Small building, global influence

Photos by Jo McCulty Above, the Mershon Center, on the corner of Neil and Eighth avenues, hosts a number of lectures, workshops and meetings on national security each year, and many receptions in its three-story glass atrium, left.

Mershon Center researches at home, advises around the world

By Joni Bentz Seal, onCAMPUS staff

Housed in a three-story building on the southeast edge of campus, Ohio State's Mershon Center wields big influence on national security in the United States, and policy making around the world.

"Researchers working at the Mershon Center examine fundamental assumptions about political and social relationships that underpin policy choices of the United States and other countries," said Richard Herrmann, director of the Mershon Center and professor of political science. "We seek to advance the scholarly study and intellectual understanding of national security in a global context and to influence choices based on this policy-relevant research."

Herrmann cites two projects in the spotlight on the world front: one dealing with the legality of using force to compel compliance with agreements, such as in the situation with Iraq, and a second project based on Herrmann's work in forecasting and analyzing options for peaceful reconciliation on the Korean peninsula, which commands more public attention today than it did 18 months ago when it started.

"While all projects at Mershon may not have an immediate relevance to policy as these do, the goal is to improve decision-making by showing policy makers how history has unfolded, what cultural patterns and beliefs motivate action elsewhere, how unanticipated events -- like Sept. 11 -- affect developments, and by providing empirical tests of the causal assumptions often made by policy makers," he said.

The Mershon Center

The Mershon Center was created in 1967 by an endowment from Ohio State alumnus Ralph D. Mershon to establish a scholarly research center for the exploration of matters pertaining to national security. It remains today one of only a handful of non-military centers in the nation to offer comparable research and influence on public policy, critical now more than ever as the United States battles terrorism and hovers on the verge of war with Iraq.

Occupying the entire building located on the corner of Neil and Eighth avenues, Mershon provides office and meeting space for staff, researchers and guest lecturers. The majority of the center's events are held in its conference room, with receptions spilling out into the three-story atrium lobby.

Attempting to correct a common mistake, Herrmann points out that the Mershon Center is a completely separate entity from the campus auditorium of the same name. "People often assume they are one and the same, or that the center is the operating body of the auditorium," he said. "But aside from their namesake, there is no connection between the two. The auditorium is an entertainment venue -- with a separate staff -- and is part of the Wexner Center complex, where it is located."

While the center has a steady diet of external speakers and lecturers, its real strength comes from its resident faculty and visiting scholars -- experts in their respective fields -- who use Mershon as a forum to develop and convey their research.

The Mershon Center hosts a number of receptions in its three-story glass atrium.

"Mershon serves as a venue through which we present many interesting people, but the University has first-rate talent who are being invited all over the country to speak," Herrmann said. "They, in turn, attract first-rate talent to both lecture here and collaborate with our researchers through visiting professorships or our highly-competitive post-doctorate program," he said.

Funded by private sources, grants and contract work, which supplement revenues from the endowment, the center focuses on four themes: the use of force and military power to defend, deter and compel; the process of foreign and economic decision-making involved in war and peace; the impact of culture and identity on national security and political governance; and laws and institutions that manage violent inter-group conflict.

Herrmann also emphasizes that the heart of Mershon's uniqueness is the synergy created among the many disciplines of its internal and external experts, and the center's promotion of research with real-world application.

Most research captures the attention of top disciplinary journals such as the American Political Science Review and International Security, or is published by respected trade or university presses. However, it often doesn't capture the attention of the broader public and average citizen.

"We're trying to encourage brief synopses of the projects that we can promote to the media," Herrmann said. "Most researchers strive for prestige in the academic world and to impact policy at top levels, more than to change public opinion directly. We do, however, share our findings widely with students and colleagues on campus and in Ohio. We need to promote the level of knowledge here at Ohio State. When the U.S. does go to war and is involved in crises we work with the local and national media, sharing expert opinion and ideas."

Research focus

The Mershon Center is more than just a glorified think-tank. About 75 faculty, five post-doctoral students and a handful of visiting scholars and professors are currently involved in 55 research projects, all of which relate to national security. Some, Herrmann said, are more obvious, such as the study of democracy and extremism in Muslim countries. Others are indirectly connected.

"Many issues in popular culture may not immediately seem related to national security," Herrmann said. "For instance, the transmission of American culture into other countries and the backlash it has generated is relevant because people's perception of who they are and who Americans are — at the mass level —shapes the climate in which both policy-makers and terrorists live."

This topic has gained interest in Europe, and after Mershon hosted a meeting last October about the Americanization of Germany, conference organizers were approached by Oxford University to host a follow-up event covering American Culture in Europe this September.

By Julie Rojewski Oleg Grinevsky, former adviser in the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, visits with long-time colleague Halina Stephan, director of the Center for Slavic and East European Studies, before his lecture "Iraqi Nuclear Capabilities" Feb. 11.

