12/02/96

ST. CLAIRSVILLE -- A 3,000-seat baseball stadium and new softball, track and soccer fields received planning approval Monday from the Ohio University Board of Trustees during the board's meeting at the university's Eastern campus.

The total project will cost $2.1 million, including $763,000 that was privately raised to create a new baseball stadium to replace Trautwein Field.

Trustees approved one of six firms that submitted proposals -- James Burkhart and Associates, Inc. of Columbus -- as architects for the stadium, which will be built on Shafer Street. This first phase will include moving and rebuilding a softball field that currently occupies the site. The baseball stadium will include permanent grandstands, concession stands, public restrooms and a VIP area.

"We intend to have the planning done this spring," Vice President for Administration Gary North said outside the meeting . "Our goal will be to have that baseball field ready by summer 1998. We'd like to have it ready sooner, but I don't think that will be possible."

In other action, the board approved construction of a Corrosion and Multi-Phased Technology Research Center on West State Street behind the present university Stores and Receiving Facility. The $2.3 million facility will be about 20,000 gross square feet and is expected to be ready for research projects by next summer. This research project, which is aimed in part at preventing oil pipeline failures and is funded by the oil industry, was created by Chemical Engineering Chair Paul Jepson.

"It's a terrific project that the department will fund through a variety of research grants over the next 10 years," said Trustee Gordon Brunner.

In other action, the board: * Heard a presentation on how the Internet and other "distance learning" techniques are being creatively employed in academic curriculum and by administrative units throughout the Eastern campus. "You are a leader among our campuses, including Athens, in introducing this technology to help students," President Robert Glidden told Eastern Campus Dean James Newton and his colleagues.

* Approved naming a $6 million multi-purpose building under construction on the Eastern Campus the Ney ("NAY") Center in honor of Robert W. Ney, former state representative and current congressman serving this area of Ohio.

* Approved the final construction phase for exterior and site finishes to the new Ohio University Library storage annex on Columbus Road, in the former Gibson Ford dealership.

* Heard a report from the auditing firm KPMG Peat-Marwick LLP that the university's financial report for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1996 is in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

* Heard a report on dean searches by Provost Sharon Brehm. She said that there were 74 candidates for the vacant College of Fine Arts post. A screening committee has reduced those under consideration to 14 and will cull further, bringing in eight candidates for airport interviews. Of these, three to five will be recommended for consideration by the provost and president. Brehm said that a search and screening committee to select a new College of Business dean is considering contracting with a search firm to attract a good selection of candidates from both academic and corporate fields.

* Changed the name of the bachelor of science degree in airway science to bachelor of science in aviation. The name change was unanimously supported by the faculty and Dean W. Kent Wray of the College of Engineering and Technology.

* Heard a report from Provost Brehm on how the university is examining ways it can attract quality faculty by developing a career search network system. The network would include academic and business institutions and would be available to new employees' spouses who also wish to find area employment in their chosen careers.