Ohio Northern University Faculty
2015 - 2016
Minutes of the September 22 Meeting
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President DiBiasio called the meeting to order at 11:01 AM.
Invocation was offered by Ray Person.
Minutes from April 28, 2015 were approved.
Election of Officers: Jeff Gray was elected Chair Pro Tem and Leslie Riley was
elected Secretary. Deidre Keller was appointed Parliamentarian.
Unfinished Business: None.
Report from University Council: Melissa Eddings shared that University Council first
met last Tuesday (September 15th) in Dicke 230. The following elections took place:
Erica Neely – Secretary, Michele Musser – Vice Chair and Lori Newell –
Parliamentarian.
a. Homecoming may look a little bit different this year. Inflatables will be used for
children on the Tundra and lunch will be served inside KingHorn.
b. Updates to the university webpage are ongoing. Please report any broken links
using the “Website Problem?” hyperlink at the bottom right.
c. The Deans reported a lot of activity on campus. We currently have a Fulbright
Scholar on campus from Ghana as well as the Taylor 2 Dance Company. The
College of Engineering was ranked 39th by U. S. News and World Report. All
five programs in the College achieved accreditation or re-accreditation. The
College of Law is awaiting approval of a new study abroad site in Iceland.
Welcome Fest had 60 campus organizations participate. Six hundred tickets were
sold for Tunes on the Tundra. The College of Pharmacy is hosting a site visit
from ACPE in October.
d. University Council is preparing for the October Board of Trustees Meeting.
Reports from Constitutional Committees:
a. Budget and Appropriations: Jeff Christoff announced that the committee met last
week and will meet weekly until the October Board of Trustees meeting to
discuss budget issues. Net tuition revenue shortfall is larger than expected. The
current budget includes salary increases, but benefits are being reviewed. The
current budget gap is in excess of $5 million.
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. The committee is meeting tomorrow (September 23rd).
c. Student Affairs: Heath LeBlanc announced that the committee will be meeting on
Friday, October 9th to review new student group activities.
d. Personnel: Bryan Boulanger shared that committee is continuing revisions to
Section 2 of the Faculty Handbook. For those requesting sabbaticals, please
submit letters of intent to department chairs and deans by October 1st. Packages
are due October 15th.
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i. Lisa Robeson asked about the contents of Section 2. Bryan responded that
the committee has already reviewed faculty expectations in Section 2 and
are now reviewing titles (e.g. adjunct vs. lecturer vs. visiting professor).
Reports from Operational Committees:
a. Athletic Events: Tom Simmons announced that we now have varsity lacrosse
teams for both men and women. There are 830 student athletes across 23
programs. This is the largest number of student athletes in the school’s history.
b. Cultural Events: No report.
c. International Affairs: Lynda Nyce asked us to welcome the new Study Abroad
Coordinator. The Study Abroad Fair will be held October 5th. Site visits are
scheduled here next month from the University of Strasburg and the University of
Salford.
d. Religious Affairs: Religious Affairs: Chaplain MacDonald shared that the Prayer
Bus visited campus last Friday (September 18th) for the National Day of Prayer.
The NetVUE Lecture on Vocation, featuring Dr. Tim Clydesdale, will be held on
October 28th in Dicke Forum. A ceremony will be held at the Henry Solomon
Lehr statue on Veteran’s Day (November 11th).
e. Information Technology: Jeff Rieman announced that the committee will have an
organization meeting soon.
i. John Lomax commented that he would like the A-Z index returned. Amy
Prigge reassured John that the A-Z index will return as soon as website
edits are more complete.
Recognition of Endowed Chairs for 2015 – 2016: President DiBiasio presented
recipients of endowed chairs with a certificate in recognition of their award. Some
recipients were absent. The endowed chairs for 2015 - 2016 are:
a. LeRoy H. Lytle Chair: David Sawyers
b. George W. Patton Chair: David Savino
c. Sara A. Ridenhour Chair: Robert Scott
d. Ella and Ernest Fisher Chair: Michael Lewis, posthumously
e. Eleanor H. and Robert W. Biggs Chair in the Sciences: Linda Young
f. Eleanor H. and Robert W. Biggs Chair in Chemistry: Tevye Celius
g. Eleanor H. and Robert W. Biggs Chair in Arts: Sarah Waters
h. Mary Reichelderfer Chair: Mohammed Zaki
i. Kernan Robson Chair: Rob Alexander
j. Engineering Alumni Chair: Bryan Boulanger
k. Herbert F. Alter Chair of Engineering Sciences: Heath LeBlanc
l. Wilfred E. Binkley Chair: Russ Crawford
m. Irene Casteel Chair in Education, Professional & Social Sciences: Brian Hofman
Questions for the President: President DiBiasio made a few comments before opening
the floor to questions.
