BGSU trustees honor supporters for commitment to student experience, celebrate educational collaboration to bolster Ohio's workforce needs during June meeting
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Board also welcomes new University leadership and recognizes incoming and retiring faculty for teaching and research contributions
Building on the momentum behind its top-ranked student experience, Bowling Green State University continues to enhance academic and collaborative spaces across campus, providing engaging learning opportunities both in and out of the classroom.
At their June meeting, the BGSU Board of Trustees honored generous donors for their commitment to elevating student experiences, celebrated a new collaborative academic agreement to support Ohio’s workforce needs in emerging and in-demand fields and welcomed new leadership at the University.
Celebrating collaboration to meet workforce needs
The board celebrated a new collaborative agreement between BGSU and Terra State Community College to create a direct pathway for students to seamlessly earn a bachelor’s degree from the College of Engineering and Innovation, supporting Ohio’s workforce needs in emerging and in-demand fields.
The two public institutions entered into the agreement on June 25 to establish a 2+2 degree pathway allowing students to transfer all their associate degree credits from six eligible Terra State programs into any of the 15 undergraduate degree programs in the BGSU College of Engineering and Innovation. Students can participate in the program effective immediately.
The program’s design, with students completing their first two years at Terra State before transferring to BGSU to earn a bachelor's degree, promotes on-time graduation and reduces overall cost. The partnership underscores the University’s commitment to increasing accessibility to higher education and supporting workforce demands in fields crucial to Ohio’s economic vitality.
“We are excited to work even closer with Terra State Community College, building on a longtime relationship to create new opportunities for students and strengthen our region's robust educational ecosystem," BGSU President Rodney K. Rogers said. “As a public university for the public good, we are pleased to work strategically across our educational landscape to ensure students have many options, leading to great careers and great lives."
To participate in the pathway, students must complete an associate degree from Terra State in an eligible program with a minimum 2.0 cumulative grade point average, submit their official transcript to BGSU and apply for admission. Students may also apply for BGSU scholarships.
Honoring support of the student experience
During the June 26 meeting, trustees honored generous donors for their support of various causes on campus to further elevate BGSU as the No. 1 public university in Ohio for the student experience.
Raising the prominence, recruiting potential and support for student-athletes in the BGSU Football program, alumnus Mike Wilcox – founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Toledo-based Wilcox Financial/Wilcox Sports Management – and his wife, Jan, generously donated $2 million to establish an endowment, which will support the football program in perpetuity and support a facility project.
The gift makes BGSU the first university in the Mid-American Conference to endow a head football coaching position. Eddie George, former NFL All-Pro and Heisman Trophy Winner announced as the University’s new head coach on March 9, will be the inaugural Mike and Jan Wilcox Head Football Coach at BGSU.
“We’re doing it for the program and to pay back the experience and opportunities that were given to us by BGSU,” Wilcox said. “The significance of Eddie George and what he’s already brought to Bowling Green is very exciting and transformational. However you want to slice it, football is the front porch of the University. When you have a successful football program, it’s going to positively impact student enrollment. There are so many trickle-down benefits to this gift that I believe we’ll see going forward.”
As collegiate athletics continues to become more competitive, colleges and universities are searching for ways to differentiate themselves in the eyes of parents and recruits. An endowed coaching position signals to prospective student-athletes the support and commitment the program has from the University, athletics department, alumni and broader community.
“There are no more appropriate people to connect to the BGSU head football coach position than Mike and Jan Wilcox. Mike and Wilcox Financial/Wilcox Sports Management are industry leaders in supporting and representing coaches and administrators across college athletics in all stages of their careers,” BGSU Vice President for Athletic Strategy Derek van der Merwe said. “Their commitment speaks volumes about their service and support to this University, our athletics department and its coaches and staff over the years. The Wilcoxes are great Falcons who have always promoted and directly invested in the success of BGSU and its students.”
Aside from supporting the University, the Wilcoxes hope this gift will serve as inspiration for others to give. Originally from Ithaca, New York, Wilcox was the oldest of five siblings raised by a single mother. He came to BGSU after being recruited by the legendary coach Mickey Cochrane to play lacrosse.
As an undergraduate, Wilcox served as the student representative to the BGSU Board of Trustees and led the student committee to build the Student Recreation Center. He briefly played on the hockey team, was a two-time captain of the nationally ranked lacrosse team and was named a lacrosse All-American for three consecutive years. He was also president of the Interfraternity Council. Wilcox served for 10 years on the BGSU Board of Trustees, including as chairman. He was inducted into the BGSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983.
After leaving BGSU, Wilcox turned down many corporate job offers to pursue his eventual dream of owning his own business. Jan Wilcox graduated with a fine arts degree and taught in northwest Ohio for a number of years. The Wilcoxes are Falcon Flames and are celebrating their 47th wedding anniversary this year.
In support of the national tournament-appearing BGSU club golf team, proud Falcon parents and grandparents Bill and Connie Weaver recently made a generous gift to name the Weaver Family Golf Facility at Perry Field House.
The Weavers' gift is being used to support the renovation of a new indoor practice space in the field house, including adding a golf and putting simulator to benefit club athletes. The simulator allows the team to conduct practices indoors, no matter the weather, even simulating play on world-famous courses like St. Andrews.
