Ohio’s 37 public colleges and universities have developed a single, $350 million wish list of construction projects after Gov. John Kasich challenged them to work together instead of competing for limited state funds.
The construction projects will be considered in the next two-year capital budget, reports the
Columbus Dispatch. The colleges also listed recommendations for another $50 million for “projects of statewide benefit,” including a $19 million student center at Central State University, the state’s only public historically black university.
“We’ve come up with projects I think will renew principles of higher education, will allow us to be very productive, and certainly allow us to work in the interest of 11.6 million Ohioans,” said Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee, who led the planning.
Kasich said the proposals are “unprecedented” and the state is “at the beginning of creating a university system.”
The recommendations include: $207.9 million for building renovations and long-term maintenance projects; $30.4 million for workforce development plans; and $14.8 million for partnerships that could bring in an additional $80 million in investments from local governments or private organizations.
Under the plan, Ohio State University would receive the most money, $82 million, followed by the University of Cincinnati, at $31.8 million. A third of the total amount would be used for campuses in central and southeastern Ohio.
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