TRUSTEES

The Ohio State Board of Trustees held its monthly meeting Oct. 3 in Longaberger Alumni House. Ohio State is governed by a board of 11 trustees (including two nonvoting student members) who are responsible for oversight of academic programs, budgets and general administration, and employment of faculty and staff. The governor annually appoints one voting member to a nine-year term and one nonvoting student member to a two-year term.

Trustees adopt update to University Master Plan

By RANDY GAMMAGE, onCAMPUS staff

The University Board of Trustees during its Oct. 3 session adopted an update to the University Master Plan, created in 1995 to guide future planning for university facilities and the physical environment.

The plan called for periodic reviews to gauge its continued relevancy and effectiveness, and to prepare updates that respond to changes, new problems or a need for clarification.

An internal university committee and an external review team conducted the review.

In most respects, the review showed that policies and principles of the 1995 master plan remain valid and continue to effectively guide campus development decisions, said Laura Shinn, senior campus planner and a member of the internal review committee.

"The interesting thing that came out of this study was that, since the Academic Plan (drawn up in 2000) had not been completed, the authors of the master plan developed a set of assumptions about where the university was heading in the future that turned out to be quite valid," Shinn said.

For example, the master plan stated that research and technology would continue to grow, the campus would have to continue to change to meet the needs of a diverse population, and the campus would have to provide a setting that reflects a world-class institution. Similar principles are among those stated in the Academic Plan, although the latter document is more detailed, Shinn said.

After review, incremental revisions, rather than a major update or new plan, were recommended, as time and resources permit. Shinn said the proposed revisions and suggested action would strengthen the master plan implementation efforts. The first revision, already completed, is to prepare a supplement to the 1995 plan that aligns the policies and principles of the plan with the strategies and initiatives of the Academic Plan and update the master plan each time the Academic Plan is updated.

Other suggested revisions and action steps are:

• Regional campuses
  Prepare a thematic district plan that establishes policies and principles that reflect the identifying characteristics of Ohio State and, at the same time, provide direction in designing regional campuses in suburban locations.

• Acquisition lines
  Prepare policies for establishing acquisition lines and mutual understandings with surrounding communities at all university locations.

• Gateways
  Prepare a thematic district plan that establishes university policies and principles to guide location and design of gateways at all locations.

• Design Review Board
  Conduct an objective appraisal of all projects that have gone through the design review process and revise policies regarding the DRB to address issues that are identified. Shinn said a document will be drawn up that will serve as an operating manual to guide architects and project managers to better prepare for presentations before the DRB.

• Increasing complexity in project funding sources
  No action recommended. Existing policies and principles are adequately flexible to address these issues.

Shinn said the master plan has remained timely and effective because of the urban design approach taken, which reserves spaces for buildings, green spaces and pedestrian walkways, instead of locating specific facilities 10-15 years in advance like many institutions do.

The update to the University Master Plan can be found as a PDF on the Web at www.apo.ohio-state.edu/?segue=MP.

Budget implications presented

Trustees heard a report from Bill Shkurti, senior vice president for business and finance, on the financial implications for the FY 2004 operating budget.

Long-term financial goals, Shkurti said, must be structured to assure the continued flow of resources to the activities and functions of the Academic Plan. Goals include: an operating margin of between .5 percent and 1 percent in the general fund; a rainy day fund of 1 percent of the total operating revenues; targeted reserves in selected areas; at least 30 days of operating cash; debt service of no more than 5 percent of annual operating expenditures and a bond rating of at least AA; and multi-year commitments of general funds that do not exceed 1 percent of current-year revenues.

Shkurti also presented financial objectives and strategic financial issues for FY 2004, along with five-year revenue and expense trends. He stressed that strategic management of financial risk will become increasingly important as Ohio State becomes more entrepreneurial and more diverse in its revenue sources.

