Legislation mandates ARP amendments

The University Board of Trustees on March 2 was told that recent legislation has mandated amendments to the Alternative Retirement Plan (ARP), effective April 1. House Bill 535 broadens the definitions of who may participate and lengthens the amount of time for new participants to elect the ARP.

All employees who are eligible to participate in the ARP now have 120 days to elect participation, increased from 90 days. Once elected, contributions to the ARP begin immediately, no longer waiting until the election period has expired. Any amounts which were contributed to the state retirement system on behalf of new employees must be paid to the ARP provider within 30 days of the receipt of the certified election by the state system.

Employees can now receive distribution at the date of termination, rather than waiting for one year. An individual who terminates at one public higher education institution and is hired in an ARP-eligible position at another institution may make another election.

Employees participating in the ARP will remain in the ARP even if they change to a position for which the ARP would not otherwise be available or if they terminate employment but return to the University within one year.

Individuals who do not elect the ARP within the stated time period are never entitled to make an election, unless re-employed after a one-year break in service. Participants will be permitted to change providers once per year during the first payroll period of any plan year, or when the provider ceases to be a designated provider. When changing providers, the entire balance must be transferred.

Endowed chairs, funds accepted

Three new endowed chairs were approved by trustees. The board also accepted 23 new named endowed funds for a total of $5.7 million in gifts to the University.

The Raymond E. Mason Chair in Transportation and Logistics, funded at $1.26 million, will provide support for a faculty chair in the Fisher College of Business. The John G. Boutselis, M.D., Chair in Gynecology, funded at $1.24 million, will support a faculty chair position in gynecological oncology in the College of Medicine and Public Health. The Edgar C. Hendrickson Designated Chair in Biomedical Engineering, funded at $1.9 million, will support the research of an outstanding faculty member in the College of Engineering.

New named endowed funds are:

• The Barbara J. Bonner Lung Cancer Research Endowment Fund, $300,000.

• The Alex and Betty Schoenbaum Undergraduate Support Fund, $200,000.

• The Frank R. Sheeran Memorial Fellowship Fund in Advanced Practice Nursing, $112,718.

• The William G. Myers, M.D., Ph.D. Endowment Fund, $100,000.

• The George L. and Eleanor M. Kilgore Research Fund in Ophthalmology, $67,640.

• The Dorothy Bittner Louks Endowment Fund for Research in Ophthalmology, $52,933.

• The Jeffrey R. Rodek Fund for Excellence, $52,260.

• The Longaberger Diversity Scholarship Fund, $50,000.

• The Marylou and Ernestine Kuhn Memorial Scholarship Fund, $47,050.

• The Ohio State University College of Nursing Alumni Scholarship Fund, $32,634.

• The Charles W. Massey and Ola Belle Massey Printmaking Endowment Fund, $29,878.

• The Sydney N. Fisher Memorial Fund in Ottoman and Turkish Studies, $27,864.

• The Agnes Marshall Gordon Scholarship Fund, $27,131.

• The Richard B. Sneed Memorial Scholarship Fund, $25,800.

• The Henry P. and Kathryn A. Kurdziel Education Scholarship Fund, $25,500.

• The Bernadine Healy, M.D., Teaching and Research Fund in Medicine and Public Health, $25,405.

• The College of Education Alumni Society Scholarship Fund, $25,425.

• George W. Acock 1963 Fund, $25,260.

• The Leroy B. Bloomberg, M.D., Educational Enrichment Award Fund in Ophthalmology, $25,000.

• The Michael and Michele Moran Family Scholarship Fund, $25,000.

• The Robert and Mary Reusche Humanities Scholar Endowed Scholarship Fund, $25,000.

• The Evert C. Strickland Fund for Research in Professional Development, $25,000.

• The Stephen J. Weinberg Undergraduate Scholarship Fund, $25,000.

Facility renamed, reports heard

In other business, trustees approved the renaming of Drake Union to The Drake Performance and Event Center. The board also heard reports on the endowment and a study abroad program.

University Treasurer James L. Nichols told trustees the University's endowment stood at $1.11 billion as of Feb. 23. In his quarterly report, Nichols said the endowment was $1.18 billion as the quarter ended Dec. 31, and the total number of funds was 2,915. As of Dec. 31, there were 213 deferred gifts totalling $65 million.

Trustees were told about the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences' study abroad programs in the Dominican Republic, China, Mexico, England, Southern Africa and the Czech Republic. A special leadership program is offered in Brazil, and a new program is being developed in Australia. Students learn about a country's economics, sociology, language and culture over six to eight weeks. The program's goal is to afford students a more global view of the industries with which they will work upon graduation.