September 2024 University Updates Q&A

Multiple Facilities-related job postings are currently available to interested applicants. Additionally, new opportunities will continue to be added as needed to help ensure our staffing measures enable us to maintain appropriate campus service, daily cleaning and maintenance of high-touch facilities.

In the event of a facilities-related emergency that poses a risk to occupant safety or loss of property, please contact 740-593-2911 for the most immediate response. This number is monitored 24 hours a day. 

For routine and/or non-emergency maintenance requests, we recommend submitting a work request through the University Service Center. You can also track the status of your work request online. 

Please note that if any portion of your concern is related to an existing work request, our University Service Center (740-593-2911) will be happy to provide an update and/or escalate your request if needed.

First and foremost, OHIO believes that each and every employee should have the appropriate opportunity to share their voice and opinion on the collective bargaining process, regardless of their position.

Last spring, the United Academics of Ohio University (UAOU), the employee group at OHIO that has requested recognition as a collective bargaining unit (Union), submitted a request for voluntary recognition as a collective bargaining unit on behalf of all faculty. 

In order to help ensure that all OHIO employees are provided ample opportunity to engage in the collective bargaining process, Ohio University did not voluntarily accept or recognize OAOU as a Bargaining Unit; instead, they have been encouraged to follow the process outlined by ORC and monitored by the State Employment Relations Board (SERB). Additionally, we have recommended a secret ballot election to determine if a majority of eligible employees elect to form a faculty union and begin the collective bargaining process, or if a majority of eligible employees elect to continue their current relationship through established processes and obligations like those outlined in the Faculty Handbook and through the Faculty Senate. 

The collective bargaining process is ongoing, and the matter is currently before SERB to determine the appropriate bargaining unit for employees. In the meantime, we encourage all OHIO employees, regardless of their collective bargaining position, to continue to share their voices and opinions. We will equally continue to provide updates as the overall process, which is guided by the state, progresses.  

If there is a specific space/area that prompted this question, I encourage you to reach out directly to the University Service Center (740-593-2911) with additional details; their team will look into the situation and report back to the Vice President of Finance and Administration. 

The beauty of OHIO’s campus and facilities is certainly something to be admired and preserved. While the frequency of the basic cleaning of common areas including classrooms, restrooms, and lobbies, has not changed in recent years, our Facilities Management team is continuing to monitor and assess its current staffing numbers to ensure we’re able to provide a high measure of campus service, daily cleaning and maintenance of high-touch facilities. 

Thank you for that question. The issue of affordable housing for faculty and staff within Athens County is definitely one that is on my mind as we work to recruit top talent to our University. Ohio University maintains a representative on the City of Athens Affordable Housing Commission, which meets monthly. The commission reviews proposals and advocates for affordable housing developments in the city. For example, recently they voted to support the University Estates Woodsedge Project, which will include 40 townhomes near the University. We are committed to continuing our partnership with the city to find ways to incentivize the development of new affordable housing.

I do want to highlight immediate resources for anyone experiencing housing insecurity.  We offer housing help for students who find themselves experiencing housing insecurity or in situations where they are at risk for homelessness. Additionally, the University’s Employee Assistance Program, which is available to OHIO employees and their spouse/partners, dependents (26 and younger), household members and parents/parents-in-law, offers information and referrals for those seeking childcare, eldercare, housing, transportation and more. 

Ohio University is committed to recruiting, retaining and rewarding high-performing faculty and staff across campuses and modalities. When necessary, we rely on assistance from national search firms to help identify top-notch talent, and at times, we promote from within. 

In the case of both Vice President of Human Resources Miles and Vice President for Student Affairs Lyn Redington, each came to us highly recommended to serve in interim roles. During their tenure as interim leaders, they demonstrated incredible value and expertise and both were ultimately appointed to their roles permanently. In both cases, we sought feedback from Faculty Senate and Administrative Senate leadership, their peers and staff within their division prior to moving forward as we would have with a more traditional search. 

As demonstrated by record applications for the fall semester, interest in Ohio University is at an all-time high, and enrollment of new and continuing students on the Athens campus has been especially strong in the past couple of years. New incoming students have enrolled in record numbers, and we are encouraged by strong rates for fall-to-spring return, first-year retention, and four- and six-year graduation. These measures are all signs of the University’s ability to attract outstanding students and support their success.

The Enrollment Management teams work closely with academic and administrative leadership throughout the enrollment cycle, beginning multiple years in advance and continuing well into the summer orientation season, to ensure that OHIO can accommodate the entering and returning classes well as they shape up. We have flexibility in our planning to accommodate a slightly smaller or larger class if there are changes in enrollment patterns. Public universities as advanced and sophisticated as OHIO can support a variety of enrollment scenarios, so for any given year we are constantly working to understand how the University can best deliver on its mission as a public university and support our students well, and we know that planful, stable enrollment levels help us provide the distinctive Ohio University experience. 

Long-term, we will continue to align capacity analysis and planning with OHIO’s dynamic strategies, as well as with OHIO’s academic priorities across future enrollment cycles.

OHIO benefits from a wealth of data, but the breadth and complexity of our organization, combined with numerous disparate reporting solutions, can sometimes make even the simplest inquiries seem unreasonably challenging. A project is currently underway, led by Chris Ament, OHIO’s chief information officer, to modernize OHIO’s data strategy and data governance, with the ultimate goal of streamlining and democratizing appropriate data access and effectively facilitating actionable insights. This work is critical for supporting R1-level research, teaching excellence and modern student services, and it is foundational to upcoming efforts to modernize our enterprise business systems. 

In Enrollment Management, we are interested in learning more about the specific and immediate challenges at hand, so I’d encourage you to connect with me or any of my colleagues on the Enrollment Management leadership team. Our team would be delighted to assist you in obtaining the information you need to support students.