Endowed funds named

A newly established endowed chair at Ohio State will enable the university to pursue in-depth studies of nonviolent resolutions to conflict as well as other peace-related issues. The Chair in Peace Studies, an initiative of the Ohio Council of Churches, was established with $1.25 million in gifts to the university from Erie and Orlyss Sauder and Sauder Woodworking Co. of Archbold; the Southern Ohio Episcopal Diocese Procter Fund; congregations of Church of the Brethren, Mennonite and Friends; and faculty, staff and numerous friends. A national multi-disciplinary search is underway for a senior faculty member who will join the university's Mershon Center as chairholder.

Trustees also accepted 549 new research grants and contracts awarded to Ohio State totaling $54.6 million, and $1.6 million in gifts that establish nine new endowed funds. Trustees accepted the following named funds:

• The Barbara C. Joslin Endowed Scholarship Fund, $109,932.

• The Rural Family Medicine Endowment Fund, $31,050.

• The Family Medicine Medical Student Education and Support Fund, $29,100.

• The Family Medicine Residency Support Fund, $27,600.

• The Urban Family Medicine Endowment Fund, $26,100.

• The Manuel Tzagournis, M.D., and Madeline Tzagournis Diabetes Research and Education Endowment Fund, $25,100.

• The Excellence in Family Medicine Fund, $25,100.

• The Frances Todd Walther Memorial Scholarship Fund in Advanced Practice Nursing, $25,000.

• The Elizabeth J. Watters Endowment Fund for Alumni Relations and Development, $25,000.

Personnel actions

• Louis F. DiMauro has been named professor with tenure and holder of the Dr. Edward E. and Sylvia Hagenlocker Chair in Physics in the College of Mathematical and Physical Sciences' Department of Physics, effective Oct. 1. Prior to this appointment, he was senior scientist at the Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, N.Y. DiMauro earned a B.S. in chemistry from Hunter College in 1975, and an M.S. and Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Connecticut in 1977 and 1980, respectively.

• M. Ronald Glaser has been named director of the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research in the Office of Health Sciences, effective through June 30, 2007. He holds a concurrent position as professor and holder of the Gilbert and Kathryn Mitchell Chair in the College of Medicine and Public Health.

• Samson T. Jacob has been named professor and holder of the William C. and Joan E. Davis Cancer Research Professorship in the College of Medicine and Public Health, effective through June 30, 2007. Jacob holds a doctorate from Agra University in India and did post-doctoral work at Baylor College of Medicine and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

• Ming-Daw Tsai has been named the Charles H. Kimberly Professor in Chemistry, effective through Sept. 30, 2010. A recipient of Ohio State's Distinguished Scholar Award, Tsai received his B.S. degree in chemistry from National Taiwan University, Taipei, in 1972, and his Ph.D. from Purdue University in 1978.

• Jerry R. Ladman has been reappointed associate provost for international affairs in the Office of Academic Affairs, effective through Aug. 31, 2006.

• Andreas F. von Recum has been reappointed director of the Biomedical Engineering Center in the College of Engineering, effective through June 30, 2006.

• Charles R. Hille has been appointed interim chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, effective through June 30, 2004.

• Prabir K. Dutta has been named chair of the Department of Chemistry, effective through Sept. 30, 2007.

Student recognized

Scott W. Davis, a third-year student in the Moritz College of Law, received the board's Student Recognition Award. Davis, who was nominated by Dean Nancy Rogers, completed a bachelor's degree in engineering at the University of Cincinnati and served as a Peace Corps volunteer in Mauritania, West Africa. He has served as president of the Black Law Students Association, coordinated the Minority Law Outreach Program and is a member of the new Ohio State Journal of Criminal Law. He also has been awarded the Moritz Leadership Award for exemplary leadership.

Transaction approved

Trustees authorized the purchase of improved real property at 1365 and 2131 Springmill St. in Mansfield for $5.2 million. The property is identified in the campus' master plan as a site for student housing.