29
August
1995
|
18:00 PM
America/New_York
Trustees: Building Projects, Other Business
OHIO STATE SEEKS BUILDING FUNDS, ACTS ON OTHER PROJECTS
COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University Board of Trustees
Wednesday (8/30) voted to request state funds for eight
building projects. The board also voted to seek bids to
construct a baseball stadium and renovate hospital radiology
and agricultural greenhouse facilities, and accepted
contracts for construction of a park.
Eight projects targeted for state funding
Trustees approved eight projects totaling $99.2 million
for inclusion in the university's capital request for the
1997-98 biennium. The request is due to the Ohio Board of
Regents by Sept. 15. Ohio State is seeking state funds for
the following projects, listed in order of priority:
1. College of Business, phase two, $24 million.
2. Food Science & Technology Building, $9.9 million.
3. Life Sciences Building, $21.7 million.
4. Physical Sciences Building, phase one, $4 million.
5. Planning funds for renovating Hagerty Hall,
$1 million.
6. Replacement of Sisson Hall, $16.2 million.
7. Knowlton School of Architecture, $9 million.
8. Heart and Lung Institute, $13.4 million.
"These recommendations reflect a significant effort to
improve the quality of our physical environment within
available resources," said Richard Sisson, senior vice
president for academic affairs and provost. We feel our
recommendations are consistent with the University's
academic priorities in support of teaching, research and
public service. They are also consistent with our financial
goals of maximizing the effective use of existing space."
Sisson said the recommendations represent the
culmination of a year-long effort that involved extensive
consultations with the fiscal committees of the Board of
Trustees and University Senate, and deans and vice
presidents.
"For the first time in recent history, preliminary
recommendations were shared with the board and the campus
community in May, well before a final decision was reached."
Change in funding could affect building projects
Changes in the state's method of funding public higher
education construction projects could affect the timing of
some current building programs at Ohio State. University
officials are working with the state to successfully
complete them.
Of eight projects sought in the next biennial budget,
five received initial funding for planning or construction
in the state's current biennial capital funds budget.
According to William J. Shkurti, vice president for finance,
some of those projects could be affected by what he calls
"the most sweeping changes in capital funding since voters
approved state-funded higher education bonds in 1968."
Shkurti said that under the old system, all state-
financed capital projects at universities were funded from a
central pool of money. Once the projects were approved
through the state's biennial capital appropriations process,
retirement of the construction debt was financed by the
state's General Revenue Fund. Operating costs for the
buildings were then automatically added in the instructional
subsidy each university receives from the state.
"The Regents feel the funding system has led to over-
building on many campuses because these projects were
treated as free goods by the institution and by elected
officials," Shkurti said.
As a result, the Regents and the state universities
agreed to modify the subsidy formula so that operating costs
for additional space were no longer automatic.
Now the Regents plan to charge the cost of debt service
for each building directly to a capital allocation for the
respective campus. If a campus spends more than its
allocation, the university would have to provide the
additional funds. If a campus spends less, the remainder
could be used for related equipment or renovations.
Individual projects will still require state approval.
"Ohio State supports taking on more direct
responsibility and control over the university's capital
decisions." Shkurti said. However, he added, the Regents'
proposal does not provide a procedure to continue state-
funded projects already begun under the old system. At Ohio
State, those projects include business, food science, life
sciences and architecture buildings and the Heart and Lung
Institute.
"We will meet all our commitments to our donors and
will work with the Regents to facilitate this," Shkurti
said. "A transitional mechanism is needed for these
projects because the ground rules have changed."
The funding formula proposed by the Regents would
provide Ohio State's main campus with 22.4 percent of the
state-wide total for higher education projects in the state,
Shkurti said. "If this 22.4 percent is applied to the $400
million distributed two years ago, Ohio State would receive
$89 million. This would be enough to fund all our requests
except the Heart and Lung Institute."
However, Shkurti said that the Regents have indicated
an intent to request a minimum of $300 million for all
projects. If the Regents distribute only $300 million, Ohio
State's share would fall to $66 million. That would not be
sufficient even to complete the five projects already
approved by the state.
Ohio State officials also maintain that universities
should not be charged for so-called "community projects"
such as city art museums and regional sports facilities. In
the past, the Ohio General Assembly included projects such
as the Toledo Convention Center and the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame in capital improvement funds assigned to nearby
universities.
