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OU Trustees To Approve Capital Improvement Construction Projects Friday


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After being shown the full outline of a six-year Capital Improvement Plan in the fall, Ohio University's trustees are expected to approve specific construction projects Friday.

The CIP is scheduled to begin in 2015 and conclude in 2020, and the university estimates the total project will cost $970 million.

The board Thursday will be asked to approve:

  • Phase one of the housing construction project, which will cost $110 million – the borrowed $100 million that the board approved in August and $10 million from Residential Housing Services, according to an agenda posted online before the meetings
  • Bromley Hall's $5 million renovation, which will be funded by Residential Housing Services
  • A $10.9 million rehabilitation of Lindley Hall, funded by $4 million of debt, $4.9 million in internal working capital and $2 million in state appropriations
  • An extension of South Green Drive, costing $1.5 million, funded by Culinary Services Reserves, Residential Housing Services and Transportation & Parking Services Reserves
  • A $3.5 million replacement of the Lausche Heating Plant, which caught fire in October, and a $1.875 million proposal to upgrade campus elevators
  • Schematic design for a $5 million, gift-funded, expansion to the College of Business
  • Schematic design for a $32.1 million renovation to McCracken Hall

The board will also hear a concept it originally heard in 2006 – The "Northeast Campus Roadway" – about the possibility of connecting Stimson Avenue to South Green Drive and by extension Richland Avenue and the main entry to campus. The concept is included in the approved six-year capital plan approved by the trustees in October 2013.

Northeast Roadway

In the enrollment update, the board will be presented with numbers that are growing but not as fast as the year prior. Applications rose from 11,276 in 2011 to 15,426 in 2012, then to 18,567 in 2013. That's a 1,009 application drop in growth, or slightly over five percent.

The OU College of Health Sciences and Professions will present a proposal for a new master's degree program in Physician Assistant Practice. The college has also proposed a Global Health Certificate, which would provide students from various disciplines an opportunity to become more familiar with global health issues, according to the trustees' agenda.

The push for more health-related students comes as the university is continuing work on the new Dublin campus, which will have focus on osteopathic medicine and construction on which is scheduled to be completed in April 2015.

The board will also name Jeffrey Chaddock to the Advisory Board for the Kennedy Museum of Art. Chaddock is an OU alumnus and the Senior Financial Advisor for The Chaddock Group. Chaddock's appointment will bring the number of members of the Advisory Board to nine.