Kent State recommended for more than $20 million in capital funding
February 16, 2012
Committee budget recommendation
Kent State University: $16 million, main campus; $4.63 million, regional campuses.
The Ohio State University: $66.5 million.
Akron University: $16 million.
Miami University: $18.2 million.
University of Cincinnati: $30.6 million.
University of Toledo: $17.75 million.
Bowling Green State University: $13.0435 million.
Ohio University: $15.9205 million
Cleveland State University: $12.75 million.
The seven-member committee appointed by Gov. John Kasich to allocate the state’s capital funds reported its final recommendations to the state Wednesday.
The committee, headed by Ohio State University President Gordon Gee, recommended Kent State University receive $16 million in capital funding for its main campus and $4.63 million for six of its regional campuses, according to the Ohio High Education Capital Funding Collaborative report.
The committee formed the recommendations based on the state’s “investment in four areas”: public-private partnerships, workforce development, interdisciplinary approaches and long-term maintenance, the report said.
Of the universities listed in this article, Kent State was recommended the fifth-largest amount of money. The Ohio State University, Miami University, the University of Toledo and the University of Cincinnati were all recommended to receive more funding than Kent State.
At Kent State main campus, the potential money would be used as follows:
$5 million for Cunningham Hall repairs.
$5 million for Williams Hall repairs.
$5 million for multidisciplinary research labs.
$1 million for Smith Hall repairs.
At the regional campuses, the potential money would be used as follows:
Ashtabula: $800,000 for Main Hall renovations.
East Liverpool: $330,000 for Mary Patterson Building renovations.
Salem: $485,000 for the science lab expansion.
Stark: $615,000 for Fine Arts Building renovations; $615,000 for library renovations.
Trumbull: $855,000 for HVAC replacements.
Tuscarawas: $930,000 for classroom building renovations.
The state’s $400 million capital budget is to be divided among the 37 public universities and colleges in Ohio, the report said.
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In years past, the capital budget was doled out based on a formula, according to the report. The formula was “based on the age of a college or university’s facilities, its enrollment numbers and the amount of infrastructure it must maintain.”
It was eventually decided the formula did not align with the state’s needs, the report said. The new process is supposed to be a more flexible, more accommodating and more strategic vision of the state of Ohio’s investment.
Along with Gee, the committee included Morris Beverage of Lakeland Community College, Paul Brown of Zane State College, David Hodge of Miami University, Lloyd Jacobs of the University of Toledo, Ron Abrams of the Ohio Association of Community Colleges and Bruce Johnson of the Inter-University Council, according to the report.
Ohio’s high education leaders believe the recommendations align with governor’s desire for the colleges and universities to collaborate in order to get the most out of the state’s finite resources, the report said.
Contact Rex Santus at [email protected].
