The OU Board of Regents approved on-campus housing, food rate increases and the appointment of a dean for the College of International Studies in its Jan. 30 regular meeting.
The approved university housing and food rate changes include a 3 percent cost increase for residence halls, the Kraettli Apartments and meal plans. They also involve a 6 percent increase for the residential colleges and variable percentage changes for Traditions West.
The regents also approved academic fee changes for the Norman campus and the College of Law.
The changes made include a fee increase of $6 per credit hour for College of Arts and Sciences undergraduate students. These increases will go to support general education instructional commitments, including additional faculty hires, according to the agenda for the meeting.
“What, as a regent, I’m interested in is that the students understand the fees and that they can plan for them,” Regent Natalie Shirley said. “I was pleased to hear that (interim OU President Joseph Harroz) is really thinking about (that issue).”
The regents also authorized university administrators to submit a request for bonds to improve the university’s utility system. This authorization doesn’t commit the university to issuing those bonds, but allows them to do so, if needed.
The regents approved Scott Fritzen as the new dean for the David L. Boren College of International Studies.
In his report, Harroz said Fritzen previously worked for the University of Washington and also served as the associate provost for academic affairs at New York University’s Shanghai campus.
Harroz said computer science degrees will now be added to OU’s Tulsa campus, citing expected growth in the computer science field as a reason for the program expansion.
“Projected job growth (in computer science) year (after) year between now and 2026 is 16 percent,” Harroz said. “So (there’s a) big demand. Moving to Tulsa, we think, is an important part of our mission (and) is extremely important for Tulsa in meeting the needs of our state.”
The addition of the program was approved by the board.
Harroz listed several of OU’s recent accomplishments in his report, including a $9 million grant that the university received from the National University of Saint Augustine in Peru.
“(The grant will be) across disciplines — from atmospheric sciences to the humanities — to help that university with a constellation of problems that are unique to the people of Peru,” Harroz said. “And it’s exciting, it’s engaging and shows this broad impact that we have.”
Harroz included a report of OU’s research activities from July to November 2019, stating that the university’s total research expenditures during that time increased by $9.5 million. He attributed this to increased expenditures on grants from the federal government, as well as an increase in sponsored awards.
He also mentioned that, for the fourth consecutive year, U.S. News & World Report has recognized OU’s online bachelor’s degree program as one of the top 10 in the nation.
“This is a critical element of the true democratization of education,” Harroz said. “Part of our conversation yesterday was, ‘How do we further accomplish that public mission by allowing access to an OU degree to as many people as we can?’”
The regular meeting took place after a day-long executive session meeting Wednesday and a series of public committee meetings at the Robert M. Bird Health Sciences Library Thursday morning. The next OU Board of Regents meeting is slated for March 10-11.
