At its March 18 meeting, the Kent State University Board of Trustees took action on the following items:

Increase in Room and Board Rates
The Board approved an overall 5.87 percent increase in the standard, undergraduate double-room and board rates, effective fall semester 2009.  The increases will allow the university to keep pace with changing student needs; to repay debt incurred for major construction and renovation of Kent Campus residence and dining facilities during the last several years; and to help offset rising costs for utilities and food products. Trustees noted that the increases will allow the university to continue operating its residence and dining programs on a self-sufficient basis while keeping room and board affordable for students and their families.  The increases are expected to leave Kent State’s room and board rate among the lowest for Ohio’s residential campuses.

Under the new rates, a standard double-occupancy room and a full meal plan will be $3,970 a semester, an increase of $220 from the current rate of $3,750. Specifically, a typical double room will increase $135 a semester, from $2,290 to $2,425 and the basic board plan will increase $85 per semester, from $1,460 to $1,545.  Similar increases were instituted for other residential options, which include single and quad rooms, and on-campus apartments, and four other board plans. A $26 increase in the monthly rate for one- and two-bedroom apartments in the Allerton Student Family Apartment complex, which houses students with families, was enacted effective Sept. 1, 2009.


Establishment of Exercise Science Major
In response to documented, growing student interest in the rapidly growing allied health care industry, the Board established a major in exercise science within Kent State’s College of Education, Health and Human Services.  The new bachelor of science degree program, to be offered through the School of Exercise, Leisure and Sport, is effective fall semester 2009. The university has offered a major in physical education with a concentration in exercise science.  The new major will better meet the needs of students who want to pursue careers in the allied health care industry or graduate study in exercise science or other health care professions.  The major will have two concentrations: exercise physiology and exercise specialist.


University Offers Separation Plan to Eligible Employees
As part of Kent State University’s multi-faceted efforts to contain costs and avoid program cuts, pay reductions and lay-offs during the current economic crisis, the Board authorized Educators Preferred Corporation (EPC) to oversee a plan that would give longtime faculty and staff members the option to leave university employment at the end of the current fiscal year (June 30, 2009). Under the plan, employees with at least 15 years of service at the university as of June 30, 2009, and who agree to leave university employment on June 30, 2009, will receive a payment based on their employment classification and salary:

• Tenure-rack faculty members who participate in the plan will receive 100 percent of their base salary as of June 30, 2009, not to exceed $65,000.
• Non-tenure Track faculty members will receive 100 percent of their base salary as of June 30, 2009, not to exceed $35,000.
• Unclassified employees will receive 100 percent of their base salary as of June 30, 2009, not to exceed $55,000.
• Classified employees not represented by a bargaining unit will receive 100 percent of their base salary as of June 30, 2009, not to exceed $30,000.
• Classified employees represented by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees will receive 100 percent of their base salary as of June 30, 2009, not to exceed $20,000.
  

The payments will be made over an eight-year period for employees who do not retire, and over five years for those who do choose to retire. All eligible employees will receive detailed information about the separation plan and will be able to meet individually with an EPC representative to discuss their options.  Employees will have until May 22, 2009, to make a decision about participation in the plan.


Kent Campus Infrastructure Renovations and Improvements
The Board authorized the vice president for finance and administration to proceed with four projects to address deferred maintenance and critical infrastructure needs on the Kent Campus:

• A continuation of the phased replacement and upgrade of the power distribution system. The project’s funding comes from $1,407,000 in state capital appropriations and $165,000 in university funds.
• An extension of the campus district chilled water system to existing buildings that have failed chillers.  The project’s funding comes from $1 million in state capital appropriations.
• Replacement of the failing roof and masonry on Satterfield Hall. The project’s funding comes from $910,000 in state capital appropriations.
• The replacement of the elevator in Prentice Hall. The project’s funding comes from $575,000 in university funds.
  

Regional Campus Building Improvements
The Board authorized the vice president for finance and administration to proceed with projects that address deferred maintenance and critical infrastructure needs on Kent State’s Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Stark and Trumbull Regional Campuses:

• The replacement of the roof on the Ashtabula Campus library building. The project’s funding comes from $333,000 in state capital appropriations.
• The repair, repointing and caulking of the masonry and stone on the Stark Campus library building. The project’s funding comes from $250,000 in state capital appropriations.
• The replacement of the aging ceiling, lighting and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC)system within the Stark Campus library building. The project’s funding comes from $312,000 in university funds.
• The replacement of select areas of the aging ceiling, lighting and HVAC system within the Stark Campus Fine Arts Building. The project’s funding comes from $305,000 in university funds.
• The milling and repaving of existing parking lots, and the replacement of the aging parking lot lighting system on the Trumbull Campus. The project’s funding comes from $950,000 in state capital appropriations.
• The selective renovation of offices, classrooms and corridors on the third floor of the Main Classroom Building on the East Liverpool Campus, as well as renovation of the building’s first– and second-floor restrooms.  The project’s funding comes from $550,000 in state capital appropriations.
• The selective renovation of classrooms, laboratories and corridors in the Main Classroom Building on the Trumbull Campus, as well as first- and second-floor restrooms.  The project’s funding comes from $1,720,693 in state capital appropriations and $164,307 in university funds.
  

In other actions:

• The Board unanimously passed resolutions of appreciation to outgoing administrators Dr. Patricia A. Book, vice president for Regional Development, and Dr. Steve O. Michael, vice provost for Diversity and Academic Initiatives. Dr. Book is leaving the university after five years to become assistant vice president for Continuing Education and Academic Outreach at the University of Northern Colorado. Dr. Michael, who served in his current position for more than six years, will become provost and vice president for academic affairs at Arcadia University.

• The Board approved a change in the Faculty Senate charter and bylaws that makes the Educational Policies Council (EPC)a body comprising two councils — a graduate council and an undergraduate council — instead of one council. The EPC is a committee of the Faculty Senate that considers curricular matters and program policy and planning.

• The Board formally ratified a three-year collective bargaining agreement between the university and Ohio Council 8 and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 153.  The contract is effective, from October 1, 2008, to October 1, 2011.

• The Board authorized a joint-use agreement with the University Hospital Geauga Medical Center.  The hospital requested and will receive state capital improvement funds totaling $1 million for improvements to its medical/surgical and other areas of the hospital. State law requires that all capital appropriations released through the Ohio Board of Regents be made via joint-use agreements.  Under the approved agreement, Kent State will derive a value from the capital expenditure and receive a $15,000 administrative fee.

• The Board approved a 25-year, exclusive easement to the city of Kent for the sanitary sewer line installed to serve the Greek Village area.  The Greek Village project, which allows the development of up to six Greek houses in an area leased by the university to a private developer, has resulted in the completion of the Sigma Nu fraternity house.

• The Board authorized a $4 million project to renovate Stewart Hall, an unused residence hall on the Kent Campus, into a general office building for the Information Services unit, which currently is dispersed across the Kent Campus.  The project will allow all Information Services personnel to be housed under one roof and will allow greater sharing of administrative staff; reduce staff travel time and costs; and create a central information technology training center.

• To provide the best possible environment for resident students, the Board authorized a $5.2 million project to completely rehabilitate the student toilet and shower rooms in the Beall and McDowell residence halls on the Kent Campus. The two halls house 500 students.  The Beall Hall project will be completed this summer and the McDowell Hall project will be completed during the summer of 2010.