November public session meeting recap: Board of Trustees confirm pending university executive appointments

Garret Travers
Thu, 21 Nov 2024 05:08:08 +0000
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The University Board of Trustees met Wednesday to discuss ethics, BuckeyeThon and the most recent executive appointments at the University. [From left to right] Chris Kabourek, senior vice president of administration and planning, Jennifer Schlueter as dean and director at Marion Campus and Ravi Bellamkonda as the executive vice president and provost. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State University

The university Board of Trustees voted to approve the executive appointments of three high-profile positions during its public session meeting Wednesday.

The appointments included Ravi V. Bellamkonda as executive vice president and provost, Jennifer Schlueter as dean and director at the university’s Marion Campus and Chris Kabourek as senior vice president of administration and planning.?

Beyond these votes, the board also heard university President Ted Carter Jr.’s report, held its annual ethics education training and received an update on the BuckeyeThon philanthropic initiative.?

“As you know, we’ve made several key appointments to our leadership team recently,” Carter said. “These are people who are going to do great things and get things done, who, according to our values, are here for the same reasons we are — to make The Ohio State University the national model of excellence in higher education.”?

President’s report

The meeting kicked off with Carter’s report, during which he discussed topics ranging from his recent investiture ceremony to the pending executive appointments.?

“We’ve had a busy few months since our last board meeting, culminating in our investiture celebration just two weeks ago, where we had the opportunity for the first time to share a vision for where we want Ohio State to go in the next decade,” Carter said.?

When reflecting on the 10 months he’s spent in office, Carter said, “Excellence is not just a goal, but an expectation” for Ohio State.

Carter then said university enrollment is at an all-time high, with two-thirds of incoming students graduating in the top 10% of their high school class and 70% of Ohio State students being Ohio natives.?

“[The university’s] student body, students and family recognize the quality and value of an Ohio State education,” Carter said.

During his report, Carter said the university is “moving into a new phase of [its] Carmenton development” — a $900 million project that aims to develop new additions to the Ohio State community on 35-plus acres of land, according to the university’s website.?

In addition, the report noted a new accomplishment by the College of Medicine, as Carter said it “set a new record in research funding with over $477 million.”

Ethics education

Following Carter’s report, John Zeiger — chair of the Board of Trustees — introduced university legal experts and advisors to the board for its annual ethics education and training.?

“The board’s ethical responsibilities are taken incredibly seriously by every member of this board’s trustees,” Zeiger said.

Anne Garcia, senior vice president and general counsel, Gates Garrity-Rokous, vice president and chief compliance officer and Jessica Tobias, ethics director and compliance investigator, spoke to the board about possible personal and financial conflicts that may arise during the course of their appointment(s).

The training occurs annually, with legal advisors primarily focusing on the “fiduciary duties” and “Ohio ethics laws” that inform the board, Garcia said.?

“These statutory obligations have consequences in the form of personal, criminal liability,” Garcia said. “So, that’s why it’s important for us to revisit this training regularly.”?

The main “goal” of the ethics training is to keep trustees up to date on the codes and statutes that should inform the board’s decisions and provide them with a frame of reference if any questions or concerns unexpectedly arise, Garrity-Rokous said.?

Tobias referenced these specific codes and statutes, such as Ohio Revised Code 102.03, which “prohibits trustee involvement on matters affecting themselves, family, or business associates” and “prohibits trustees from accepting anything of substantial value from an improper source,” according to Tobias’ presentation.?

The training concluded with a message from Zeiger about the gravity of ethics, saying that exhibiting propriety is an “important responsibility” for the trustees.?

“I think it’s clear to all in the audience, as well as all trustees, the amount of effort the university goes to, to assure that we as trustees are fully informed, but also that every contract the university enters into is in compliance,” Zeiger said.?

BuckeyeThon

The board was also joined by representatives from BuckeyeThon, a student philanthropy foundation created in 1999 to fundraise money for Nationwide Children’s Hospital in the fight against children’s cancer, according to its website.?

To represent BuckeyeThon, the trustees introduced Melissa Shivers, senior vice president for Student Life; Maneeth Ellendula, a fourth-year in molecular engineering and BuckeyeThon president; Timothy Robinson, chief executive officer of Nationwide Children’s Hospital; and the Fultons, a Columbus family who experienced childhood cancer firsthand.?

Since the organization’s founding in 1999, BuckeyeThon has raised $14 million for the hematology, oncology and blood marrow transplant program and the heart transplant program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Robinson said.?

“The BuckeyeThon dedication is inspiring,” Robinson said. “And students bring an infectious, excited enthusiasm to our staff, our families and even to our board and to our leadership team.”?

Ellendula gave a summary of BuckeyeThon and its connection to Nationwide Children’s Hospital, as well as prominent developments he’s observed in the organization’s participation over the past four years.?

“We currently have over 2,200 students registered to participate in the 2025 dance marathon,” Ellendula said. “And, in fact, since the pandemic, this is the first year that we have seen the growth of new registration for our organization.”

The BuckeyeThon portion of the meeting concluded with a personal anecdote from Katherine Fulton, the mother of a childhood leukemia survivor, Aiden. She said she is “forever grateful for the life-saving treatment [Nationwide Children’s Hospital] provided,” and now their family gets to give back by being a part of BuckeyeThon.?

“So, Aiden’s goal is to become an official Ohio State student, [and] one day, be a part of BuckeyeThon and, of course, become the next Brutus,” Fulton said.?

Voting

The meeting concluded with two votes to approve the consent agenda, including the approval of appointments in the roles of executive vice president and provost, dean and director at Marion Campus and senior vice president of administration and planning.

Except for one abstention by Jeff Kaplan, former secretary and senior advisor to the Board of Trustees, the board voted to approve the agenda and appointments of the university executives.