Licensing of BGSU patent, naming of new student athlete center approved by trustees

The board of trustees approved two measures Oct. 15 that will enhance the University’s positive impact on Ohio’s economy and the lives of its scholar athletes, respectively.

In the first action, the board agreed to license a hybrid diesel/electric propulsion system for use in small transit buses to Goshen Coach of Elkhart, Ind. To encourage local business development and job creation, the University also has offered to forego 25 percent of its licensing fee if the systems are manufactured in Bowling Green.

The hybrid motor evolved from the Electric Falcon race car, College of Technology Dean Ernest Savage told the board, expressing thanks to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (D—Toledo) for helping obtain a NASA grant for continuation of the project.

The diesel-electric hybrid bus uses unique ultracapacitors that replace batteries and endure for the life of the bus. The motor conserves energy lost during braking and stores it for use in accelerating, Savage explained, saving fuel and money.

“We’re very excited about the project,” he said, adding that the bus would be on display at Homecoming.

President Ribeau commented that the commercialization of the patent and effort to bring jobs to the community help the University “take the next step from becoming the premier learning community in Ohio to an actively engaged university.”

In the second action, the board approved the naming of a proposed Student Athlete Center after Trustee Robert Sebo and his wife, Karen. (See related story)

“The creation of this center will help us sustain excellence in the department of athletics,” Trustee John Harbal commented.

In his report to the board, the president said that, based on what he has learned at meetings of the funding commission for higher education, “The budget situation for the next biennium looks challenging. What we’re hearing is that a flat budget would be a good budget.”

Noting the many large donations and pledges the University has received over the last year, Ribeau said, “Our alumni and friends are coming to our support when we are being challenged.”

In other action, the board approved a provisional, formal definition of a “student” presented earlier in the Academic and Student Affairs Committee meeting by Tom Trimboli, special assistant to the president. The need for a definition arose from questions about students’ privacy under the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Trimboli pointed out that, so far, the federal government has not issued a definition but has left it up to individual institutions. Faculty Senate and student government organizations will review the definition.

The board also approved the creation of a master’s degree program in art education pending ratification by the Ohio Board of Regents. The degree, the only one of its kind in northwest Ohio, would fall under the College of Arts and Sciences, Associate Dean Liz Cole told the Academic and Student Affairs Committee, and would meet a need of area art teachers for the continuing education required to maintain certification. Designed to be highly selective and to operate on a cohort model, the program would admit 6-10 students a year, most of whom are expected to be working professionals, Cole said.

The board also approved a change in the way merit raises are allocated for faculty. Now, the faculty merit pool will be divided 50-50 between the “meeting expectations” level and “exceeding expectations.”
Previously, the first 3 percent went to those “meeting expectations” with additional percentages going to those in higher categories.

Faculty Senate Chair Radhika Gajjala described the process of arriving at the agreement as “long and arduous.”

In other faculty-related business, the board voted to approve a needed change to the Academic Charter covering not only the appointment of directors of schools but the re-appointment of those directors who are continuing.