aftermath of the union's three-week strike. Kirwan urged faculty, staff and students to "move forward from here to mend relationships, restore normalcy and reunite our University family. Only through campuswide cooperation can this truly occur."

Negotiators for Ohio State and the CWA on May 19 announced they had reached a tentative agreement that they hoped would bring an end to the strike by 1,900 union members. At the time of the announcement, the CWA leadership asked members to return to their jobs beginning May 22.

"We are enormously pleased that we have been able to reach this tentative agreement,"Kirwan said. "This is a landmark agreement that is fair and equitable and which addresses concerns raised by both sides. The wage package included in the accord was put on the table by the union's bargaining team and it is a package we are able to support. I am very hopeful that the University can begin to return to normal and that we will once again be able to call upon the valued skills and full services of the CWA."

Gary Josephson, president of the CWA local, said that the tentative agreement represents a significant step forward for the union and urged his members to ratify the accord.

"We pressed our issues and the University listened,"Josephson said, "and we listened to the University's issues. In the end, we wound up with what I believe is a win/win agreement -- one that has my full support and the support of our entire negotiating team."

Josephson and Kirwan also called upon faculty and students to return to their normal classroom activities.

"We appreciate the support faculty and students have shown,"Josephson said, "and it has helped keep our spirits up during the strike. But now it is time for things to get back to normal."

Kirwan agreed, saying, "We must do everything within our ability to ensure that the student educational experience and support services for our students return to their normal and high levels as we reach the end of the quarter. We have much to do together."

The ratification vote was to take place May 23, 24 and 25 at various locations around campus designated by the union. Voting on regional campuses also occurred.

Pending ratification, CWA members are working under the terms of the previous contract. Once ratified, the new contract will take effect beginning 12:01 a.m. on May 27.

"To those who negotiated this new contract on behalf of the union as well as the University -- literally working around the clock -- we all owe a special debt of gratitude,"Kirwan said. "Thanks to their diligence, we are optimistic that the membership will ratify this landmark agreement for the University."

According to the terms of the tentative agreement, non-Medical Center CWA members will receive a $1 hourly increase in the first year of the three-year accord (effective with the pay period beginning June 18); a 50-cent hourly increase in the second year, and an additional 50-cent hourly increase in the third year. The latter increases also will be effective at the start of the fiscal years.

CWA members who work in the Medical Center also will receive a $1 hourly increase in the first year of the contract: a 50-cent hourly increase effective with the pay period beginning June 18 and an additional 50-cent increase effective on their anniversary dates.

In addition, these workers will receive a 40-cent hourly increase in the second year of the contract and an additional 50-cent hourly increase in the third year. The second- and third-year increases will be effective on the employee's anniversary date.

Medical Center workers will receive evening and night shift differentials of 15 cents per hour in the first year, 20 cents per hour in the second year, and 25 cents per hour in the third year.

Furthermore, members of the bargaining unit will each receive a $420 cash payment upon ratification of the agreement.

Other provisions of the agreement, most of which were also included in the previous agreement, include:

• A new pilot apprenticeship program for skilled trades and maintenance staff to take the opportunity to upgrade their skills. Staff who successfully participate in this program are eligible for additional pay increases.

• The addition of the use of skilled trades job titles previously used only by the University Medical Center, which would allow opportunities for upgrade and promotion of qualified University staff.

• An agreement to review job classifications for the purpose of developing skills assessment and learning components, with CWA to play a major role in selecting classifications for review.

• Guarantees for the life of the agreement that the University will maintain its share of benefits costs at 85 percent of premiums for the University base plan, with bargaining unit members paying no more than the 15 percent they currently pay.

• The ability for the University to hire in experienced staff at rates higher than the minimum. This provision would allow for enhanced recruitment of staff with previous experience, which would benefit all operations. The contract also continues to allow the University to provide pay adjustments to resolve inequity situations. New to this agreement is the provision of up to a 35-cent-per-hour adjustment for workers hired at minimum wage levels who successfully complete their 180-day probationary period.

• Employees could receive up to an additional 15 cents per hour in base pay effective June 2002, provided that the CWA and the University agree on objective and fair criteria regarding improved performance.

• The exclusion of sick leave from the accumulation of hours to be eligible for overtime.

• The implementation of maximum wage rates for each classification; for individuals at or above maximum, one-third of the established pay increase would be in base pay and two-thirds in immediate cash payment. All increases will count toward retirement calculations.

Dimon R. McFerson

Columbus business leader McFerson named to Board of Trustees

The newest member of the University's Board of Trustees is determined to make Columbus a big-league city.

Dimon R. McFerson, who recently announced his impending retirement as chairman and CEO of Nationwide, knows that Ohio State is a major player in building the city's national reputation.

"Much of what makes Columbus a dynamic place is attributable to having such a renowned center of learning right in the middle of the city. Ohio State contributes so much to the city and the state,"McFerson said. "From the Wexner Center to the James Cancer Hospital to the Fisher College of Business, from its research labs to its classrooms to its athletic fields, Ohio State is a vital part of our lives here."

McFerson was appointed by Gov. Bob Taft earlier this month to a nine-year term as a University trustee. He replaces Michael Colley, whose term expired on May 13.

"Ohio State is a world leader in higher education and is Ohio's premier academic research facility,"Taft said. "Its continued success depends on attracting top talent to teach, study and lead.

"I am pleased that Dimon McFerson has accepted my offer to help lead Ohio State as a member of its board of trustees. His support of Ohio State and his expertise in financial management, in organizational leadership and in community service is well-documented and will be a tremendous benefit to Ohio State and our state,"he said.

McFerson intends to stay in the area when he retires at the end of this year. "I would like to enjoy all the exciting new things this community can offer,"he said.

In fact, many of those things are his doing. During his tenure as Nationwide's chief, he has helped change the face of Downtown Columbus. He convinced Nationwide to become the lead investor in building a privately funded downtown arena to attract a National Hockey League expansion team. As chairman of the Center of Science and Industry (COSI)'s board, he played a leading role in the center's move to a new home on the banks of the Scioto River.

In 1979 the Los Angeles native joined Nationwide, an international insurance and financial services organization based in Columbus, as vice president of internal audits. He was named vice president of individual life and health operations in 1981 and was promoted in 1983 to senior vice president of finance. In 1988, he was elected president of the Nationwide property/casualty companies. He was named CEO in 1992. He previously held senior positions with The New England Mutual Life Insurance Co. in Boston and with Surety Life Insurance Co. in Salt Lake City. He began his career with six years at Ernst and Young.

A graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, McFerson also holds a master's degree from the University of Southern California. He is a certified public accountant and holds the chartered life insurance underwriter professional designation.

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