The Ohio University Board of Trustees will place their "stamp of approval" on several resolutions tomorrow during their quarterly meeting, said OU President Robert Glidden.
Some of the issues to be discussed include the state budget and the hiring freeze.
Originally the Ohio General Assembly, through House Bill 95, had planned to cut $346.6 million from higher education over the next two fiscal years. Most of the cuts were to be taken from graduate studies and doctorate programs.
Late Tuesday night, the House opted to decrease the amount of cuts. Though $137 million could still be cut after the bill goes to the Senate, the cuts will not endanger graduate programs.
"We have less money than we did last year and the year before that and before that," Glidden said.
He expects another $3.5 million to be cut from the university, in addition to the $2.7 million cut that came March 5.
The hiring freeze, which was implemented in February to offset state budget cuts, has saved the university's annual budget $1.9 million to date, Glidden wrote in an e-mail. At least 46 positions have been frozen with one other being examined by the review committee. Only one position has been approved for rehiring. Half of the frozen positions were administrative and the remainder was classified.
When the freeze began, the university needed to cut 65 positions through attrition. When the state budget is finalized and another cut is made, OU may need to cut more to offset the loss of funding.
In an executive session, the trustees are expected to propose a list of nominations for national trustees, a position to be added next year. National trustees should be OU alumni and would be non-voting members who can contribute to board discussions. One or two trustees will be chosen from about eight nominations Glidden said.
The trustees also will discuss renovations to Putnam Hall, the Hwa-Wei Lee Library Annex, the Avionics Engineering Center at Bush Airport and Burson House, which houses the Department of International Studies.
Trustees during the meeting also will accept nominations for honorary degrees, for professors' emeritus status and for the Founder's Citations to be distributed next year as part of the Bicentennial Celebration.
Approval will be needed from the OU Board of Trustees on revised constitutions and by-laws for Graduate Student Senate and the Ohio University Foundation.
"We need to all be singing from the same hymnal, so if they make any changes, they must be approved," Glidden said.
— The Associated Press contributed to this report
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