96-05-03 Trustees: Trustees Approve License Procedure, Contracts

OHIO STATE BOARD APPROVES LICENSE PROCEDURE, CONTRACTS

	COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University Board of Trustees 
on Friday (5/3) established a committee to approve exchanges 
of stock for licenses of technology, approved research and 
construction contracts, refinanced a mortgage on a hotel, 
and conducted other business.

Stock an option for license to use technology

	The board voted to permit acceptance of stock in firms 
in lieu of cash in exchange for licenses to develop 
technologies invented at Ohio State.

	Trustees established a technology transfer oversight 
committee to review and approve agreements in which a 
corporation would award stock to The Ohio State University 
Foundation in lieu of the licensing fee.  Licensing 
agreements are negotiated by the Office of Technology 
Transfer.

	Each year, the university allows corporations to use 
and market a number of technologies invented at the 
university in exchange for licensing fees and royalties.  
According to Edward Hayes, vice president for research, 
opportunities have increased to license early-stage 
technologies developed at Ohio State to firms that are 
unable to pay the initial licensing fee usually charged by 
the university.  However, those firms are willing to convey 
stock to the foundation in return for the opportunity to 
license the technology.

	Continued participation of faculty inventors is often 
crucial to the successful development of the technology and 
the license in exchange for stock is viewed as another way 
to facilitate that process.

	The oversight committee will be responsible for seeing 
that any proposed agreement has been negotiated at "arms 
length" by the Office of Technology Transfer with terms 
comparable to those granted outside entities and that the 
faculty inventor has complied with university policies on 
conflicts of interest.  Any royalties to which the faculty 
inventor would be entitled under Ohio State's policy on 
patents and copyrights will be assigned back to the 
university.  In addition, reimbursements will be made for 
use of any university facilities or equipment.

	The committee will be chaired by Hayes and will include 
the senior vice president for academic affairs and provost, 
vice president for finance, and vice president for legal 
affairs and general counsel.

Contracts approved for variety of research projects

	Trustees approved 181 research contracts totaling 
$14,910,149.  Singled out for special mention were:

	-- Environmental monitoring of abandoned mined land on 
which vegetation has been re-established using yard waste 
compost and by-products of dry flue gas desulfurization.  
Warren Dick of the Ohio Agricultural Research and 
Development Center and the School of Natural Resources is 
conducting the project, funded with $377,845 from Ohio Coal 
Development.  According to a summary report, the combination 
of materials may provide an ideal amendment for re-
establishing vegetation on mine-spoiled land and reduce the 
financial and environmental costs of using topsoil for 
reclamation.  The watershed field study began in 1994 and 
monitoring began in 1995.  The money will fund monitoring 
for three more years.

	-- The Center for Industrial Sensors and Measurements, 
a collaboration of The Ohio State University, the Edison 
Materials Technology Center, the Edison Sensor Technology 
Center, and a part of the Cleveland Advanced Manufacturing 
Program at Case Western Reserve University.  The center will 
focus on novel sensors for use in aggressive industrial 
environments.  It will  link development and application of 
new sensor technology with lower cost electronics and 
software and apply them toward improving measurement and 
control of industrial processes.  The National Science 
Foundation is providing $300,000, for the first year of a 
four-year $1.2 million commitment.  The State of Ohio is 
matching those funds.  Sheikh A. Akbar of the Department of 
Materials Science and Engineering is leading the project.

	-- A study to understand the structure-function 
relationship of the recently discovered tumor suppressor p16 
and its close relative p15, which are specific inhibitors of 
human cyclin-dependent kinase 4, or cdk4, and its close 
variant cdk6.  Ming-Daw Tsai of the departments of Chemistry 
and Biochemistry and the Chemical Instrumentation Center is 
heading the project.  The National Cancer Institute is 
providing $260,423, part of a four-year commitment totaling 
$1,035,191.

	-- Research in nuclear astrophysics, nuclear physics, 
and particle physics, by Richard N. Boyd of the Department 
of Physics.  The National Science Foundation is providing 
$130,500 as part of a three-year, $391,500 commitment.

	-- Completion of a comprehensive package of multimedia 
resources for learning statistics.  The National Science 
Foundation is providing $50,607 as part of a two-year, 
$103,701, commitment.  Key components of the package, 
developed under previous funding from the foundation, 
include an electronic encyclopedia of statistical examples 
and exercises, and an on-line data and story archive.  The 
newest funds will permit integration of interactive video 
resources and development of materials to support teaching 
and learning statistics using the video resources.  Heading 
the project are William I. Notz, Dennis K. Pearl and 
Elizabeth A. Stasny of the Department of Statistics.
They will use video clips from news shows or special 
television programs to help students think critically about 
quantitative issues raised in the broadcasts that can 
survive beyond the bounds of a statistics class.

