Two years ago, former Ohio State President William “Brit” Kirwan put Ohio State’s Academic Plan into order. This was a plan developed to turn OSU into a ‘truly great teaching and research university.’
Many aspects of the university have changed since the plan was first initiated. President Karen A. Holbrook has since replaced Kirwan and taken over the Academic Plan and the university has been affected by reduced state funding, among other changes.
“President Holbrook is very committed to the plan, as she has told us numerous times in meetings,” said Joe Shultz, the undergraduate student representative on the Board of Trustees.
The plan is long-term, strategic and is meant to stay in place for at least five years, said Alayne Parson, senior vice provost for budgeting and planning.
The plan cites four major initiatives that have been in progress since its inception.
These are to retain and attract outstanding faculty and staff by bringing salaries up to the level of the university’s benchmark peers, strengthen the quality of the academic experience for undergraduates, establish OSU as a leader in biomedical research and create a state and national resource for understanding and resolving the issues of race and ethnicity.
In June, the university put out a First Year Report for the plan to show the progress it has made.
Lack of state funding led to average salaries falling behind peer universities in the past, but over the past 18 months the plan has helped improve this. Pay increases are now around 2 percent above the average, Parson said.
“We are hiring world-class faculty,” Anderson said. “Higher-quality faculty attracts higher-quality students.”
According to the First Year Report, the profile of incoming freshmen classes have improved in the last six years. Average ACT scores have risen from 22.8 to 25.2, and the percentage of incoming freshmen who ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class has risen from 21 to 32.
The university has hired many new faculty members who will play a key role in making OSU a leader in biomedical research. In addition to hiring faculty, OSU is planning to erect a biomedical research tower by late 2006.
The Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity was also created by the plan, directed by john powell (who doesn’t capitalize his name) and located on the top floor of Mendenhall Laboratory, Parson said.
Overall, the administration is confident in the plan.
