10/8/2014

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TRUSTEES SET FUNDRAISING GOAL, DEFER TO

ADMINISTRATORS FOR PROJECT PLANS
Noah Manskar

October 4, 2014

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As Ohio Wesleyan administrators discuss several large projects to rebound from this years enrollment decline, the
universitys Board of Trustees largely deferred to them on how to move forward at its full body meeting Friday.
The trustees took one vote after two days of discussing salient campus issues in committee meetings, but that vote
was a concrete step toward funding some of those big projects, such as the Student Housing Master Plan. It set a
$200 million goal for the universitys seven-year capital campaign.
About $50 million of that has been raised so far in the campaigns three-year quiet phase, during which
administrators are soliciting donations but not publicly advertising it, according to Board chairperson Thomas Tritton.
He said that number includes the combined $16 million in donations funding the Merrick Hall renovation and the
forthcoming Simpson-Querry Fitness Center.
The largest portion of that money would go toward financial aid to make OWU more accessible to prospective
students, Tritton 69 said. The rest would fund building projects such as Merrick and Simpson-Querry and student
housing improvements, as well as academic goals such as hiring new faculty and supporting curricular initiatives
such as Course Connections.
Its really student-oriented, Tritton said.
What those student housing projects will look like, though, is still uncertain. OWU administrators have not yet told the
Board what the Student Housing Master Plan, which has been in the works since 2011, should prioritize or set a
timeline for its component projects.
The Boards Student Affairs Committee wants to move forward prudently but quickly on student housing, committee
chair Ed Haddock said. In his report, Haddock mentioned some results from a student housing survey that indicated
students care as much about the facilities they live in later in their time at OWU as they do about where they live the
first year.
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