Together, the couple owns Weaver Homes, which constructs custom homes and communities across the greater Pittsburgh area, with Bill serving as chairman and CEO and Connie as vice president. Their son, Chad Weaver, graduated from BGSU in 1995 with a degree in construction management and serves as president of Weaver Homes. Their grandson, Maxwell Weaver, is a current BGSU student studying construction management and is set to graduate in 2026.
In recognition of their philanthropic giving to BGSU, Bill and Connie Weaver are also members of The Presidents Club and Leadership Circle donor recognition societies.
Honoring accomplishments in and contributions to the field of music, the board approved the naming of the Lt. Col. Ryan Nowlin Teaching Tower at The Student Green multi-purpose field outside Perry Field House in memory of late BGSU professor Herbert A. Spencer Jr.
The new state-of-the-art turf field will provide a durable and efficient practice, performance, competition and gathering space for the Falcon Marching Band, the University’s club sports teams and other activities.
Herbert's wife, Karol, made the charitable gift to the Falcon Marching Band Field Project Fund to honor her husband, who taught French horn at BGSU for nearly 30 years and was a member of the Faculty Brass Quintet and served as director of the Bowling Green Horn Ensemble.
In her husband's memory, Karol chose to name the teaching tower in honor of Nowlin, a BGSU alumnus and the 29th director of “The President's Own” United States Marine Band, whose primary mission is to provide music for the President of the United States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. Nowlin earned a bachelor's and master's degree in music education and an honorary doctoral degree in music education, all from BGSU, where he studied under Herbert Spencer.
A longtime supporter of BGSU, Karol was part of the College of Arts and Sciences Arts Advocates from 2011-15, a member of the BGSU Foundation Board from 2020-23 and a member of the Medici Circle Board from 2006-2025. She has supported the arts at BGSU through philanthropic gifts to the Pro Musica Patrons of the Art and Pro Musica Scholarship fund, the Toledo Symphony Reading Clinic at BGSU, the College of Musical Arts, the Bridge to BG Scholarship Fund, the Campus Gateway Fund and College of Musical Arts Scholarship Fund. She also established the Spencer Student Support Fund.
As a result of her continued generosity to BGSU, Karol is a member of The Presidents Club, Leadership Circle and Carillon donor recognition societies.
She earned a master's degree in educational leadership from BGSU in 1979 and is the retired director of pupil personnel for Sandusky County Educational Service Center in Fremont, Ohio.
Welcoming new University leadership
Following a competitive national search and extensive review of highly qualified candidates, trustees approved the appointment of Casey Wyman as the next chief financial officer and vice president for finance and administration at BGSU.
Wyman comes to BGSU from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a public research university with more than 32,000 students, where he has served as the vice president of finance and administration and chief business officer since 2023. In that role, he successfully led all financial strategic planning and operations, budget and compliance and data automation and analytics. Wyman has driven significant innovation across UNLV by embracing and introducing new technologies, from immersive learning to wellness programs, as well as aligning budgets across the university to support enrollment growth.
Prior to his role at UNLV, Wyman served as the vice president of finance and CFO at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado, culminating his career in the U.S. Air Force. Throughout his military career, Wyman held numerous financial leadership roles, including serving as CFO and squadron commander. He is also a 24-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
Wyman will assume his role later this summer from Sheri Stoll, who has served as chief financial officer and vice president for finance and administration at BGSU since 2007. Stoll will support Wyman's onboarding process, ensuring a seamless transition before her retirement in January 2026.
Keeping a BGSU education accessible
Committed to keeping a BGSU education accessible, the board continued its support of the Falcon Tuition Guarantee, which locks in tuition and general fees for four years, or 12 consecutive semesters, for all new, first-time undergraduate students.
As the Ohio legislature continues to refine the state's biennial budget, which affects funding for public universities like BGSU, trustees approved a planned increase to the Falcon Tuition Guarantee for new, incoming students at the Bowling Green and Huron campuses to the extent ultimately permitted by law once approved. The board also set special fees for courses that require additional learning materials and experiences beyond general fees.
Additionally, trustees supported amending the Falcon Tuition Guarantee to improve the accuracy of information provided to prospective students and their families for greater comparability and a clearer understanding of the cost of a BGSU education.
For graduate degree programs, the board adopted a 3.5% tuition and general fee increase for Ohio residents enrolled in both in-person and BGSU Online programs. Trustees opted not to increase the surcharge for out-of-state graduate students, who pay a higher overall tuition and fee rate than in-state students.
The last time the BGSU board approved increases to graduate tuition and fees was in May 2022.
Action items of the board
With Ohio's biennial budget pending approval, the board authorized a temporary continuation budget for the Bowling Green and Huron campuses until a draft of the fiscal year 2026 budgets are prepared and presented for consideration. Trustees are set to review the new budgets during a special board meeting in August.
Recognizing new and retiring faculty members for their contributions to teaching, research and creative activities, trustees approved tenure and emeritus status for the following individuals:
- Dr. Hossein Moradi Rekabdarkolaee, associate professor with tenure, Department of Applied Statistics and Operations Research, College of Arts and Sciences
- Dr. Arijit Khan, associate professor with tenure, Department of Computer Science, College of Arts and Sciences
- Dr. Karen Johnson-Webb, associate professor emeritus, School of Earth, Environment and Society, College of Arts and Sciences
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Media Contact | Michael Bratton | mbratto@bgsu.edu | 419-372-6349
Updated: 06/26/2025 01:04PM