Ohio State’s Board of Trustees met Thursday to discuss Affiliated Entities, which are legally separate organizations that the university controls and/or gives financial support to.

The majority of the meeting was spent hearing presentations and updates on two organizations, one that is continuing to work on upgrading the OSU campus area and another that is beginning to work on establishing connections in China.

The first group, called Campus Partners, is designed to “revitalize distressed neighborhoods within the University District of Columbus, Ohio,” according to its mission statement. The group’s most notable project was likely the extensive renovation of the Gateway District.

Campus Partners has received multiple sizeable contributions from the university since 1995, including a $25 million allocation from the endowment fund. The Board of Trustees resolution regarding the allocation did not specify a desire for financial return, however $7.6 million has been repaid or restructured as debt.

With OSU money, Campus Partners has been able to take on various campus-area projects, including the aforementioned Gateway renovation, which was made possible with a $5 million line of credit from the university. Recently, the acquisition of the Holiday Inn on Lane Avenue was paid for with part of $3 million in funding set aside in 1995.

The current five-year business plan intends to use another $25 million allocation to acquire various campus area property. Focus areas include 15th and High and south of the Gateway.

An additional $6.2 million has been reserved for 2012 to 2014 for what was referred to as “opportunistic investments.”

The Board of Trustees praised Campus Partners after the presentation. Robert Schottenstein, the chair of the Board’s Audit and Compliance Committee, specifically noted the group’s acquisition and environmental cleanup of the Columbus Coated Fabrics property, which resulted in new interest in the area from private investors.

The next item on the agenda was a discussion of new affiliate China Gateway. China Gateway is a Limited Liability Company established so the university could make progress on expanding OSU’s presence in China.

Because of China’s unique government, it was determined the university would need to have an actual business entity in the country in order to establish a relationship there. The company currently has a lease in the business district of Shanghai, which gives OSU the advantage of having an established bank account in the country if and when it decides to do business there.

Dieter Wanner, associate provost for Global Strategies and International Affairs, delivered part of the company’s update to the Board of Trustees. He estimated that OSU currently has somewhere between 30,000 and 50,000 alumni living in China, figures that seemed to surprise many of the Board members. By increasing the university’s connection to China, that number will likely grow.

President E. Gordon Gee plans to visit China this summer.

When asked by the Board whether other universities in the Big Ten had tried something similar, Wanner said OSU’s project was unique, and that other schools might look to follow OSU’s lead.

“I think it’s safe to say this is new ground,” Wanner said.

The Board will hear further updates on these and other affiliated entities at its May meeting.