BEND, Ore. - The Oregon State University Board of Trustees Friday approved the renovation of Magruder Hall to allow OSU's College of Veterinary Medicine to increase its enrollment and expand the college's small animal veterinary teaching hospital.

The trustees' meetings were held on the new OSU-Cascades campus, which opened in September as the state's first new public university in 50 years.

The $10 million project to expand Magruder Hall will be added to Oregon State's overall $258 million 2015-17 capital plan.

Plans include a 6,000-square-foot expansion to double the size of the College of Veterinary Medicine's small animal teaching hospital that presently serves nearly 40 cases per day and has from 45 to 70 people working in it. Over the past four years, the hospital's case load has increased 15 percent annually. Renovation of Magruder Hall and the expansion of the hospital will enable the college to grow its enrollment by 16 veterinary medicine students.

"This project will directly improve the educational experience of veterinary students by providing improved instructional space, including laboratories for learning, such as anatomy and surgery skills," said Sue Tornquist, dean of OSU's College of Veterinary Medicine. "With this project, graduating veterinarians will have training in new and advanced treatment procedures, such as radiation oncology."

Tornquist said the college will use philanthropic gifts, college funds and tuition revenues from the projected additional student enrollment to pay for the project.

In other business:

 

  • The board approved its annual performance review of OSU President Ed Ray for the past fiscal year;
  • Established guidelines for future presidential searches and selection processes;
  • Adopted a board calendar to guide the work of the board over the next year;
  • Adopted amendments to the university's investment policy. The amendments enable the university's vice president for finance and administration to provide quarterly reports regarding the investment of university assets to the board's Finance and Administration Committee instead of the full board;
  • Approved the termination of a Master of Agriculture program. This master's program is experiencing low student participation with currently only five students enrolled. The College of Agricultural Sciences plans to develop a new degree program that addresses current and future agricultural issues.

 

Board Chair Pat Reser said that Ray's performance assessment included input from university, community, Oregon and national higher education constituents. She said Ray is considered a trusted, energetic and strategic leader. "We compliment President Ray on the progress the university has made over the past year and support his focused and continued outstanding leadership of Oregon State University," Reser said.

The board deferred until its January 2017 meeting consideration of a change in the university's in the Public University Fund that would have divested university funds from current fossil fuel-related securities and would restrict future investments in fossil fuel-related securities. Oregon State and five other Oregon public universities make up the Public University Fund, which is managed by the Oregon Treasurer's office. Presently, approximately 1.7 percent of that fund is invested in fossil fuel-related securities.

In deferring action until January, trustees directed university administrators to develop a draft framework that the board could utilize in evaluating decisions about divestiture or other future financial matters.

During the meeting, trustees heard reports from President Ray; officers of the OSU Faculty Senate, the Associated Students of Oregon State University and the Associated Students of Cascades Campus; the chair of the state's Higher Education Coordinating Commission; and the OSU Foundation regarding the foundation's strategic plan.

During public comment provided the board, a graduate student in Oregon State's College of Education, asked trustees to reverse the university's decision to build OSU's marine studies building on the Hatfield Marine Sciences Center campus.

On Wednesday, trustees held a public session retreat to learn more about the university's student success initiative; the cost structure of the university; and future revenue and cost management opportunities.

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