YSU expected to back study

Board members want to have a voice in any commission recommendation.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Youngstown State University's Board of Trustees is expected to pass a resolution of support for proposed state legislation creating a study commission to look at collaboration among Northeast Ohio universities.
None of the board members spoke against it during a lengthy discussion of the issue at a daylong board retreat on campus Friday.
A draft resolution of support was sent to the board's External Affairs Committee for review and recommendation at its Nov. 28 meeting.
Dr. David C. Sweet, YSU president, said the board could hold a special meeting after the committee meeting to formally adopt the resolution.
The proposed legislation would create the Universities of Northeast Ohio Study Commission to make recommendations on collaboration among YSU, Kent State, Cleveland State, University of Akron and the Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine.
Cleveland State and Akron have passed resolutions of endorsement for a collaboration study. YSU and Kent have not.
There's no reason not to cooperate with the study, said YSU Trustee William Bresnahan.
"We want to be cooperative. We want to have input on how it goes," he said.
"This bill is going forward, with or without us," said Atty. John Pogue, trustee chairman, adding that talk of collaborative efforts have been ongoing in the region for a number of years.
Some reservations
Although no trustee spoke against the study, there were some reservations.
It could lead to some level of loss of local control, but there can be great advantages to linking with top academic programs that YSU doesn't have, Pogue said.
There are a lot of obstacles that have to be worked out in any extensive collaborative effort, Bresnahan said, citing differences in employee contracts as just one key issue.
YSU is already the most cost-effective of the institutions linked to the study, he said, questioning how any collaborative effort would be able to save the university any money.
There were some initial concerns that the goal of the study would be the creation of a single, large Northeast Ohio university, but Pogue said he doesn't believe that to be the case.
Bruce Beeghly, secretary of the Ohio Board of Regents, the governing body for public higher education in Ohio, said he doesn't see much support for a single university system.
There's no blueprint for what the study commission is supposed to recommend, he said.
Three results
Beeghly said the Board of Regents supports the study concept and adopted a resolution saying it would like to see three specific general results: Increased access for adult and traditional students, a system of integrated graduate and research programs that enhances economic development and increased synergy in administrative functions to save money that can be reinvested in programs.
Trustee Scott Schulick suggested that YSU's resolution of support incorporate the Regents' position.
Trustee H.S Wang said the resolution should also point out the fact that YSU is geographically segregated from the other universities and has some unique circumstances that a study committee should consider.
Sweet said that YSU already participates in a number of collaborative efforts with other institutions, citing NEOUCOM as a prime example.
Ohio has "under-invested" in higher education and needs to start funding collaborative efforts that already exist, he said.
gwin@vindy.com