Student Senate welcomes in the new semester, hears Board of Trustees updates
In its first meeting back from winter break, the Ohio University’s Student Senate began with a presentation from the Board of Trustees’ student trustees, Garrent Meek and Mia Citino.
The presentation consisted of progress reports for each of the Board’s four committees.
The Board’s Audit and Risk Management Committee’s update included the most recent financial statement for the audit that ended June 20, 2023 which reported no weaknesses or significant deficiencies.
The Academics and Student Success Committee’s report revealed a large increase in student retention rates with the Athens campus rates reaching 84.7% in 2023. The committee additionally detailed the Carnegie R1 Classification Update which requires R1 universities to have at least $50 million in expenditure and 70 doctorates.
The Carnegie Classification is a widely accepted method for classifying universities’ research institutions into three separate categories: R1, R2 and R3, with R1 being the most prestigious classification.
Ohio U achieved a R1 classification in January 2022 and, amid these new updates, plans to abide by Carnegie’s recommendations for retention of a R1 classification. These recommendations include: continued balance between research and doctoral production, retention of faculty, tracking and support of doctoral students and accounting for all research.
The Academics and Student Success Committee finished its report by giving various college dean updates. The Honors Tutorial College Dean will be announced soon, interviews for the new Patton College of Education Dean will be held this month and the search for a University Libraries Dean began in December.
The Resources and Facilities Committee report explained that Phase 1 has begun on the Bentley and Morton Halls Learning Space upgrades. Phase 1 largely consists of problem identification. Improvements are also being made to the Memorial Auditorium with upgrades to the lighting and cooling systems. Construction for both of these projects is projected to begin in the summer.
A new space optimization initiative is coming into effect. This initiative prioritizes the use of currently underutilized spaces and puts an emphasis on cross department space sharing.
The Governance and Compensation Committee updated that they have elected a new secretary to the board, Shelly Bean, who will be responsible for organization of all the board’s records.
The student trustees concluded their presentation by promoting the application to be a Board of Trustees’ student trustee. “Your ultimate role is to act as the liaison between the student body and the Board of Trustees,” Citino explained.
Interested students can attend an information session on Jan. 30 from 5 to 6 p.m. Applications will be accepted until 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 12. The application submission form can be found here.
In other business:
The Senate’s meeting location has moved to Walter 235.
Senator Colton Gibbs-Dunlap was appointed to be Budget Committee chair.
The Senate passed a resolution for the purchase of destresser goodie bags that cost a total of $759.20.
The Senate passed a resolution for the purchase of Valentine's day goodie bags that cost a total of $369.18.
The Senate passed a resolution for the purchase Black History Month goodie bags that cost a total of $855.05.
The Senate passed a resolution for the purchase of Fat Boy Q catering at a Black History Month event for a total of $650.
The Governmental Affairs Commission expressed a desire to learn more about Ohio’s House Bill 27, a bipartisan bill that emphasizes financial transparency among higher education institutions.
The Black Affairs Commission is holding a Black History Month event titled “Forward We March” on Feb. 12 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m in the Walter rotunda.
The Senate’s faculty adviser, Kathy Fahl, announced that application for Leadership Awards closes on Feb. 1. The application submission form can be found here.
Advisor Fahl announced the priority deadline for FAFSA is Feb. 15.