University releases One OHIO strategy update

Ohio University RHE Study Committee Co-Chairs Nicole Pennington and Brad Cohen shared the following message with the University community regarding the One OHIO strategy on July 1, 2019.

Dear Colleagues,   

We write today with a brief update regarding the One OHIO strategy to integrate Regional Higher Education and Athens campuses into a unified system. In March, the Ohio University Board of Trustees approved a resolution in support of the recommendations put forward by the Regional Higher Education Study Committee in November. Since March, we have made much progress towards One OHIO: we have secured an implementation partner, Kennedy & Company, to help us over the next several months to set up project plans and tracking and reporting processes. 

As co-chairs, we remain available to facilitate conversation among the many teams involved in implementation of the One OHIO strategy. Together, we can move forward to ensure that we achieve our academic and financial goals and meet the Board’s expectations for One OHIO.   

Creating One OHIO involves faculty and staff across the University system. Recently launched work stream teams* are addressing specific aspects of academic and administrative integrations.

Attached is a current list of all of those involved in forging a new system model for OHIO, specific areas of effort upon which each team is focused, and identified co-leads for each team. You’ll see that one of these teams is responsible for communication strategy, led by Carly Leatherwood and Robin Muhammad. They will be establishing a project site and regular communications to the University community to provide transparency as the One OHIO strategy moves forward over the course of the next academic year.

We encourage you to stay informed and engaged as the teams complete their work. If you have questions about the integration, or thoughts about how to implement the recommendations, or if you are interested in participating, please reach out to the appropriate co-leads.   

One OHIO is a challenging endeavor with many layers of complexity. Thank you to every person who is undertaking this important work. As a result of your efforts, we will emerge financially stronger, more unified as a University community, and more responsive to local and regional needs as one university system.   

Best regards,

Nicole Pennington and Brad Cohen

*Please note that team membership is subject to revision.