Money transfer to athletics stirs debate

Ohio University's top officials maintain that money was shifted from the university's general fund to Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) out of necessity and followed priorities laid out by the student-run General Fee Committee. Meanwhile, many OU faculty and students remain incensed about the money transfer.

The Post at OU reported Monday that university President Roderick McDavis diverted some of the money raised by Hudson Health Center directly to the athletics department, which already has an $18.7 million budget for fiscal year 2010. However, university spokesperson Katie Quaranta said Tuesday that this never happened.

"The administration wants to make it clear that there was never a transfer of funds from Hudson to ICA," Quaranta said. "With the newly created WellBeing Plan and the implementation of third-party billing of students' insurance plans, the Division of Student Affairs reduced its need for general-fee support in the amount of $700,000. Student Affairs asked the General Fee Advisory Committee to provide allocation recommendations for the $700,000."

The General Fee Advisory Committee did not recommend that any of the $700,000 go to ICA, however. The General Fee ReportWellBeing Plan produced by the committee suggested that $150,000 of the money be placed in a reserve account for the Division of Student Affairs "in the event that an unexpected reduction in enrollment into theshould occur."

The committee wrote that it is "vitally important that Student Health Services continue to offer the improved services that they have begun." They also said the money should be used for the purchase of new medical instruments or machines. This $150,000 never went to a reserve account - instead, $100,000 of it went to athletics. The other $50,000 went to increase Student Activities Commission funding.

Additionally, McDavis gave athletics $1.2 million of student-fee money generated by increased enrollment and retention. McDavis, who was out of town, could not be reached for comment on this story. Additionally, Jim Schaus, director of athletics, was also out of town and could not provide a comment.

OU students pay $1,569 in fee money each year.

In the committee's report on the overall expenditure of student fees, though, the General Fee Advisory Committee ranked ICA as fourth out of eight in its list of priorities, and the administration used this ranking to help guide its decision to give $100,000 of the $700,000 extra general-fee money to the athletics department, said Kent Smith, OU's vice president for student affairs.

"The General Fee Advisory Committee is a recommending body," Smith said. "ICA was one of their top priorities, and closing the budget gap for ICA was a priority for the administration as well. That said, the reallocations were not done against student wishes. The General Fee Advisory Committee did not recommend that any of the money go to Hudson for capital improvements."

The committee ranked ICA behind the Division of Student Affairs (which Student Health Services falls under), the Provost and Graduate College.

"After much discussion, the committee voted Intercollegiate Athletics as its fourth priority," the report states. "The committee was hopeful that athletics would reach its goal of closing its $1.3 million dollar shortfall projected in FY2010."

Chauncey Jackson, one of OU's two student trustees and chair of the General Fee Advisory Committee, said Wednesday that he believes the $1.2 million allocated to athletics is an accurate reflection of the committee's priority listing. "The committee's desire was for the budget shortfall that was projected for ICA to be satisfied; the committee knew and understood that in order for ICA to meet that desire, additional financial resources would be required," he said.

Jackson said that "robust discussion" occurred about the role and function of each planning unit, with particular attention given to ICA. "In the end, the (General Fee Advisory) committee unanimously agreed that the exposure that the university receives, the opportunities and successes that our student athletes are afforded and have achieved, warrant the high priority level that ICA received. With the recent budgetary struggles, the university has really begun to focus on what its priorities are and how we can improve in those areas."

OU Vice President for Finance and Facilities Bill Decatur emphasized Tuesday that the $100,000 would not come close to helping renovate Hudson Health Center.

"There is a 9 million to 15 million dollar need for renovations to Hudson," Decatur said. "The 100K wouldn't come close to covering those costs. It is the university's desire and intention to address the renovation of Hudson. Another high-priority goal of the institution is to close the gap between revenue and expenses in ICA."

The university is making investments in Hudson, Decatur insisted. Through the WellBeing Plan, the university invested $57,000 in new equipment for the center, Decatur said, as well as extending center hours and establishing a 24/7 crisis prevention hotline.

BUT SOME FACULTY MEMBERS still question why the money was shifted to the athletics department (ICA) when the department was only listed fourth out of eight in the General Fee Committee Report.

"Budget Planning Council was not consulted on any of this," said Joe McLaughlin, chair of Faculty Senate and member of BPC. "Prioritizing this four out of eight does not seem like a basis for $1.3 million in base funding."

McLaughlin questioned why the president did not move to shift the balance between tuition and student fees after seeing the surplus early this summer. The president could have asked the Board of Trustees to raise the tuition rate and lower the general fee, keeping student costs the same while increasing the money flowing into academic units, McLaughlin explained.

McDavis told McLaughlin this summer that it was too late in the year to make that change, McLaughlin said. He questioned then why the president could ask the Board of Trustees in August to raise tuition and not ask them to simply shift the balance of tuition and student fees.

"Athletics money comes from student fees, and the administration thinks that student fees are none of the faculty's business, so our criticisms are falling on deaf ears," McLaughlin said. "We as faculty representatives at Faculty Senate have been trying to urge against these decisions, but I'm convinced they're not going to listen to us. Maybe the students and their parents can have some impact."

The larger issue, McLaughlin said, is the university's priorities.

"What the administration is deciding to fund and not to fund tells us a lot more about their priorities than Vision Ohio," McLaughlin said.

Other faculty members insisted that the university needs to prioritize the health of its students higher than the financial health of ICA.

Joe Bernt, professor of journalism and advocate for the American Association of University Professor's unionization drive, said Tuesday that he cares about his students' health and worries that students will not get help at Hudson because of its deteriorating condition.

"It is symbolic of the priorities of this institution," Bernt said. "They'd rather give $100,000 to ICA than to give money to make the health center functional... It's an egregious example of the misplaced priorities and the willingness of the university to do these shady shifts in funds without letting students or faculty know."

While many faculty members are upset, some students said Tuesday that they also see the university's prioritization of ICA as problematic.

"Education needs to be the main priority," said Anna Weisheimer, a freshman journalism major from Worthington. "This is an institution of higher learning."

Weisheimer added that she spent hours waiting to be seen at Hudson to receive a prescription, and that the facility needs some financial help.

"If you're here to go to school, your students should be healthy enough to go to class," said Taylor Brand, a sophomore mathematics major from Elyria, Ohio. "Health is an issue for all students. More people at OU have to interact with health care than with athletics."