Ohio University Officials Present Budget to Trustees

Contact: Leesa Brown or Jess Goode, (740) 593-1043

ATHENS, Ohio (April 6, 2001) -- Ohio University officials today presented trustees with a preliminary $462 million budget that calls for hiring more faculty and increasing scholarships and financial aid while addressing a significant rise in health care and energy costs.

Today's presentation, based on state revenue assumptions contained in Gov. Robert Taft's budget, marks only the beginning of the Ohio University budget process. Trustees will give final approval to the 2001-2002 budget resolution in June, after the state's budget is signed by the governor.

The proposed budget also calls for increasing Athens campus tuition and fees 6 percent and boosting the number of incoming freshmen over the next three years to help pay for needed initiatives and high energy costs and cover state budget cuts.

"This budget allows Ohio University to retain its strong commitment to academic excellence while continuing to prepare for the future," said university President Robert Glidden.

"The tight state budget as well as mounting energy and health care costs have forced difficult budgetary decisions in order to maintain the level of service that our students expect and deserve. We have worked hard to make sure that additional revenue is going back to students by funding more scholarships, more teachers and a better quality of life for on-campus residents."

The university is committed to hiring at least 30 new faculty members over the next three years, and this year's budget includes $1 million to start that process. It also accounts for $2 million in increased health care costs and provides for a possible 3 percent pay raise for faculty and staff.

The budget calls for a $3 million increase for scholarships and financial aid -- including $643,000 which will fund a new program aimed at attracting high-achieving students and $467,000 which will continue efforts to recruit underrepresented students. The budget also provides additional resources to meet increasing graduate student enrollment.

A total of $285,000 is designated for the university's Strategic Investment Plan, an Ohio Board of Regents mandate to improve selected doctoral programs. Through a competitive process, the university has designated two programs, nanoscience and clinical health psychology, to enhance during the first phase of the effort.

The Residence and Dining Hall Auxiliary Budget calls for installing new computers in Bromley Hall at a cost of $342,000. Campus wide, one-quarter of the computers in residence halls will be replaced starting in 2002. Air-conditioning units will be added to more than 800 residence hall rooms this summer.

In other action:

• The trustees approved a resolution establishing a research-based center for studying ring theory, a branch of mathematics that captures the essence of algebraic structures through understanding their fundamental principals and their behavior. Because ring theory goes beyond usual mathematic structure and operation, it is helpful in many fields of research, including computer science, artificial intelligence, cryptography and quantum mechanics. The Center for Ring Theory and its Applications will further work on this theory by promoting communication and collaboration among scholars throughout the world and by promoting the study of ring theory among doctoral and master's level graduate students at Ohio University.
  
  
• The trustees also approved resolutions to establish new certificate programs for East Asian Studies and Italian Studies.
  
  
• And Trustees approved hiring consultants for the Innovation Center construction project, the Putnam Hall renovation and the C. David Snyder Terminal Building Project. The trustees also approved construction plans for the Human Resources Offices and Training Center.