Apples for honored faculty

Photos by Jo McCulty President Brit Kirwan surprises Neeli Bendapudi, assistant professor of marketing, during her class April 16 with an announcement that she is a recipient of the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching this year. Kirwan will visit a total of 19 faculty this spring with the news that they are recipients of three high faculty honors: the teaching award, the Distinguished Scholar Award and the Faculty Award for Distinguished University Service.

Colleague Susan Turner congratulates Julia Guy, assistant professor of anatomy and medical education (right), after Guy learned on April 12 that she, too, is a recipient of the Alumni Award for Distinguished Teaching. All honored faculty will be recognized during a banquet in May. See the May 24 issue of onCampus for details on this year's award recipients.

Kirwan talks candidly with staff on budget, fees, salaries

President Brit Kirwan talked dollars and sense at an April 20 town meeting for faculty and staff.

"The subject today is the challenging times that you and I are facing because of the difficult budget situation,"Kirwan told about 200 faculty and staff who joined him for a lunch hour discussion in the Ohio Union Stecker Lounge.

Senior Vice President for Business and Finance William Shkurti and Associate Vice President for Human Resources Larry Lewellen participated with Kirwan in the discussion, sponsored by the University Staff Advisory Committee.

Topics touched on in opening remarks by Kirwan and during a lengthy question-and-answer session included: state funding woes, impending increases in health care premiums and parking fees, the recent hiring freeze, equity in salary raises, and efforts on the part of Ohio State to face economic challenges.

Kirwan plunged immediately into the issue of compensation.

"I don't need to tell you that Ohio State has, for some years now, had great difficulty in maintaining competitive salaries in relation to our peers,"he said. "The question is, ÔWhy is this the case?' Part of the reason is that the state of Ohio has not supported education, particularly higher education, the way other states have."

Ohio ranks 40th out of the 50 states in state support of higher education. While other states have funneled additional funds into higher education during strong economic periods, Ohio does not have a history of making higher education a funding priority. In recent years, Ohio's annual support has averaged a 3 percent increase, while other states have averaged a 6 percent increase. Half of the University's general budget is funded by the state's allocation.

The state Legislature and Gov. Bob Taft are currently negotiating the state's biennial budget for Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003, which is scheduled to take effect July 1. At present, OSU Columbus campus is expected to receive approximately a 1 percent to 1.5 percent increase in funding, at best, and potentially even less for the State Share of Instruction, which is the University's single largest source of state funds.

"We began this budget cycle with a real sense of hope that we would have a breakthrough year in terms of funding,"Kirwan said, thanks in large part to an October Board of Regents recommendation for a 16 percent increase in higher education funding.

Since October, however, the state has discovered unmet expenses in Medicaid, the economy has taken a downturn, and the costs of funding K-12 education have increased by more than $1 billion.

"We are in a very severe situation in terms of our resource prospects over the next year, and really the next two years. I'm being very frank that the prospect of our having any significant increase in salaries for the next year is diminishingly small,"Kirwan said.

Ohio State is "pulling out all the stops"to lobby the governor and the state General Assembly to protect the higher education budget, Kirwan said. Alumni advocates across the state have been organized to make phone calls and write letters to legislators, and administrators from all of Ohio's state universities have been meeting with the editorial boards of major newspapers to make their case.

Because compensation is a top budget priority, Kirwan said the University has taken steps to shave funds elsewhere, such as postponing investments in academic initiatives and curtailing the Academic Enrichment Program. The selective hiring freeze that went into effect on April 16 is intended to help free up funds for compensation.

Ohio State also will continue to shoulder 85 percent of the PrimeCare plan, even while costs have increased sharply. The University is offering faculty and staff who earn $30,000 or less as of July 1, 2001, a one-time credit for half of the PrimeCare plan premium increase.

Kirwan shared a couple of charts to illustrate his points. When benchmarked with nine other universities, Ohio State ranks seventh in terms of revenue generated per student (full-time equivalent), at nearly $26,000. The benchmark average is $32,000. However, Ohio State is ranked fifth among the benchmark institutions for dedicating 65 percent of its budget to compensation.