Shkurti said that if Ohio State pays the bill for its
projects, the Regents and state political leaders should not
be able to alter the university's capital priorities. The
state also should allow universities, rather than the state,
to administer the projects. Otherwise, universities will
have to pay for project delays caused by the state.
Currently, universities can only administer projects below a
certain dollar amount.
Ohio State already has established mechanisms to help
ensure wise use of space in its internal budget and planning
systems, Shkurti said. These include placing a greater
emphasis on rehabilitation and replacement instead of new
construction and sharing costs with units that request
projects that increase operating costs.
Ohio State to renovate, replace space
Shkurti also reported that, despite its size, Ohio
State has less building space per student than some other
public Big Ten universities. He noted that assignable
square feet per student is 14 percent below the median for
such institutions, and physical plant costs are 34 percent
below the median.
However, Ohio State needs to improve its use of
departmental classrooms and the condition of classrooms and
laboratories -- many of which have been victims of years of
delayed maintenance.
In addition, Shkurti said faculty and staff must learn
to view space as a limited, or scarce, resource rather than
as an entitlement. To that end, building space will be an
element of future incentive-based budgeting plans for
colleges and offices.
Ohio State is budgeting more money for repair and
renovation of existing space, and intends to place lesser
emphasis on new construction in the years ahead. To help
offset operating costs, when new buildings are completed,
all or parts of some of the old buildings being vacated are
to be demolished.
Other goals are to place limits on the amount of
additional space available and to reduce long lead times in
planning new facilities.
Shkurti said the net operating cost impact of the
capital recommendations will be close to zero in the next
two to four years.
Baseball stadium, radiology and greenhouse projects
Trustees authorized campus officials to request
construction bids for a new 3,000-seat baseball facility, to
be called the William C. Davis Baseball Stadium in memory of
the son of Dorothy M. Davis of WESTERVILLE and the late
William H. Davis.
The $3.48-million project will be paid for in part by a
gift of $1.5 million by Dorothy Davis and the William H.
Davis, Dorothy M. Davis and William C. Davis Foundation.
The balance of funds will come from other gifts, unused bond
proceeds, and the Department of Athletics.
The Davises have been major benefactors of Ohio State,
having contributed funds for the creation of the Dorothy M.
Davis Chair in Cancer Research, the William H. Davis
Endowment for Basic Medical Research, and the William H.
Davis chair in the American Free Enterprise System. William
H. Davis earned a Bachelor of Science degree in business
administration in 1926.
The new facility will include dugouts, locker rooms, a
press box, concession and vending areas, security, and first
aid areas. It will be constructed southeast of Trautman
Field, the baseball team's current home, with access from
Fyffe and Olentangy River roads.
Trustees also authorized officials to seek construction
bids for improvements to the Howlett Hall Greenhouse and for
the second-phase renovation of the University Hospitals'
Radiology Department.
The Radiology project will involve renovating about
12,000 square feet of space on the second floor of Rhodes
and Doan Halls, continuing the renovation of diagnostic
support service areas and improving patient services in the
CT scan and ultrasound areas.
The total estimated project cost for the second phase
is $1.7 million with construction estimated to cost $1.3
million. University Hospitals will provide the funds.
The Howlett Hall project, estimated to cost $1.1
million, includes renovating the existing facilities with
provisions for a new pesticide storage area, floors, and
improvements of cooling, electrical, water and computer
systems. The state is funding the project.
Contracts approved for Bloch Cancer Survivors Plaza
In addition, trustees approved contracts for
constructing the Richard and Annette Bloch Cancer Survivors
Plaza at the northeast corner of Lane Avenue and Olentangy
River Road.
The Blochs contributed $1 million toward the plaza,
which will include sculpture, walls, seating areas, new
walkways, an open one-story structure with a fountain and an
interactive computer containing names of cancer survivors.
The park will be accessible from a walkway to the Fawcett
Center and have six parking spaces.
The university is picking up the remaining part of the
$1,317,805 price tag. Work is to be finished in December.
Contractors are Gutknecht Construction of Columbus,
general, $782,400; and Romanoff Electric, Columbus,
electric, $123,890. The project includes a contingency
allowance of 5 percent of construction cost.
University emphasizing focus on students
Sisson and Associate Provost Robert Arnold reported on
the status of the recommendations made by the Committee on
the Undergraduate Experience (CUE). The CUE recommendations
will complement and mesh with a comprehensive academic plan
that will continue through the year 2002.