Contracts awarded for renovations to University Hospitals

	Trustees awarded contracts for renovating the emergency 
and radiology departments of University Hospitals.  One 
project will reorient the emergency department and add space 
west of the building to double its size.  The cost of the 
project, being funded by the hospitals, is $6,653,760.  
Construction is to be finished by February 1998.  Contracts 
went to Newberg International of CLEVES, Ohio; Farber 
Mechanical Contractors of COLUMBUS; and Buckeye Electric of 
DAYTON.

	The other project, the second phase of renovations to 
the radiology department, involves moving some facilities to 
improve efficiency.  University Hospitals is providing $1.5 
million to make changes to two CAT scan procedure rooms, an 
ultrasound suite, outpatient and inpatient waiting areas, 
library and teaching file room, and prisoner holding area.  
Contracts were awarded to Miles McClellan, J.A. Croson and 
Faber Corp., all of Columbus, and Brush Electrical of Grove 
City.

Architects to design Bricker, Hopkins, Haskett improvements

	Trustees authorized employment of architectural and 
engineering firms and requests for construction bids for two 
revised projects at Bricker, Haskett and Hopkins halls on 
the Columbus campus.

	The Bricker project involves renovating the basement 
and first floor and revising the heating, ventilating and 
air conditioning.  The cost of the state-funded project is 
estimated at $1,075,000, including $858,300 for 
construction.

	The renovation of Haskett and Hopkins halls is 
estimated to cost $1,125,000 including $870,501 for 
construction with funding coming from the state.

Trustees refinance hotel debt

	The board voted to refinance a mortgage held by the 
River Road Hotel Corp. on the Ramada University Hotel and 
Conference Center, 3110 Olentangy River Road.  The 
corporation is managed as an endowment investment by the 
Office of the Treasurer at Ohio State.

	Trustees authorized the treasurer, James L. Nichols, to 
transfer $9.5 million from The Ohio State University 
Endowment Fund to River Road Hotel Corp. in the form of a 
capital contribution.

	The money will be used to refinance the mortgage held 
by John Hancock Life Insurance Co. and accompanying accrued 
interest, to refinance a $750,000 line of credit with 
Huntington National Bank, and to complete construction and 
remodeling to comply with the Americans with Disabilities 
Act, $350,000.  Repayment of the capital contribution will 
occur from dividends paid by River Road Hotel Corp. to the 
Endowment Fund.  The current interest rate with John Hancock 
is 10 percent per year; the line of credit is currently at 
the prime interest rate.

Students, trustees discuss student activity fee

	Trustees heard a report from Eric Busch, assistant vice 
president for student affairs, on information from focus 
groups who studied the feasibility of implementating a 
student activity fee at Ohio State.  Some 720 students were 
divided into 10 focus groups to measure what services 
students felt should be funded through an activity fee. 

	Busch said the students voiced concern about the issues 
of safety and transportation and parking as an every-day 
convenience.  Students responded that they would like 
shuttle buses to transport students from remote parking 
areas to the main campus, with late hour service to 
accommodate student needs. Students also said they would 
like improved recreation services on campus.

	Kevin Sheriff, president of the Undergraduate Student 
Government, said students would like to see continued 
implementation of the recommendations of the Committee on 
the Undergraduate Experience.  He said students also want 
improvements in academic computing, with funding to come 
from a source other than a 1-percent set-aside in student 
tuition or a student activity fee.

Miscellaneous business

	In other matters, trustees:

	-- Ordered the conferral of degrees and certificates on 
June 7 to those persons who have completed the requirements 
for them.

	-- Granted an easement to American Electric Power to 
provide electric service to the Edison Joining Technology 
Center at 2155 Carmack Road.  The easement is for a 977-by-
10-foot strip of land for 25 years.

	-- Awarded a student recognition award to Jody Seward 
of BOLIVAR, Ohio.  A senior majoring in veterinary medicine, 
Seward was honored for his work as vice president of the 
Interprofessional Council and for coordinating a peer 
mentoring program between professional students at The Ohio 
State University and Everett Middle School students.

	-- Recognized Sean Ruffin with a plaque for his service 
as president of the Inter-Professional Council.

	-- Recognized outgoing trustees Milton A. Wolf of 
Cleveland and Thomas Smith of Chesterhill.  Their terms 
expire May 13.

	-- Heard a report from Edward Ray, senior vice provost 
and chief information officer, regarding work on a strategic 
plan for academic computing.

	-- Heard from Nichols that the market value of the 
Endowment Fund was $630.1 million as of April 19, and that 
the fund now contains 2,300 accounts.  In addition, Moody's 
has upgraded the university's bond rating from A1 to Aa.

                             #

Contact:  Edward Hayes, (614) 292-1582; James L. Nichols, 
(614) 292-6261; or Jill Morelli, assistant vice president 
and university architect, (614) 292-4458, or Eric Busch, 
(614) 292-9334.
Written by Tom Spring.


[Submitted by: Von Reid-Vargas (ereid@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu)
               
Fri, 3 May 1996 16:51:04 -0400]
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