12-4-98

OHIO STATE’S LEADERSHIP AGENDA SET FOR 1998-99

	COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University’s Leadership Agenda 
for the 1998-99 academic year has been expanded to reflect two 
new university priorities outlined recently by President William 
E. Kirwan.  

	In addition to the continued focus on academic excellence, 
the student experience and revenue growth carried over from last 
year’s Leadership Agenda, university officials also are 
intensifying their attention to diversity, and outreach and 
engagement.  

	Agenda items this year range from such broad plans as 
improving student progress and restructuring the budget to more 
specific efforts, such as conducting a survey of graduate 
students in the professional colleges and holding a spring forum 
on faculty research related to racial issues. 

	The Leadership Agenda, which will be updated annually, 
includes a series of action items geared toward achievement of 
institutional goals and priorities defined for the year.  The 
agenda draft presented to the Board of Trustees on Friday (12/4) 
by Executive Vice President and Provost Edward J. Ray was 
developed during discussions among deans, faculty leaders, 
students, senior administrators and trustees.

	“The purpose of this process is to focus the university’s 
substantial resources in a strategic way to advance the goal of 
becoming one of the top 10 public institutions in the country,” 
Ray said.  In addition to completing the action items covered in 
the report, the university will continue its benchmarking of 
performance indicators among peer institutions and make strides 
to improve the quality of university decision-making, Ray said.

	The report includes 17 action items and assigns 
responsibility for those items to appropriate administrators.

Academic Excellence

	University leaders say Ohio State should achieve
international distinction in education, scholarship and public 
service, including achieving top 10 status among public 
universities.  A long-term objective is to provide top-notch
faculty and high-ability students with the best possible quality
teaching, learning and research environments.

	Action items include:

	-- Continuing and assessing the Selective 
Investment/Academic Enrichment programs aimed at investing in 
quality.
	-- Recruiting, retaining and developing top-notch faculty at 
senior and entry levels.  This academic year, the Commission on 
Faculty Development and Careers will develop recommendations for 
improving the quality of faculty life.
	-- Involving the university community in discussion and 
implementation of the Research Commission Report; a steering 
committee will develop a plan, budget and timeline for 
implementation.

Student Experience

	The university seeks to recruit and retain students and
enable their timely graduation and future success.  In the long
term, leaders plan to develop outcome measures that can be used 
to assess and certify that the Ohio State student experience is 
among the best in the country.

	Action items include:

	-- Improving undergraduate student progress as measured by 
retention and graduation.  In addition to improving advising, 
classroom experiences and academic support programs, Ohio State 
is using a new outreach strategy for students expected to have 
special academic, financial or college adjustment needs.  Degree-
granting colleges also are encouraged to consider more direct 
enrollment, giving students earlier contact with faculty in their 
fields of specialization.
	-- Developing programs to engage students in campus life, 
such as a program on student leadership skills, community service 
opportunities and expansion of learning communities.
	-- Continuing assessment of undergraduate, graduate and 
professional student satisfaction; this includes developing the 
appropriate organizational structure for the Office of Minority 
Affairs.
	-- Encouraging faculty roles in enhancing the student 
experience, such as through increased undergraduate research 
opportunities and continued participation in recruitment of 
students.
	-- Enhancing student academic support services, including 
registration, financial aid, loan servicing and student record 
management.

Diversity and Community

	 Ohio State leaders contend that a diverse and nurturing 
environment in which faculty, staff and students feel a sense of 
mutual respect and support from the community is fundamental to 
the university’s responsibility to enrich lives. 

	Action items include:

	-- Increasing diversity and the sense of community on 
campus.  As part of this, efforts for improving diversity will be 
factored into annual evaluation of colleges, and offices and 
groups committed to diversity gains will be encouraged to work 
together.
	-- Addressing disability needs inside and outside the 
classroom.  An interim ADA coordinator has been appointed, and a 
permanent compliance officer will be in place by the end of 
fiscal 1999.
	-- Participating in the national “Racial Legacies and 
Learning” project.  Also, a spring forum will allow faculty and 
students at Ohio State and from other institutions to share their 
research and teaching interests in race, racism and racial policy 
issues, and the university will assess parts of the core 
curriculum designed to broaden student perspective on diversity.

Outreach and Engagement

	Ohio State embraces its responsibility as a land-grant 
institution to provide service to nearby communities, the people 
of Ohio, the nation and the world by sharing the benefits of its 
scholarship, teaching and public service. 

	
	Action items include:

	-- Choosing developers and launching projects for the 
improvement of the Campus Partners community and distributing 
seed money through Campus Collaborative to support community 
programs.
	-- Establishing new university-industry research 
partnerships.

Revenue Growth

	Full funding for academic priorities is an objective in this
area.  This includes recruiting, retaining and developing the
best faculty, staff and students through a combination of
competitive compensation levels, staff support, state-of-the-art
equipment and a supportive physical and learning environment, and 
selective program enhancements.

	Action items include:

	-- Identifying disciplines most critical to the university’s 
academic aspirations, which in turn should drive revenue and 
financial policies.
	-- Restructuring the budget to more directly align financial 
incentives with academic goals.
	-- More directly engaging Ohio’s businesses as advocates for 
public higher education.
	-- Establishing policies that encourage entrepreneurial 
initiatives such as technology-enhanced distance learning and 
partnerships within the Science and Technology Campus.

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Contact:  Edward J. Ray, Academic Affairs, (614) 292-5881