Ohio Northern University Faculty
2015 - 2016
Minutes of the October 27 Meeting
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President DiBiasio called the meeting to order at 11:02 AM as he recognized the
125th anniversary of the ONU Marching Band this week and congratulated Rob
Alexander for his op-ed piece recently published in the Huffington Post.
Invocation was offered by Lisa Robeson.
Minutes from September 22, 2015 were approved.
Unfinished Business: None.
Report from University Council: Tevye Celius shared that Council met last Tuesday
and the majority of the meeting was spent on the President’s report from the Board of
Trustees meeting. The President will give a summary of that report in today’s
meeting. Details from other discussions will follow in individual committee reports.
He also indicated that it was refreshing to have input from other faculty members not
currently on Council at the meeting.
Reports from Constitutional Committees:
a. Budget and Appropriations: Jeff Christoff shared that the Board of Trustees
accepted the proposed budget with an additional endowment draw and several
retirement benefit reductions (retiree health benefits, severance incentives, and
current TIAA-CREF benefits). The first disclosure of the TIAA-CREF benefit
plan reductions occurred last Friday via email from President DiBiasio. There is a
Board of Trustees directive in place for future contingency plans to avoid large
endowment draws. Discussions about strategic enrollment management are
happening with the Office of Admissions.
b. Academic Affairs: Kelly Kobiela shared that the committee is reviewing
Appendix 5. Updates will be added along with an additional policy detailing
program reviews. A committee will assess the program review reports.
c. Student Affairs: Heath LeBlanc announced that the committee met on Friday,
October 9th. Several proposals were received for new student groups. The
students were asked to revise and resubmit documents. A proposal will be
circulated to the faculty via email in the next few weeks requesting that the
Director of Student Involvement become a constitutional member of the Student
Affairs Committee. The Director of Student Involvement has direct contact with
student groups and is a great resource for the committee.
d. Personnel: Jill Christopher announced that the committee is reviewing 18
applications for sabbatical.
Reports from Operational Committees:
a. Athletic Events: No report.
b. Cultural Events: Laurie Bell invited faculty members to join the committee
meeting tomorrow (October 28th) at 2 PM in PAC 129.
c. International Affairs: Lynda Nyce shared that the committee met a couple weeks
ago. November 16th – 20th is International Education Week. If you are aware of
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campus events involving international affairs, let the committee know. They are
currently working on a Google doc to facilitate awareness of international events
and student concerns on campus.
d. Religious Affairs: Chaplain MacDonald shared that the committee is meeting this
afternoon. The Tim Clydesdale lecture is tomorrow at 6 PM in Dicke Forum.
There are still times available to meet with Tim informally.
e. Information Technology: Julie Hurtig announced that the committee discussed
various IT issues on campus at a recent meeting. Currently, they are working on a
security policy for best standards of care with respect to usernames, passwords,
credit card transactions, etc. They are also researching alternative phone systems.
Please contact your college representative if you have input.
Questions for the President: President DiBiasio made a few comments before opening
the floor to questions.
a. At the October Board of Trustees meeting, the Board approved the proposed
budget. This earlier budget decision will allow prospective students to utilize the
net price calculator on the ONU website now to predict 2016-17 costs. Bill
Theisen asked about the accuracy of net price calculators, noting that some he had
used in the past were inaccurate. President DiBiasio responded that significant
changes have been made to the calculator on ONU’s website and Bill Ballard
added that we now use a true cost calculator program that is tied in to financial aid
packages. Ray Person inquired about the financial aid budget. The financial aid
budget has not yet been approved for 2016 – 2017, but initial scholarship award
levels are set and can be accessed in the calculator package.
b. The approved budget included an extra one-time draw ($3.5 million) from the
endowment. Moving forward, the plan is to reduce the endowment draw to 5%
by 2020. Approximately $3 million is added to the endowment each year and
about $38 - $40 million raised in the last capital campaign were planned gifts for
the future.
c. Positive aspects of the approved budget include a number of investments: 1) a
2.5% salary increase, 2) continued partnership with two consulting firms (160/90
and Ruffalo Noel Levitz), 3) start up funds for the new public health major, 4)
funds to assist faculty members seeking grants and 5) software to allow for
sophisticated multi-year budgeting. Negative aspects of the budget include: 1) a
reduction in operating expenses, 2) a reduction in post-retirement health benefits,
3) a freeze on the voluntary retirement severance plan and 4) structural changes to
the retirement plan. The retirement plan, though, will not change if you still want
to contribute 7%; the university will still match the 7%.
d. Phil Zoladz inquired whether faculty frustrations regarding the lack of reward for
excelling in merit was being conveyed to the Board. President DiBiasio responded
that Melissa Eddings-Mancuso has voiced these concerns to the Board and the
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Board wants to see more compensation for faculty. The Board realizes the value
of faculty to the core mission of the university and wants ONU to be a place
where faculty members can have very productive careers.
e. Forrest Clingerman noted that our financial situation seemed similar to many
other private institutions. What are we doing differently so as not to make the
same mistakes as other schools? President DiBiasio responded that we have
quality programs and quality students. Some have lowered quality; we have not.
