Trustees: Construction, ARMS, Miscellaneous

TRUSTEES ACT ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, SYSTEMS UPGRADES

     COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University Board of Trustees on 
Friday (11/1) authorized design work and construction bids for 
several major building projects; awarded construction contracts; 
approved the next phase of the university's new financial, 
procurement and human resources system; and conducted other 
business.

Trustees authorize construction bids, award contracts

     The board authorized seeking construction bids for five 
projects:

     -- The $23.3 million Life Sciences Research Building will 
provide laboratory and office space for the departments of 
Zoology, Entomology and Plant Biology.  It will be located at 
what is now a parking lot on West 12th Avenue between the Botany 
and Zoology Building and a parking garage.  It will be funded by 
a combination of university and state money.

     -- The Knowlton School of Architecture, to be built on West 
Woodruff Avenue at the site of the current Ives Hall, will house 
programs in architecture, city and regional planning and 
landscape architecture.  The $19.2 million building was 
precipitated by a $10 million gift from Austin E. Knowlton; the 
balance of funding will come from the state.

     -- The $17.3 million Food Science and Technology Building, 
to be built on Herrick Drive south of the Animal Sciences 
Building, will house classrooms, offices, research laboratories 
and computing facilities.  Funding will come from the state and 
private gifts.

     -- A handicapped-accessible open-air courtyard bounded by 
the James Cancer Hospital and Postle and Doan halls will provide 
an outdoor area for relaxation and meditation for patients, 
visitors and staff.  The $300,000 cost is being equally provided 
by University Hospitals and the James Cancer Hospital.

     -- At ATI/OARDC in Wooster, a $3.7 million executive 
conference center will provide satellite links and 
telecommunications equipment as well as meeting space for 
business, industry and the community.  Funding will come from the 
state and private gifts.

     The board authorized design work for five projects:

     -- The $49 million Physical Sciences Building on West 19th 
Avenue east of Bolz Hall will provide space for the Department of 
Physics.  Planning funds were provided by the state and 
construction funds are anticipated in a future capital 
appropriations bill.

     -- Utility system upgrades and interior renovation at 
Hagerty Hall to house an academic program to be determined.  
Hagerty will be vacant after the College of Business moves to a 
new complex currently under construction.  Funds for the $16.3 
million renovation are anticipated in a future biennium.

     -- A new wing to replace a 1957 wing of Sisson Hall in the 
College of Veterinary Medicine is anticipated to house research 
and teaching labs, library, classrooms and offices.  Funding for 
the $18.2 million project is anticipated in a future biennium.

     -- Designers also will plan a $2 million addition to the 
Library Book Depository on Kenny Road and a $5 million feed mill 
at OARDC in Wooster.

     The board also approved:

     -- Hiring architects and engineers and seeking construction 
bids for demolition of the deteriorated Neil/17th Building and 
roof replacement at McCampbell Hall.

     -- Design and bids for a $4.8 million facility to provide 
central chilled water to the ATI/OARDC facilities in Wooster and 
for two other state projects, the Preservation of Wild Animals' 
natural habitat research site in Zanesville and the Columbus 
Speech and Hearing Center.

     -- $2.6 million in contracts for construction, plumbing, 
electric and heating, ventilation and air conditioning for a 
Poultry Science Research Facility.  The project includes a set of 
buildings at the OARDC Wooster campus for the Department of 
Poultry Science and replaces poultry houses on the Columbus 
campus.  Total project cost is $3.1 million.

ARMS project given $9.5 million, go ahead on new software 

     Trustees allocated up to $9.5 million for continued 
implementation of the Administrative Resources Management System 
(ARMS), an upgrade of university accounting, procurement and 
human resources systems. The funds, which are on top of $25.7 
million already allocated, will allow the university to begin 
implementing portions of the financial and human resources 
systems beginning in July.  It also will allow the university to 
purchase software and begin implementing a procurement system by 
April 1998.

     The procurement system, which will work in tandem with the 
other ARMS applications, will upgrade systems used for 
purchasing, accounts payable, equipment inventory, travel, stores 
and receiving.  Benefits will include simplified processes and 
saved time for university customers, improved services to 
external customers and greater volume buying opportunities, said 
John Ellinger, ARMS project director.

     Savings from the new procurement system should allow the 
university to recover its investment within two to three years.

     Trustees also authorized the ARMS project to use 
WinFrame/Enterprise software by Citrix, which will allow many 
ARMS users to continue using their current computers.  It had 
been anticipated that ARMS users would need to purchase more 
powerful computers to handle ARMS applications installed on each 
machine. But because of the software, users will be able to 
access ARMS via the Internet and there will be no need for many 
colleges and departments to purchase new computer workstations 
for each ARMS user.  This has allowed a reduction in the 
assessment to colleges and departments for each user from $7,500 
to $3,000, which will be used for training and support.  The 
campuswide savings will be $3.35 million.

     Departments still will pay an assessment of one-half of 1 
percent of their budgets to help defray some of the costs of 
implementing ARMS not covered by the workstation charge, said 
William J. Shkurti, vice president for finance.  The first 
assessment is due by Jan. 1.

Trustees accept auditor's annual financial report

     Trustees voted to accept the annual audit of university 
finances conducted by Deloitte and Touche LLP.  The accounting 
firm examined the university's accounts, records, files and 
reports for fiscal year 1995-96 and found them to be in 
satisfactory condition.

     University officials indicated that Ohio State's financial 
position continued to improve, with a strong growth in private 
support and modest increases in total expenditures.  While 
private support increased by almost 30 percent to $194 million, 
state support, which increased 3 percent to $423 million in 1996, 
still has not returned to the fiscal year 1991 level of $437 
million.

     The report showed that for the year ending June 30, the 
university had revenues of $1.7 billion, expenditures of $1.5 
billion and an equity balance of $2.8 billion.  The university 
had assets worth $3.4 billion and long-term debt of $205 million.

     "We're in a strong growth position," Greta Russell, 
university controller, told the trustees.  "We ended the year in 
a strong position, having added to our equity balance by adding 
to our revenues at a faster rate than our expenditures grew.  And 
we're on track to continue that trend."

Miscellaneous business

     In other matters, trustees:

     -- Heard a report by James L. Nichols, university treasurer, 
who said the endowment fund had a market value for the month of 
$685 million, its highest ever.  Nichols also discussed the 
university's current and historical debt structure, variable rate 
bonds, and several bond issues that could be issued next year.

     -- Approved 561 contracts totaling $48.9 million for 
research projects funded in July through September.

     -- Accepted a gift of 65 acres of undeveloped farmland in 
Crawford County from Marie Unger of Bucyrus.  The land, valued at 
approximately $117,000, will be used by Ohio State University 
Extension as an education and research site.

     -- Sold its remaining 344.89 acres of the Barnebey Center in 
Fairfield and Hocking counties to the Metropolitan Park District 
of Columbus and Franklin County for $1,100 per acre.  Proceeds of 
the sale, terms and conditions of which are still being 
determined, will be deposited into two endowed scholarship funds 
for students in the School of Natural Resources.

     -- Authorized the president to nominate officers and 
employees of the university to serve on the board of directors of 
MedOhio Health Inc., a health maintenance organization.
                             #

Contacts: Jill Morelli, assistant vice president and
          university architect, 614-292-4458
          John Ellinger, ARMS project director, 614-688-3315

Written by David Bhaerman, 614-292-8422.


[Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 1 Nov 1996 14:19:19 -0500]
All documents are the responsibility of their originator.