BGSU names program in resort and attraction management, extends tuition guarantee to Firelands campus

The Bowling Green State University Board of Trustees formally approved the naming of the new degree-completion program to be offered through the University in conjunction with Cedar Fair LLP, an international leader in the resort and attraction industry, at the May 3 board meeting. The new Cedar Fair Resort and Attraction Management Program at Bowling Green State University, an innovative public-private partnership, will help meet the needs of this trillion-dollar industry. 

“This program is truly unique,” said BGSU President Rodney Rogers. “It is the only program in the country that specifically addresses the specialized needs of amusement parks and similar destinations.”

BGSU and Cedar Fair recently broke ground in Sandusky for a multipurpose facility being developed by Cedar Fair that will include classrooms, common spaces and apartment-style housing for students. Third- and fourth-year students receiving a bachelor’s degree in resort and attraction management (RAAM) will take classes taught by BGSU faculty at the facility and will gain work experience through required co-ops at Cedar Fair parks and attractions throughout the country.

As part of its commitment to affordability, the board extended BGSU’s Falcon Tuition Guarantee to baccalaureate programs at BGSU Firelands, effective fall 2019. The plan, which has been in effect on the Bowling Green campus since fall 2018, freezes the cost of tuition, general fees, course and class fees, and room and board plan rates for entering students for the full four years of their undergraduate career. The goal is to allow students and their families to plan with certainty for their educational costs.

The new pricing structure begins for incoming students this summer and fall. Students who began their academic career at BGSU Firelands before the summer of 2019 will continue to be charged tuition and fees as they exist today.

“The guarantee helps ensure that a BGSU education is a tremendous value – where quality and affordability meet,” Rogers said. “We are committed to preparing our students to live meaningful and productive lives. They will find success in their careers and also do good works.”

The trustees also affirmed the achievements of its faculty with the granting of promotions and tenure. Twenty-three faculty were promoted to full professor, 15 received tenure and were promoted to associate professor, and others were promoted to senior lecturer and lecturer.

“Great universities are defined by great faculty,” said Dr. Joe Whitehead Jr., provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “Providing opportunities for our faculty to advance their careers is critical to our success. Teaching, research and creative activities drive public good.”

In a continuation of the University’s improvements to its infrastructure and facilities, the board approved $5.673 million for infrastructure upgrades to the northwest quadrant of campus that will also support the extensive renovation of the Technology Building. The renovation will support the University’s growing mechatronics program and create a space that will make BGSU a leader in advanced manufacturing. That $10.4 million project, approved in February 2019, is scheduled to be completed in summer 2021.

The funding approved by the trustees May 3 will include tunnel top replacement, heat plant controls, central chilled water manufacturing, centralized emergency power generation, electrical service upgrades and building security-related upgrades.

“We continue to implement our campus master plan to be more energy-efficient and provide the necessary resources for our colleges to meet the educational needs of our students,” said Sheri Stoll, chief financial officer and vice president for finance and administration.

The board approved the naming of the historical Bowling Green campus interior the Bowen-Thompson Quadrangle in honor of the University’s most generous philanthropists. Ellen Bowen Thompson, who graduated in 1954, and Robert Thompson, a 1955 graduate, both in education, have long been committed alumni whose generosity to the University dates back more than two decades. Gifts include support for the construction of the new Bowen-Thompson Student Union, the establishment of the Thompson Scholarship in the Sidney A. Ribeau President’s Leadership Academy and a military scholarship benefiting active-duty service members and veterans. 

Five years ago, they established the Thompson Scholarship Program for Working Families and agreed to greatly expand the program this year. The program assists high-achieving students from low-to-middle income families. It will give thousands of students who may not have been able to attend college access to a BGSU education.

The board also approved the naming of Steller Field at Gary Haas Stadium in recognition of Gary and Debra Haas’s wide-ranging support of BGSU and the baseball program. Alumnus Gary F. Haas Sr. is a member of the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame and was a baseball standout as a student-athlete who played on the 1972 Mid-American Conference championship team.