Research

Overview

This page contains data analyses, visualizations, long-form white papers, and studies addressing a range of matters—for example, university finances, racial and gender equity in hiring and compensation, and administrative bloat—that directly concern OU faculty. The purposes of these analyses, which make use of publicly available datasets, is to provide faculty with an alternative, independent standpoint from which they can critically assess OU’s budgetary situation, strategic direction, and administrative decision-making.

Research

2020 Financial Analysis of Ohio University

Introduces and summarizes some of the important findings in the financial analysis of Ohio University conducted by Rudy Fichtenbaum, Professor Emeritus of Economics at Wright State University. This analysis shows that Ohio University is in a strong financial position and calls into question the dire narratives that faculty are hearing from upper-level administrators. It calls into question the justifications for the reduction of faculty and staff, the restructuring of the academic units, and the dramatic and uncompensated expansion of faculty workloads.

Race and Ethnicity at Ohio University

This project focuses on the number of African American and Hispanic full - time and part - time employees at Ohio University. The data for this project comes from census.gov, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the Ohio University Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Analytics.

Data Snapshot: Full-Time Women Faculty and Faculty of Color

An in-depth look at recent US Department of Education data on the makeup and salaries of full-time faculty members in higher education.

Ohio University’s Budget Crisis: Analysis and Proposals

The Ohio University chapter for the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has today issued a white paper on the budget crisis at OHIO. While University administration has primarily emphasized declining enrollments, this white paper highlights a number of long-term trends and the decisions that facilitated them, pointing to important explanations and potential areas for solutions that OU-AAUP believes are not receiving adequate attention.

You can read the paper here.

2020 Vision: Higher Education As A Public Good

Ohio University is facing $30M in cuts and the potential loss of hundreds of faculty jobs. How did this happen? Judith Grant, professor in Political Science and an OU-AAUP chapter member, points to two culprits in this powerful analysis: years of mismanagement and misguided market orthodoxies that have funneled tuition dollars to upper administration and expensive consultants, undermined the faculty and its research and teaching mission, and exploded the cost of education for students and their families. Grant ends with a call to reclaim the university as a public good. The goals we have as a university community have everything to do with what decisions we make about the crises we face. Beginning with the premise that the university is a public good that ought to have teaching and research as its number one priority proves to be an eye-opening experience.

Read more here.

The Debt Trap: Students, Equity, and the Ohio Economy

This forum highlighted the massive financial burden many Ohio graduates face as a result of state and institutional policies. Student Jake Kravitz, recent graduate Akii Butler, and Ohio Student Association organizer Kalesha Scott spoke about shouldering many thousands of dollars in debt (with substantially accumulating interest) and the obstacles this creates for building a home and career in Ohio: "Are there places where I can raise a family that are cheaper, where I can succeed?" Black borrowers face particular obstacles, as University of Pennsylvania postdoctoral scholar Jalil Mustaffa Bishop discussed; debt practices are an extension of discriminatory loan practices like sharecropping and mortgage redlining, creating a "life sentence." Piet van Lier, educational researcher at Policy Matters Ohio, noted that Ohio is one of only five states in which colleges and universities are required to turn over student debt to the Attorney General. Transcripts are withheld until debt is paid, which hinders educational and career opportunities. Ohio ranks 45th in higher education affordability. Lastly, Cathy Wagner of Miami University discussed how the debt for capital investments at colleges and universities is passed on to students, increasing their ultimate financial burden.

​Speaker video
Presentation slides

The Economic Importance of Higher Education

Higher education in Ohio is crucial to the state's future. It's not only key to informed citizenship; it's a powerful economic engine for broad-based prosperity. But our institutions of higher education are in grave trouble after decades of declines in funding. In this forum, we heard about how the state's starving of higher education strains university budgets, eliminates jobs in local communities, and drives up tuition for students. Speakers included:

  • Sara Kilpatrick, Director of Ohio AAUP

  • Jim Mosher, Political Science Department, Ohio University (slides)

  • Shammas Malik, Akron City Council

  • Steve Patterson, Mayor of Athens, Ohio

  • Zack Space, Sunday Creek Horizon Center, Former US Congressperson​ ​

Speaker video, beginning with Jim Mosher's presentation

Shared Governance for the Current Crisis and Beyond: A Primer

The presentation was aimed at helping faculty senators and other faculty involved in shared governance to understand their shared governance rights. It explained why shared governance matters and proposed pathways for making a difference.

Presentation slides

Where Does Tuition Go: Students Speak Out

COVID-19 is not the main culprit in today's higher education crisis. In reality, the crisis stems from years of state defunding and financial mismanagement based on private-sector principles. Together, students and faculty are taking action to address systemic failures at both state and institutional levels. At this forum, two student activists - Abby Stidham, a University of Cincinnati undergraduate and cofounder of BoldlyBankrupt.com, and Angela Glotfelter, a graduate student at Miami University - analyzed the misplaced budget priorities that have led to the current crisis in Ohio higher education. Hope Jennings, professor at Wright State University, described the importance of student/faculty solidarity in the success of the 2019 Wright State strike. Past Ohio AAUP president John McNay discussed the firings and other mission-eroding cuts at Akron University and elsewhere, along with with proposals to the Ohio legislature to give voting rights to students and faculty on Boards of Trustees.

Video and list of video contents
Presentation slides