Highlights mentioned were:
In the area of safety and transportation:
-- Campus Partners will work to reduce the number of
bars on south campus.
-- Ninety-two new emergency phones will be installed on
campus.
-- A wellness program director will be hired to assume
leadership for alcohol/substance abuse education.
-- Two hundred new bike racks will be installed, with
Larkins Hall, and Lincoln and Morrill Towers to receive
extra racks first.
In the area of academics:
-- Student orientation, welcome week and the University
College survey course will be restructured to include a more
academic slant.
-- Clustering of students with similar academic
interests will be tried. Initially, there will be nine
clusters, each containing 25 to 30 students enrolled in
engineering, agriculture, humanities, or University College.
-- New computing services in University College will
facilitate advising.
-- An award will be created to reward departments for
overall excellence in teaching.
In the areas of reducing bureaucratic runaround:
-- A student advocacy center has been opened.
-- A 64-page departmental listing will be included in
the student directory.
Report: Employees like jobs, less happy with bureaucracy
Trustees heard a preliminary report in the Educational
Affairs Committee on the university's Faculty and Staff
Attitude Survey. The report indicated that faculty and
staff generally are satisfied with their jobs and with the
university's working environment.
Sponsored by the offices of Academic Affairs and Human
Resources, the survey polled more than 800 faculty and 700
staff.
Overall, faculty and staff "like what they do, where
they do it, and the people they do it with," the report
said. Faculty and staff like least the administrative
bureaucracy and certain aspects of pay.
The survey results are scheduled for future analysis
and consideration by vice presidents, deans and chairs. The
sponsoring offices also will conduct future forums with
faculty and staff groups for further consideration.
Other business
In other matters, trustees:
-- Heard from senior vice provost Edward Ray, who
announced that Ohio State should realize an annual rate
savings of $8.3 million and cash savings of $20 million from
the early retirement incentive program for faculty. Ray
attributed that to delayed and staggered replacement of
senior faculty positions with mostly assistant professors at
lower entry-level salaries and the elimination of 58 faculty
positions. All of the savings will be retained within the
colleges that generate them to be used to redesign and renew
academic programs.
-- Authorized the Department of Mathematics to fill up
to 12 visiting assistant professor positions under the title
of Hans J. Zassenhaus Assistant Professor. Trustees said
the positions, named after a professor emeritus in the
department who died in 1991, are analogous to postdoctoral
fellowships in the laboratory sciences. Trustees had
eliminated term faculty during recent changes to the Rules
of the University Faculty. The math department has
maintained 12 rotating term instructors and term assistant
professors for the past 10 years.
-- Discussed with Paul Krebs, associate athletic
director, student use of the arena to be built north of Lane
Avenue.
-- Authorized using endowment funds to take advantage
of an opportunity to pre-pay the $5.3 million promissory
note executed for the purchase of the Raymond Firestone
estate. According to University Treasurer James L. Nichols,
taking the prepayment option will save Ohio State
approximately $243,000 per year in interest. When the
Firestone property is sold, the university's endowment will
be reimbursed. The university bought the Firestone property
in January in accordance with a charitable gift agreement
made with Firestone in 1987. Under that agreement, the
university bought the land at a cost below its market value.
The difference between Ohio State's costs and the income it
will receive for sale of the property is a gift to the
university from Raymond Firestone.
-- Appointed four university officials to the Medical
Research and Development Committee. The four are Milton A.
Wolf, chairman of the Board of Trustees; E. Gordon Gee,
president; Bernadine P. Healy, dean of the College of
Medicine; and William J. Shkurti, vice president for
finance. The committee will serve as an oversight body to
the Medical Research and Development Foundation, a non-
profit corporation created as a conduit for moving academic
enrichment funds from medical practice groups to the
university.
-- Approved 103 waivers of competitive bidding
requirements totaling $26.3 million. Ninety-four waivers,
totaling $25.5 million were for purchases from sole-source
suppliers, and $18.6 million of that involved two purchases
of merchandise for resale. The remaining nine waivers were
for sufficient economic reason.
-- Heard a report from David Williams, vice president
for student affairs, on actions being taken to improve and
extend services to all students on campus.
#
Contact: William J. Shkurti, (614) 292-9232.
Written by Tom Spring.
[Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
Thu, 31 Aug 1995 15:29:43 -0400]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.
