12-4-98

TRUSTEES CHANGE RULES ON SKATEBOARDS, CONDUCT OTHER BUSINESS

	COLUMBUS -- A revised university rule designed to limit the 
scope of skateboarding and roller blading on the Columbus campus 
was adopted by The Ohio State University Board of Trustees at its 
meeting Friday (12/4).

	The amendment to the university’s Traffic and Parking Rules 
does not prohibit skateboarding, roller skating or roller blading 
on campus, but it does restrict those activities to sidewalks and 
crosswalks.
	
	The new amendment is more restrictive than a rule that had 
been in effect since the late 1970s, in that it prohibits  
skateboarding, roller skating and roller blading from virtually 
every other spot on campus.  Off limits are streets on campus; 
university bicycle paths; all university parking lots, garages 
and construction areas; inside all university buildings; and on 
any architectural elements, walls, steps and ramps.

	The new rule also provides that the university’s Division of 
Transportation and Parking Services may impound skateboards, 
roller skates, roller blades, coasters or similar devices used in 
violation of the rule until final disposition of the case.

	John Kleberg, assistant vice president for business and 
administration, estimates that more than $3,000 in damage is 
caused to campus property each year by the activities.

	“We’ve had substantial damage in recent years to site 
furniture –- such as wooden tables and picnic benches –- and 
decorative architecture and stone, especially near the Wexner 
Center and the law college,” Kleberg said.  “We’ve also been very 
concerned about possible injury to skateboarders and pedestrians. 
We had a serious accident occur in a parking ramp on campus about 
three years ago when a skateboarder was racing down the ramps, 
met some pedestrians, went through the elevator doors and crashed 
down a level or two.  Several other injuries have taken place.”

	Kleberg said other universities across the country as well 
as municipalities have experienced problems with skateboarding 
and roller blading and adopted similar rules.  Adoption of the 
new rule previously had been approved by Ohio State’s 
Undergraduate Student Government, the University Senate Committee 
on Traffic, Parking and Public Safety, and the University Staff 
Advisory Committee.
	
University Senate membership changed

	Trustees also approved naming the chair of the University 
Staff Advisory Committee as an ex-officio, nonvoting member of 
University Senate.	

	University Senate is the primary governance group on campus 
and is comprised of 136 members, including 70 faculty members, 25 
administrators and 41 student representatives.  There are now 
eight nonvoting members of University Senate. 

	An advisory board formed in 1986, USAC includes 30 
classified civil service, unclassified administrative and senior 
administrative and professional staff members.  USAC had 
requested the seat on University Senate and the Senate approved 
the proposal at its Oct. 31 meeting.

Board hears update on Year 2000 efforts

	Officials told the Ohio State University Board of Trustees 
today that the university is working hard to make sure 
institutional computer systems will function normally with the 
turn of the century.

	Computer users around the world are facing the Year 2000 
Problem, or Y2K.  Some experts have warned that it will bring 
computers to a grinding halt on Jan. 1, 2000, because of the way 
hardware and software are designed to calculate dates.

	James Davis, director of University Technology Services and 
interim chief information officer for the university, outlined 
for the board Ohio State’s Y2K efforts which began in 1993.  In 
two phases over the past six years, key central computer systems 
have been replaced by the ARMS project.

	Many of the current Y2K efforts are now aimed at readying 
the large number of distributed computer systems and networks on 
campus and insuring that the university’s key operating processes 
will not be affected by the problem, Davis said.  Staff are also 
testing computer processors that are embedded in countless 
devices across campus to make sure they are not threatened by 
Y2K.

	The university has hired an outside firm, Compuware Corp., 
to develop instructional sets to aid university staff in 
analyzing and testing their systems’ vulnerability to Y2K.  The 
university has already recommended software designed to help 
individual PC users test their systems and remedy any problems.

	Davis said Ohio State plans to complete its Y2K preparations 
no later than Oct. 1, 1999.

Officials report on the student experience

	Several senior administrators spoke to trustees on various 
aspects of the student experience at Ohio State both inside and 
outside the classroom.  Presenters were Martha Garland, vice 
provost and dean of undergraduate studies; Eric Busch, assistant 
vice president for student affairs; William Baeslack, interim 
vice president for research; and Daryl Siedentop, interim dean of 
the College of Education.  They spoke of the partnership between 
the offices of Student Affairs and Academic Affairs and other 
entities at Ohio State, such as University Technology Services 
and the Office of the Vice President for Research.

	“Because students’ days are not neatly divided between 
academics and nonacademics, Student Affairs and Academic Affairs 
have formed a partnership to work together, passing suggestions 
and ideas to each other to continue to improve the student 
experience,” Busch told trustees.  “This cooperation has helped 
greatly in enabling and encouraging students to form an early 
connection to the university, and improving student retention.” 

