Board of Directors Considering Name Change to McCracken Hall, Addition of Regional Administrator

The Ohio University Board of Trustees will consider changing the name of an academic building in honor of the Patton family during its October meetings on the Athens campus.

The Board of Trustees will also consider adding a Regional Trustee to the Board of Trustees, which will bring an important voice representing the areas around OHIO’s regional campuses and strengthen the ties Ohio University has with these communities.

The board will meet from 8 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Thursday, October 7 for its regular meetings and from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Friday, October 8 for a board retreat. The Thursday meetings will be held in person at Walter Hall on the Athens campus, while the retreat will be held at Heritage Hall. An audio stream of the Thursday meetings will also be available.

Items on the Council’s agenda include:

Rename a building
Resources, Facilities and Affordability Committee, 2:15 p.m., Thursday, October 7, Walter Hall 104

The Board of Trustees will consider a resolution to rename the home of Gladys W. and David H. Patton College of Education from its current name, McCracken Hall, to Gladys W. and David H. Patton Hall.

Patton College was named in honor of Dr. Violet L. Patton’s philanthropic commitments to the college in 2010. Violet Patton committed $ 13.3 million that year to establish the Violet L. Patton Center for Arts Education , and an additional $ 28 million to honor his parents. , Gladys W. and David H. Patton, with the name of the college. She committed an additional $ 22 million in 2019 to support capital projects to which she has demonstrated unwavering commitment and passion over the past decade.

The current McCracken Hall was approved for renovation in 2015, a project made possible in large part by the generosity of Violet Patton. All parties involved also acknowledge the contributions of Thomas Cook McCracken, for whom the building was named in 1963 due to his service as Dean of the College of Education and First Marshal of the OHIO. The appropriate interior space will be identified and named in honor of Dr. McCracken at a later date.

Regional trustee proposal
Governance and Compensation Committee, 10:30 a.m., Thursday, October 7, room Walter 125

The Board of Directors will be invited to amend its statutes to add a non-voting regional director to its members, in recognition and recognition of the valuable contributions and ideas to be gained from the addition of the regional representative.

Ohio University President Hugh Sherman proposed the addition of the seat at the Council meeting in August.

Portfolio reduction strategy
Resources, Facilities and Affordability Committee, 2:15 p.m., Thursday, October 7, Walter Hall 104

The Board will review the next steps to implement the OHIO portfolio reduction strategy. This includes a request for the board to declare some real estate as surplus and allow it to be included in a future land transfer bill. Although a Land Cession Bill authorizes the sale of real estate within three years of the bill being passed, it does not require the sale if another course of action is ultimately chosen. The properties identified for divestiture were selected after consideration of several key factors such as use, location of the property, alignment with the strategic needs of the University, and financial impact.

The properties include:

• Whips room
• Central class building
• Haning room
• Crewson House
• 31 S. Court St.
• Hebbardsville Farm (partial)
• The ridges (only buildings currently designated for outdoor use)
• Black Farm Horse Park (Chillicothe Campus)
• Ohio Horse Park (south campus)
• Bois Dysart (East Campus)
• Pickerington Center (Lancaster Campus)
• Four acres on the Lancaster campus
• Campus and community center (south campus)

Different courses of action will be pursued for each of the properties. In some cases, attempts will first be made to rent out the properties. In others, only parts of the identified properties would be considered for sale. In a few cases, the University has already been approached by potential buyers of the land in question. And in many cases, any sale would include all of the deed restrictions necessary to ensure that the uses of the property are consistent with the University’s mission and strategy.

The discussion will also include a timeline for efforts related to the property on The Ridges designated for external use, as well as a request for approval for the demolition of Scott Quad.

Scott Quad is currently not in use, but the site is considered valuable for the future programmatic needs of the University. The facility was designated for demolition after careful consideration of security issues, deferred maintenance issues, accessibility and program alignment.

Capital projects
Resources, Facilities and Affordability Committee, 2:15 p.m., Thursday, October 7, Walter Hall 104

The Council will be called upon to approve a number of capital projects. They are:

• Graduation Center Electrical, Heating and Air Conditioning, and Fire System Upgrades: This project, with a budget of approximately $ 15.3 million, would involve a phased replacement of major building systems to extend their useful life. This includes upgrading elevator, fire protection, fire alarm, electrical and HVAC systems.
• Gamertsfelder Hall Restroom and HVAC Renovation: This project, budgeted at $ 10.75 million, would replace failing plumbing systems, install upgraded HVAC systems to alleviate moisture issues, and improve the aesthetics of the building’s restrooms .
• Demolition of the Scott Quad: This project, with a budget of $ 3.6 million, would involve the demolition of the Scott Quad, which has significant deferred maintenance issues, including the replacement of the roof and windows.
• Ridges 33 Building Voltage Transition: This project, budgeted at $ 1.65 million, would upgrade the existing 2,400-volt electrical system, which is obsolete and for which parts are no longer available, to a modern system and more reliable 12,470 volts.
• Bromley Hall Building Heating System: This project, with a budget of $ 600,000, will upgrade Bromley to a building heating system.
• Ridges Building 33 Deaerator Replacement: This project, budgeted at $ 530,000, would replace the existing deaerator and investigate the feasibility of transitioning each steam-serviced building in Building 33 to a building-based heating system.

Updating the search strategy
Studies and Student Success Committee, 12:15 p.m. Thursday, October 7, Walter Hall 104

Executive Vice President and Rector Elizabeth Sayrs and Vice President of Research and Creative Activities Joseph Shields will provide an update on Ohio University’s research strategy. Research and creative activities are an integral part of OHIO’s mission, and the presentation will focus on the University’s strategy of positioning for future success in this field while ensuring alignment with our academic mission.

Updating registrations
Studies and Student Success Committee, 12:15 p.m. Thursday, October 7, Walter Hall 104

Vice President of Enrollment Management Candace Boeninger will provide a preliminary update on Ohio University enrollment based on census data collected as of September 6, the date used for federal reporting. The update will include a number of outstanding inscriptions, including a rebound in freshman enrollment to 3,664 students, a 17% increase from fall 2020. This included gains in both resident and non-resident populations and exceeded projections.

Proposal for a voluntary departure or retirement plan
Governance and Compensation Committee, 10:30 a.m., Thursday, October 7, room Walter 125

The Board of Directors will be asked to approve a voluntary departure or retirement plan for eligible tenure-track faculty members and administrative staff with the academic rank of Full Professor or Full Associate Professor.

This one-time plan would be offered on or around January 17, 2022.

Annual Clery Law Compliance Reports
Audit and Risk Management Committee, 10:30 a.m., Thursday, October 7, room Walter 104

The Board will receive an update on the University’s Annual Safety Report and Annual Fire Safety Report. The reports will be available to the public on October 1.

The reports include data for calendar years 2018, 2019 and 2020.

The full agenda of the Board of Directors is available at https://www.ohio.edu/trustees. The participants will be mandatory to wear masks during meetings. The meetings will also be broadcast via an audio stream. The meetings of the Governance, Studies and Resources Committee on October 7, as well as the main meeting of the Board of Directors, will be broadcast here, while the meeting of the audit committee will be broadcast here.