"The Mershon Center and its researchers benefit tremendously from collaborations such as these," Herrmann said. "Cooperating with international institutions not only extends our financial resources, but earns Ohio State a national and international presence. We've collaborated with Brown and the University of California-Berkeley, which has a system-wide consortium for international studies. In Europe, we've partnered with Oxford University, the European University Institute in Florence and the Hess Institute in Germany. The international community benefits from centers like ours because we produce knowledge about other parts of the world that is really valuable."

Professor of Law Mary Ellen O'Connell was approached last year by colleagues at the J.W. Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, and Luiss University in Rome, to collaborate on a project titled "Redefining Sovereignty, The Use of Force After the End of the Cold War and After September 11: Legality and Legitimacy." The team is examining how recent armed conflicts are impacting state sovereignty.

"Our expertise is very much in demand right now," O'Connell said. "And because we are an academic center, our objectivity in regard to these matters is considered extremely credible."

Multidisciplinary collaboration

A distinct function of the Mershon Center is setting the stage for multidisciplinary collaboration. Faculty in many disciplines, including political science, history, economics, natural resources, law, sociology and social psychology, conduct research in their own fields but often lend their expertise to fellow researchers for discussion and validation.

Geoffrey Parker, the Andreas Dorpalen Professor of History, is exploring the connection between climatic change and catastrophic political, economic and social crisis -- his third project through the center. He said he was delighted to meet Professors Lonnie Thompson and Ellen Mosley-Thompson after a Mershon lecture, since their expertise in climatic research provided correlation and confirmation of the relationship he was studying.

"The Mershon Center gives us a wider perspective as researchers by creating multidisciplinary teams," Parker said. "Without its stimulus to bring together different scholars and scientists, and provide financial support, the depth and timeliness of my research would be greatly diminished."

Resources and funding

The center hosts several seminars during the year, including the National Security Seminar Series, the International Economy and Security Seminar Series, and the speaker series titled "Contemporary Armed Conflict." Prompted by the needs of researchers, it also sponsors lectures and conferences to bring in experts for discussion on specific projects, such as the third workshop on O'Connell's project, scheduled for May.

In addition, Mershon offers financial support to faculty -- most of whom still have departmental responsibilities -- and provides resources, such as research assistants and office space.

"The center also at times provides salary to relieve faculty from teaching so they can make time for their research," Herrmann said. "In other words, we fund opportunities for people to explore."

For more information and a calendar of events, visit the Mershon Center Web site at www.mershon.ohio-state.edu.

Courtesy of Facilities Planning and Development Major rehabilitation projects currently under way and being designed will help the University significantly reduce its deferred maintenance figures. Above, the renovation of Page Hall is expected to be completed by September 2004.

New buildings, renovations spell steady progress on deferred maintenance issue

By Randy Gammage, onCAMPUS staff

Significant progress has been made during the past 12 months toward assuring funding for maintenance and renewal of aging University facilities, said Associate Vice President for Physical Facilities James Stevens in a report to the University's Board of Trustees at its Feb. 7 meeting.

Deferred maintenance -- an accumulated backlog of facilities needing renewal -- is a concern as the University currently has 99 buildings older than 50 years, the age at which they normally require replacement or renovation to meet changing academic needs.

Quantified deferred maintenance and renewal is currently $555 million, down from $641 million a year ago, Stevens said. Affecting that figure has been the removal of 14 campus buildings, renovation of 21 buildings and the addition of 18 academic buildings, from July 2001 to August 2002.

Whole building renovation and renewal projects are currently under way at Hagerty, Page and Jennings halls, while renovation or replacement of Robinson Lab, Larkins Hall and the Main Library are included in the FY 2003-04 capital plan.

A Facilities Condition Index -- a measurement of the ratio of deferred maintenance and renewal to campus replacement value -- gives Ohio State a 13 percent average, down from 16 percent one year ago. Stevens said the goal is 11 percent, which compares to a national average of 10.25 percent and a 12 percent average for the Midwest.

"The University continues to grow in both size and value," Stevens said. "A large spurt in growth during the 1970s resulted in a large number of buildings that now are in need of renovation. To make continued progress toward our deferred maintenance goals it is very important to make the use of capital dollars for facilities improvement and renewal a priority."

Left, an artist's rendering shows what an atrium in the renovated Main Library could look like. The University has a goal of breaking ground on the project in 2005.   Courtesy of University Libraries

Annual progress reports to trustees were called for in a stewardship policy -- pertaining to maintenance and renewal of facilities -- adopted by trustees March 1, 2002. Stevens said key developments since last year's report are:

• Maintenance and renewal of General Fund space is being accomplished.

• Priority of state capital dollars for renovation and replacement is being given to academic buildings.

• Deferred maintenance funding is being included in the funding plan for every new capital project over $1.5 million.

• State capital dollars for small renovation and renewal projects increased from $15 million to $19 million.

Additionally, the deans and vice presidents are being asked to plan for renewal and to set aside 2 percent of the original construction cost or its equivalent for new space to assure sufficient resources are available for maintenance.

Stevens said that ongoing capital renovations and renewal will result in a continued rate of progress toward resolving deferred maintenance concerns.

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