President Nellis and Provost Sayrs have shared direct and transparent information with the Faculty Senate this evening as part of their monthly update to Faculty Senate. They also were very clear about what we know, what we don’t know and how we will move forward in securing the financial future of Ohio University despite the real and deep impact that COVID-19 is having on our University.
Tonight’s resolution is not going to preclude them or any other member of the leadership team from continuing to have conversations, share information, and invite our faculty to join us in working together to make the best, albeit difficult decisions, in order to secure the future of Ohio University.
“This is a disappointing outcome, and I want to make it abundantly clear that the Ohio University Board of Trustees stands firmly behind President Nellis, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Deb Shaffer, and the Ohio University leadership team in their commitment to transparency, efforts to encourage collaboration and a collective development of a strong strategic vision,” Ohio University Board of Trustees Chair Dave Scholl said. “Ohio University, like its peer institutions across the nation, must overcome major challenges to remain competitive and financially viable in today’s environment. This was true prior to COVID-19 and the scale and urgency is exacerbated now. President Nellis has openly shared that, in order to support the University ‘s academic mission and meet the expectations of our students, we must rise to this challenge. We must act. He has challenged leaders from all areas of shared governance to work together to innovate and collaborate on efforts to modernize with urgency. He and his team have engaged with each of the University’s shared governance bodies openly, and he has made it clear that he greatly values the input they have provided. Finally, and with the support of the Trustees, he and his team have embraced change with a sense of the long-term vision, with grace, empathy and a decisiveness needed to move OHIO forward in a sustainable way. In these challenging times for all institutions, President Nellis, his leadership team and the Trustees remain committed to ensuring that Ohio University regains its position as a leader in higher education.”