Hugh Sherman addresses and takes questions from Student Senate members

During Wednesday night’s Ohio University Student Senate meeting, Ohio U President Hugh Sherman gave a presentation about the presidential search committee, student mental health and diversity and inclusion. Following his presentation, Sherman took questions from Student Senate members. 

Sherman updated the Senate on the search for his successor, mentioning that the Board of Trustees have put together a presidential search committee, which includes Student Senate President Dayna Shoulders. The university has hired Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges (AGB), a search firm, and Collective Genius, a firm that also assists with the search. Sherman, also, gave a timeline for the search.

“The search committee will then go through those candidates and probably pick about eight or 10 that they think really have the ability to do the job,” Sherman said about the search. “Then they will interview those eight to 10. They will narrow it down to approximately three people. And those three people will be invited for extensive campus visits and interviews. So they probably won't get those people to come to campus until early January through February. And then the target is that by the end of March that the Board of Trustees names the new president.”

Sherman was appointed for a two-year term as Ohio University’s 22nd president in June 2021, following the resignation of former President Duane Nellis.

The second point Sherman made in his presentation was about student recruitment and retention. Sherman said that Ohio U has the goal of recruiting 4,000 freshmen yearly and ensuring their graduation through different programs. 

“So we're making sure that from the time a student comes as a freshman, they're getting advice and their development plan, that part of the (ACE) department. They have to develop a plan in the first semester that they're here about what they want to accomplish,” Sherman said about student retention and graduation rates. “And then they lay out the four years to make sure that they get what they want, in terms of majors and experiences, as well as graduating in time, in four years.”

The third topic of conversation was student health and wellbeing. Sherman said that Ohio U is working on expanding access to counseling and mental health services for students, specifically through a partnership with OhioHealth.

“This is a national crisis. It is very difficult now, across this country, to be able to identify psychiatrists and people in the behavior health field to be able to help students around the country,” Sherman said. “So we are working with one of our most important partners, OhioHealth, which is the second largest health system in the state, to work out a program that we can provide different approaches to solving this problem.”

Sherman talked about diversity and inclusion on campus. He specifically mentioned Ohio U’s Make Respect Visible campaign and the Student Cabinet for Inclusive Access.

Additionally, Sherman mentioned that the university is hiring an external firm to audit university policies, processes and procedures. Then offer suggestions on how Ohio U can be more inclusive.

“It is something that we all really want to do right, it is this part of being a public university,” Sherman said. “We want every person who comes here to feel that they are appreciated, they're supported and that they can obtain the goals that they want.”

University Life Commissioner Clay Lewis asked Sherman if there had been any changes in university policies regarding acts of hate on campus. This question was in reference to two instances of racism in Ohio U housing last spring.

In response, Sherman said that the police found no evidence in either case, and that an involved student in one of the instances had a code of conduct hearing. Conduct hearings are protected under FERPA regulations. Sherman, however, assured Lewis that all procedures were followed.

“For me, as the president, I'm going to follow the procedures, right? I'm not going to rush to judgment. I'm going to make darn sure that everybody's reacting the way they should, that the people who were affected are being offered help …But we will continue to follow the procedures.”

Lewis also asked Sherman whether Ohio U is making wages more competitive for student employees. Sherman said that he was not sure how long the current wages have been in place and that the financial department is working on a new recommendation.

“It’s not going to be a significant raise all at one time, but we have to address it. We have got to look at a way to start raising wages over time. The last four years, while this university has been going through a financial crisis, wages and salaries have been frozen for everybody,” Sherman said. “For me, it’s an issue of developing a multiyear compensation program to try to get everyone’s wages up.”

In other business:

• Ruben Lopez was appointed Governmental Affairs Commission Senator.

• Daniel Gordillo was appointed Governmental Affairs Senator.

• Caleb Hibbs and Virginia Dickens were appointed to the Budget Committee.

• Faith Laughlin was appointed LGBTQIA Affairs Vice Commissioner.

• Shaneyl Spinner-Smith and Kennedy Huntsman were appointed Women’s Affairs Senators.

• Mario Koch was appointed Director of Veterans Affairs.

• Isaac Davis was appointed University Life Senator for Sorority and Fraternity Life.

• Israel Wellington was appointed LGBTQA Affairs Senator.

• Kylie Bridgeman was appointed Black Affairs Senator.

• The Senate passed a resolution to continue the Student Senate application and admission process on a rolling basis.

• The Senate passed a bill in support of the Avon Lake Power Plant Redevelopment.