The OU Board of Regents will consider action on items including a freshman “housing master plan,” new appointments to university leadership and changes to the University Advancement office in its March 5 meeting.
According to the agenda, the university will engage an architectural firm in professional master planning and architectural services to construct “3,350 new beds” while maintaining the current freshman bed count.
Five architecture firms — ADG Inc. /Mackey Mitchell Architects, KSQ Architects, P.C./Rand Elliot Architects, 3. Bockus Payne Architects/Ayers Saint Gross, Frankfurt-Short Bruza Associates, P.C. /KWK Architects and MA+ Architecture/TreanorHL — are up for further consideration to fulfill the “Freshman Housing Master Plan.” The agenda states that “funds to cover the costs associated with preliminary professional services up to $4,000,000 for the first phase(s) are available and identified from Housing Operations.”
OU President Joseph Harroz recommends in another section of the agenda for the board to authorize a request to the Governor, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the President Pro Tempore of the State Senate seeking approval to issue general, limited and special obligation bonds in support of funding student housing infrastructure located on the university’s Norman campus.
In 2019, the nonprofit that funded and constructed the multimillion-dollar Cross Village housing project filed litigation against the university due to its decision not to renew Cross Village commercial and parking leases. The project’s bondholder trustee and the university exchanged accusatory letters in September 2019 threatening legal action regarding Cross Village.
“This action is the first step in the process of issuing general, limited and special obligation bonds and does not commit the university to the issuance of them. Obtaining legislative approval simply allows the university to proceed with planning for this issue,” the agenda states. “At this time the university’s administration is preparing for the issuance of general, limited and special obligation bonds in the next nine months to provide up to $185,000,000 for funding student housing infrastructure, located on the premises of the Norman campus in Cleveland County.”
The university is also recommending changes to the University Advancement office, which “partners with supporters to realize their philanthropic goals and further the connections with our alumni and friends,” due to declining performance in recent fundraising efforts compared to peer universities.
“To bring the university in line with peer institutions, the university proposes restructuring the Office of University Advancement by moving advancement services to the University of Oklahoma Foundation,” the agenda states. “This move will allow for full integration of the fundraising organization and end-to-end fundraising process, create a comprehensive fundraising governance model, and align the principle funding source, the Foundation, with the responsibility for fundraising.”
The agreement states the university desires the Foundation to “oversee, coordinate, and manage advancement, development, alumni and donor relations, and fundraising,” and that the Foundation seeks to offer these services to the university.
The university has also submitted a recommendation to appoint Denise Stephens, current Vice Provost and University Librarian at Washington University in St. Louis, as Dean of University Libraries, Professor of University Libraries, Professor of Library and Information Studies and Peggy V. Helmerich Chair, at an annualized rate of $290,000 for 12 months. Stephens previously earned her Master of Library and Information Studies and her B.A. in Political Science from OU.
Personnel changes include the return of Regents’ Professor of Meteorology Dr. Kelvin Drogemeier, who previously served as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology policy and acting director of the National Science Foundation under former President Donald Trump’s administration.
The agenda also states former Dean of the College of International Studies and current International and Area Studies professor Suzette Grillot will take a sabbatical leave of absence for the Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 Semesters.
Two administrators will also receive raises to their current salaries along with additional duties: Senior Associate Vice President Belinda Biscoe, with a salary changed from an annualized rate of $206,000 for 12 months to an annualized rate of $230,000 for 12 months, along with Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students David Surratt, who will receive an additional title of distinguished lecturer and a salary change from $231,750 to $275,000.
The Board of Regents will meet on March 4 and 5 at the Robert M. Bird Library at the Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. March 4 meetings will be held in executive session starting at 8 a.m., and March 5 will begin with an 8 a.m. executive session, with the public meeting to follow from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