Ohio Northern University Faculty
2015 - 2016
a. The results of the faculty evaluation were discussed with the Provost during his
performance review. One-hundred twenty faculty members participated and
several items improved from the previous year. The four items receiving the
highest marks were: 1) developing and understanding institutional goals, 2)
promoting planning, 3) projecting credibility and integrity and 4) conveying a
positive image. Items receiving lower marks included: 1) re-evaluating or
retracting decisions and 2) accessibility. Thanks to those that responded and to
the 35 faculty members that also included comments.
b. The formal search for a new Provost will begin next week as the search
committee meets with our two search consultants. The process is off to a good
start early in the semester.
c. The 15-day numbers are available which allows for a more accurate estimate of
tuition revenue. There appears to be a 5 – 6% decrease in Fall 2015 new student
enrollment. The tuition-revenue gap is widening and causing budget stress. The
budget will be finalized at the Board of Trustees meeting on October 16th. A
budget proposal will be brought to the Deans and the Budget & Appropriations
Committee next week. The decline in new student enrollment is a frustrating and
disappointing occurrence. A few larger programs had unexpected declines (e.g.
pharmacy, biology, nursing). The addition of the lacrosse teams has been a plus
to help with new student enrollment. There is still much work to do to close the
gap.
d. The new Federal Score Card was released. Ohio Northern fared very well. The
scorecard is flawed, but can also be useful. Ohio Northern ranked third in Ohio
behind Case Western and Kenyon for strong retention and high annual earnings
relative to debt.
e. Ray Schuck shared that he is the certified coach for the men’s and women’s rugby
teams at Ohio Northern. The rugby program is 40 years old and has been
officially recognized by the U.S. Rugby Association for the past 15 years. The
program is also well-recognized. A few years ago, the rugby team beat the
University of Kentucky. All club sports, though, are not being funded this year.
Ray wanted to know the following: Why? Where will club programs go from
here? Will funding return in the future? The President responded that he had
worked with Deans and Vice Presidents to protect both academic and athletic
interests. The consensus was that club sports needed to move to a “pay to play”
option to continue. This involves each participating student paying a fee to help
fund the program. Ray countered that there are already significant costs to the
students (e.g. certification through rugby organizations, travel costs, etc.).
President said that he wanted club sports to continue but there may need to be a
fee to make that happen. John Lomax also spoke in support of Ray Schuck’s
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concerns. The President, Athletic Director Tom Simmons and Provost Crago will
meet with Ray Schuck to discuss the matter further.
Questions for the Provost: David Crago made a few comments before opening the
floor to questions.
a. The site visit from the Higher Learning Commission went very well last year.
The next site visit will be from the University Senate of the United Methodist
November 9th – 11th. The self-study report for the Senate is almost finished.
b. The new dual enrollment program in Ohio, College Credit Plus, has provided
some challenges for private universities. Our previous dual enrollment program
had over 500 students. The committee has worked hard to market our new dual
enrollment program and this year, over 200 students from seven high schools
signed up with ONU. These students are willing to pay for the program at Ohio
Northern compared to free programs at public institutions. The committee is now
shifting into recruiting mode for the 2016 – 2017 academic year.
c. As a component of the University’s Master Plan, potential changes to the first
floor of Heterick Library are in the works. A group is meeting to review the
facility and to identify positive changes to address student needs (e.g. areas for
collaborative learning, etc.). These updates will be funded with money from the
previous capital campaign.
New business:
a. Ray Schuck wanted to recognize physical plant for their tremendous work on
buildings and grounds. A motion was made to send a commendation letter from
the faculty. The motion was approved.
Announcements:
a. The musical, “Edges,” opens on Thursday, September 24th @ 7:30 PM in the
Freed Center. There will also be two performances on Friday, September 25th and
two performances on Sunday, September 27th.
b. The Choral Collage Concert is Friday, September 25th @ 8 PM. The Marching
Band Concert is Saturday, September 26th.
c. Town and Gown nominations are due Oct. 15th. The event will be held on
November 2nd.
d. Natalie DiPietro-Mager will receive the Robinson Young Alumni Award.
e. Next week is Banned Books Week. A reading in Heterick Library will occur on
Monday, September 28th from 7 – 8 PM.
f. Phi Beta Delta will sponsor two upcoming lectures. On Monday, September 28th
@ 2 PM in Dicke Forum the Taylor 2 Dance Company will discuss modern dance
and abstract art. CASE and the Theatre Department are co-sponsoring the event.
On Tuesday, September 29th @ 7 PM in Dicke Forum, three professors will
discuss their recent experiences in Beijing, China.
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g. Second City will be performing on Saturday, September 26th @ 8:30 PM in the
Freed Center. Our improv group will be joining them for a portion of the
performance.
h. The women’s volleyball team is playing Kenyon tonight. Come and show your
support.
i. The Fall Career Fair was a success. Thanks for the support.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 11:44 AM.
Submitted by,
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Leslie A. Riley
Secretary