During the question-and-answer session, several questions centered on compensation issues.

A recent Columbus Dispatch article reported that clerical and secretarial employees of the University earn an average salary of $28,000, which is 9 percent above the market. A staff member wanted to know how the University arrived at that statistic.

"On average, our clerical staff make less than at the state government of Ohio and other employers,"Lewellen said. "It takes 16 years at Ohio State to arrive at that average. The reason that statistic is true is because we have so many long-term employees who have worked here more than 16 years."

Kirwan responded to a question about whether the credit being offered this year on benefits premiums for some employees will be offered again next year. "We want to build in some continuing systematic way of providing support for these staff, but it is too early to see what form that help will come in,"he said.

Kirwan said rumors that the central administration has received larger raises than average in years past are inaccurate.

"Central administration raises are subject to the same guidelines that everyone else is subject to. Monies made available for raises were uniform in units across campus,"he said.

One attendee asked if there have been any discussion regarding faculty or staff buy-outs. "There has not been, although I have charged Bill Shkurti and (Provost) Ed Ray to look at our budget and put everything on the table to explore possibilities for getting more money into compensation,"Kirwan said. "Your compensation matters greatly to this administration and we will do everything we can to ensure you are properly compensated."

Kirwan emphasized, in response to a question, that the revenue sources for building projects, such as Ohio Stadium or the Fisher College of Business, are different from the budget sources for salaries. The state annually provides separate funds for building projects, and Ohio State cannot use those revenues for any other purpose.

A number of questions were raised regarding parking concerns, particularly about the increases in fees. Shkurti explained recent increases will go to fund three new parking garages -- at the northwest side of Lane Avenue, near Larkins Hall and in the Health Sciences area -- and that no additional increases are currently planned beyond those already outlined in the five-year parking plan approved by the OSU Board of Trustees.

In response to a question about visitors and others parking at special events, Shkurti said these fees are reviewed annually to make sure these users are paying their fair share. For example, special event parking for the Schottenstein Center was increased in January. He pointed out that the single largest group of users of visitor parking were patients at University Hospitals, and therefore, it would not be in the University's interest to raise these parking fees to the point where they put OSU Hospitals at a competitive disadvantage with other area hospitals.

In spite of the dismal prospects for state funding for the next two years, Kirwan said there is a silver lining.

"The Legislature and governor said that although cuts will occur, they want to do everything they can to protect higher education. I think there is a change going on. We've never heard that before,"he said.

When funding for K-12 is settled in the Legislature, Kirwan suspects more attention will be paid to higher education, and he plans to do all he can to ensure that it is.

"I consider it perhaps my greatest responsibility,"he said. "Ohio has got to change its ways in terms of support for higher education."

Biological Sciences interim dean named

Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray, with the concurrence of President Brit Kirwan, has recommended the appointment of Richard W. Hall as interim dean of the College of Biological Sciences at Ohio State, pending approval by the Board of Trustees. Hall currently serves as associate dean of the College of Biological Sciences.

The appointment, effective Sept. 1 through June 30, 2002, will go before the board at its next meeting on May 4.

Richard W. Hall has been appointed interim dean of the College of Biological Sciences

"My recommendation to appoint Rich as interim dean is based upon his understanding of the college as well as his established organizational and administrative skills,"Ray said. "I am confident that Rich's talents, experience and skills will help the college advance biological sciences in alignment with the University's mission."

This announcement follows current Dean Alan G. Goodridge's decision not to seek reappointment.

Hall has served as the associate dean for the college since 1990 and was named acting dean in 1995. He joined the Ohio State faculty in 1982 as an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology and was named an associate professor in 1988.

"I look forward to working with our faculty, staff and students along with the central administration to continue strengthening the College of Biological Sciences,"Hall said.

Prior to coming to Ohio State, Hall was a postgraduate research entomologist at the University of California, Davis. He earned his doctorate from that university in 1977 and earned his bachelor's degree in biology in 1973 from San Francisco State University.

A national search for a permanent dean will begin immediately.