	Some of the areas Student Affairs, Academic Affairs and 
other university entities have collaborated on are:

	-- In the area of enrollment management, recruiting a strong 
and varied student body; increasing the availability of classes, 
academic advising and support services; developing an integrated  
Student Information System; and redesigning new student 
orientation to cover a wider range of academic and co-curricular 
topics.

	-- Expanding the university’s Living and Learning project to 
include more areas of interest and study, and adding a leadership 
program to the project.

	-- Beginning an ongoing Racial Legacies and Learning 
diversity initiative that will foster conversations and programs 
to examine race and race relations. 

	-- Working with University Technology Services to provide 
the ResNet project, which wired all residence halls to provide 
computing access; offering more opportunities for distance 
learning; and improvements to the student and university Web 
pages.

	Josh Mandel, president of Undergraduate Student Government, 
said students are happy with the changes and improvements that 
were made for students in the areas of residence hall computing 
access and transportation.

	“The students love ResNet so much, they assume it’s always 
been there,” Mandel said.  He also commended the university for 
campus bus service improvements.

	Baeslack reported on the recent Research Commission report.  
He said quality research goes hand in hand with a quality 
academic and undergraduate student experience, and noted that the 
report had a broad mission that included academic programs.  

	Baeslack said the commission listed several recommendations 
as priorities, such as increasing the number of quality faculty 
and students; enhancing research facilities; focusing on 
undergraduate research; placing an emphasis on inter- and 
multidisciplinary research; and providing more resources for 
research, many of which directly affect students. 
	
	Siedentop spoke of the relationship students have with the 
neighborhoods that border the Columbus campus.  He told trustees 
that students need community contact if they are to be liberally 
educated.  Siedentop said the university needs to move beyond 
service-learning to include community-based scholarship 
opportunities for students.

	President William E. Kirwan supported this idea, and said 
the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy at 
Ohio State will motivate future leaders and inform policy 
decisions, and could provide an umbrella for community service 
and scholarship.	

Fisher College of Business welcomes trustees

	The Board of Trustees held its December meeting and 
committee work sessions at the first two buildings completed in 
the Fisher College of Business complex -- Fisher and Gerlach 
halls.  Joseph Alutto, dean of the college, updated trustees on 
how technological advancements and other features in the new 
buildings have enhanced the college’s teaching, research and 
service programs.  The buildings were dedicated in late October.  
Alutto noted the new facilities have helped broaden the college’s 
relationships with the hundreds of companies participating in the 
Executive Education program.  For undergraduate students, the 
college is proposing a new business minor and has expanded its 
honors program, Alutto said.  He also highlighted a “connections” 
program through which newly accepted international students in 
the MBA program are provided with e-mail addresses of Ohio State 
graduates in their home country, allowing them to make Ohio State 
contacts before they arrive on campus.  

	Tom Lynch, a second-year MBA student and president of the 
Black MBA Association, told trustees the consolidation of meeting 
rooms, computer labs and classrooms in the new buildings has 
benefited students in their studies and preparations for 
conference presentations.  Lynch also praised faculty and staff 
who have assisted him in his career planning.
	
Miscellaneous business

	In other business, trustees:

	-- Gave approval for the Ohio State University Medical 
Center to enter an agreement to form a nonprofit corporation with 
Mount Carmel Health System to pursue delivery of joint health 
care services as appropriate.  Mount Carmel Health System and the 
university Medical Center will consider projects where their 
combined expertise and resources make sense for the community.  
Both organizations will maintain separate identities and operate 
individually, and will consider pursuing joint opportunities to 
provide health care services when and where it is appropriate.  
University Hospitals is authorized to contribute $5 million to 
the new corporation to develop and operate facilities and 
programs.

	-- Presented a student recognition award to Andrea Balas of 
REYNOLDSBURG, a doctoral candidate in science education.  Balas 
was honored for her work in promoting education and the well 
being of youth.  She has served on the University Curriculum 
Committee, the Council on Research and Graduate Studies, and the 
Environmental Education Council of Ohio.  Balas is the president 
of the Student Leadership Council of the College of Education, a 
group that coordinates student activities and concerns throughout 
the college.  She worked as a middle school teacher in 
Pennsylvania and as an environmental education specialist for the 
Ohio Girl Scout Council, and is involved in Ohio’s Project 
Discovery as a curriculum reviewer.

                                #

Contact:  John Kleberg, Business & Administration, (614) 292-7970
	  James Davis, UTS, (614) 292-6553
	  Martha Garland, Academic Affairs, (614) 292-5881
	  Eric Busch, Student Affairs, (614) 292-9334
	  William Baeslack, Research, (614) 292-1582
	  Daryl Siedentop, Education, (614) 292-2461
	  Joseph Alutto, Fisher College, (614) 292-2666
	  R. Reed Fraley, University Hospitals, (614) 293-5555