Audit and Compliance Committee
• Enrollment numbers, the Medical Center’s finances, and financial support from the state government—the three “big enchiladas” of Ohio State’s financial health—are strong, said Bill Shkurti, OSU’s senior vice president for business and fin
ance.
• “In a time of a great deal of financial uncertainty nationally, the university is stable financially,” Shkurti said to the committee.
• Committee members discussed the possibility of an audit for the OSU Medical Center separate from the annual university-wide audit. The committee discussed the scope of a potential external audit and the possible cost. Shkurti approximated the additional cost of an external audit to be $200,000, and other members noted that a number of factors could cause the cost to increase.
 
Development and Investment Committee
• Committee members discussed OSU’s progress toward its $300 million fundraising goal, a target which Peter Weiler, senior vice president for university development, called “very aggressive.” OSU has raised almost $133 million, or 44.3 percent of its goal, through the end of December, the halfway point of the fundraising period.
• In a better economy, OSU would normally have reached about 55 percent of its goal at the halfway point because December is such a critical fundraising month, Weiler said.
• Jonathan Hook, OSU’s chief investment officer, reported to the committee that OSU’s Long-Term Investment Pool, which includes operating funds and the university’s endowment, saw a compounded return of 14.8 percent in the first half of fiscal year 2010, bringing its value to almost $1.9 billion. The fund’s value fell to $1.66 billion, representing a loss of almost a quarter of its market value, in fiscal year 2009, which included the market crash of fall 2008.
 
Fiscal Affairs Committee
• The committee approved Athletic Director Gene Smith’s recommendation to increase the price of football and men’s basketball tickets for next year and annual golf course membership fees. Student football tickets will increase by a dollar to $32 per game, and student basketball tickets by 50 cents to $15 per game. Student golf course memberships will increase from $560 to $575 per year.

Faculty Member on Academic Affairs/Student Life
• The plan is still to make announcement of the name tomorrow

Organizational Issues on Board
• The committee held a preliminary, informal discussion of if committee on academic life and student affairs should be split into two different committees.  Should Student Life be a subcommittee? Gee’s thoughts were to have two separate committees: one on academic affairs, one on student life, and have the same people in each committee so the same brains could work on things that would sometimes overlap.  A more thorough discussion was scheduled for the April committee meeting.

Replacing the graduate student trustee
• The graduate student trustee position has been narrowed to 7 candidates, who are attending a Board of Trustees reception dinner tonight.  Next up is the interview process, where the secretary of the board, David Frantz, will work with the governor’s office.  They hope to have the selection made by May.
• At the Faculty Council today, they reminded the faculty that the application for the University Ombudsman position deadline is Friday.