With more than six decades of experience behind them, Ohio University's regional campuses have started the new calendar year by preparing for the next stage of growth.
Dan Evans, executive dean for regional campuses, will chair a new regional campus task force formed to conduct a comprehensive review and recommend the best course for the regional campuses. In announcing the task force's formation, Executive Vice President and Provost Kathy Krendl said Evans will focus full-time attention on the regional campus system, and Associate Vice President for Outreach Bill Willan will assume Evans' duties as dean of the Southern campus on an interim basis.
"As increasing numbers of Ohio citizens seek degree programs close to where they live and work, establishing a strong working relationship between the regional campuses and the Athens campus becomes critical," Krendl said. "With the establishment of the University System of Ohio, our ability to work together effectively to meet the needs of the region will be central to our success."
Today's announcement will shift responsibility for daily operations of the Southern campus to Willan, who has been assisting the Southern campus with leadership tasks since September. Evans has served as executive dean since fall 2006.
Ohio University began offering regional campus classes in 1946 in Chillicothe. There now are five regionals -- Chillicothe, Eastern (in St. Clairsville), Lancaster, Southern (in Ironton) and Zanesville -- and satellite centers in Pickerington and Proctorville. Enrollment totals nearly 8,000 students.
"The regional campuses play a vital role in accomplishing the mission of Ohio University," Evans said. "They provide access to a high-quality Ohio University education for students who are either not able or not willing to relocate to Athens, and they partner closely with their communities to provide services and advantages that would not be available otherwise.
"Our regional campuses are at the hearts of their communities and region," he added, "and the profile of each campus is unique in order to offer programs and services relevant to its position in the community. But the potential exists on each of the campuses for even greater contributions toward building Ohio's workforce."
In August, a regional campus academic leadership retreat began examining the future of the regional campus system. Since that discussion, the importance of the task has taken on greater urgency as a result of proposals associated with the USO and Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut's statements that he expects regional campuses to play an integral role in meeting Gov. Ted Strickland's charge to increase the number of Ohioans with higher education degrees by 230,000 within the next decade.
The regional campus task force will look at current and future regional campus operations to determine how best to meet that demand most effectively and efficiently. Evans said the 27-member group, which includes faculty, administrators and staff from the Athens and all five regional campuses, has been identified and will begin its work this week.
The task force will conduct an intensive analysis of five specific areas:
- administrative and reporting structures
- academic program development
- faculty relationships with departments on the Athens campus
- auxiliary and student services
Evans said he is dedicated to moving the study forward quickly and that he plans to send the committee's recommendations to Krendl by early spring quarter.
"Our goal for the Regional Campus Task Force is to recommend improvements in the ways in which our regional campuses and the Athens campus work together," Krendl said. "We have asked the members to think about five areas where we might improve our effectiveness. Executive Dean Dan Evans will work with the task force to examine alternatives and propose solutions."