We are also reviewing the way we use financial aid to have a better outcome next
year. This is a work in progress. Only 1/3 of private colleges met enrollment
goals this year. Our strategic enrollment plan is new. There will be more effort to
recruit juniors and sophomores moving forward. Our retention efforts are new
with respect to data-driven analysis and intervention. We really want to keep
quality and increase enrollment numbers going forward. There is a possibility
that an upcoming session will be dedicated to presenting the strategic enrollment
plan and focusing specifically on roles that faculty can play.
f. Firas Hassan asked about the total endowment for the university. President
DiBiasio responded that the ONU endowment is $170 million. To place that
number in context, of the 47 private colleges in Ohio, only eight have
endowments above $150 million; the private colleges’ average endowment level
is $27 million. The endowment is a good asset for us that we want to use wisely.
g. Bill Theisen asked how the new retirement plan came about after having a
different one presented previously. President DiBiasio responded that they were
looking for ways to save $700,000 while also being cognizant of some faculty and
staff concerns with the current mandatory retirement plan. Moving from a
mandatory plan to a matching plan will allow for significant savings. Discussion
followed. If you choose to still contribute 7% to your retirement fund, ONU will
match the 7% for a total of 14%, just as the university does now. The President
acknowledged that this matching retirement plan will not make up all of the
necessary savings, but will contribute. Bill Ballard emphasized that everyone will
need to elect new retirement plans before January (preferably by early December).
If you do not make an election, your retirement contribution will automatically
roll to 0%.
h. Brad Wile asked about the support for grant writing that was mentioned
previously. President DiBiasio responded that a number of options are available
to assist faculty in procuring and complying with federal grants.
Questions for the Provost: David Crago made a few comments before opening the
floor to questions.
a. The Methodist Church requires a site visit from the University Senate. Three
members will be on campus for a site visit in two weeks. The proposed meeting
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with faculty will occur on Tuesday afternoon. The team will examine HLC
materials along with an additional questionnaire.
b. The University Faculty Handbook should be available by the end of this week.
The handbook will include the benefit revisions discussed previously in this
meeting.
c. A reconfiguration to the first floor of Heterick Library is moving forward. The
committee has met with an architect and would like to have everything finished
prior to Fall 2016. Kathleen Baril is interested in receiving faculty input. Please
contact her if you would like to be a part of this process.
d. We are continuing efforts to broaden our relationship with the West Ohio
Conference affiliated organizations. Other schools are interested in partnerships
with athletic training, exercise physiology and law. We would like to expand the
experiential learning opportunities that are available for our students, particularly
in areas such as athletic training, exercise physiology and law, which align with
these affiliated organizations well.
e. Lisa Robeson asked when the public health major would be available to students.
Provost Crago said that the curriculum will be available sometime this spring and
students should be able to declare a major by Fall 2016. The major will be
housed in Biology. Discussion followed. The major will have to be approved
through the College of Arts & Sciences COC process. Housing the major in
Biology made sense from an administrative standpoint because the minor is
currently housed there.
f. A question was asked about the status of the proposed informatics major. Provost
Crago responded that the major needed revisions before moving forward.
g. President DiBiasio mentioned that Board members have expressed interest in
being more involved with faculty. There may be opportunities for a Board
member to observe one of your classes in the future.
Other Reports: None
New business: None
Announcements:
a. Rob Alexander announced that the Director of Ohio EPA, Craig Butler, will be
speaking next Tuesday, November 3rd @ 6:30 PM in Dicke Forum. Rob is also
interested in organizing a group of students to attend either the Democratic or
Republican National Convention. Please let him know if you have students that
are interested.
a. Jennifer Donley announced that the staff focus group to discuss the first floor
renovation of Heterick Library will be this Friday, October 30th.
b. Jennifer Moore announced that the English Department will be hosting a Scary
Rapid Fire Reading on Wednesday, October 28th @ 7:30 PM in the Elzay Gallery.
Costumes are encouraged. On Wednesday, November 4th, three alumni will be
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returning to campus to perform music and readings @ 7:30 PM in the Elzay
Gallery.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 11:50 AM.
Submitted by,
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Leslie A. Riley
Secretary