Several people have asked how the revenue from a potential parking lease would be invested and protected, so I thought I’d address those questions today.
We have said that if we received $400 million, we could instantly increase our long-term investment pool by nearly 20 percent. Here’s how that would help support a sustainable future for Ohio State:
Money generated from any such lease would go directly into our long-term investment pool. It would not be used for one-time spending. The interest earned would provide continual funding for the things that matter most to the university – teaching, student support, research and campus improvements.
The breakdown of financial support for these areas on a $400 million lease would be:
- Support for student financial aid and scholarships: $75 million to long-term investment pool, earning $3 million in funding per year/ every year.
- Funding for faculty recruitment, including hiring 8-10 percent additional faculty: $200 million to long-term investment pool, earning $8 million in funding per year/ every year.
- Support for critical areas whose external funding is limited, such as the Arts and Humanities: $50 million to long-term investment pool, earning $2 million in funding per year/ every year.
- Support for campus transportation systems, creating a more pedestrian-friendly campus: $75 million to long-term investment pool, earning $3 million in funding per year/ every year.
One way to protect the funds would be to set up four distinct endowment funds for the areas above. Any changes to the specific funds would require a Board of Trustees resolution, which is the way the university manages the more than 4,000 endowed funds we currently have.
We would also include the annual investment return from these funds in the report that goes to the Board every year so that we could publicly share how the investments were doing.
I also wanted to share this link to a recent interview with Geoff Chatas, our senior vice president for Finance, on Ann Fisher’s “All Sides” program. He gave a great overview of the background behind innovative funding solutions as well as the principles the university followed in writing the Requests for Proposals to bring the greatest benefit and most flexibility from a potential lease.
Thanks again to everyone who has taken the time to ask questions. If I haven’t responded already, I will be getting back to you soon. In the meantime, please keep checking the parking proposal website for new information and updates.