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91ԭ�� President Lori Stewart Gonzalez hosted the fifth and final “University Updates” event of the academic year on Thursday, April 9.

University Updates are held throughout the year as part of OHIO’s ongoing efforts to create further connections and dialogue throughout the University community. At each event, OHIO leaders provide information on current projects and initiatives through short presentations. All students, faculty and staff are invited to watch the events in person or via . 

The next "University Updates" event will be held during the fall 2026 semester. Additional details will be shared closer to the event date. 

OHIO Leadership presentations

91ԭ�� Executive Vice President and Provost Don Leo and Vice President for University Communications and Marketing Robin Oliver shared progress on OHIO’s Dynamic Strategy as the first two years of implementation come to a close. Leo and Oliver also outlined goals for year three of the dynamic strategy and discussed planning for years four, five and six.

Leo provided a high-level overview of the work that’s gone on in each of the four pillars of the dynamic strategy—Learn, Discover, Engage and Work. While discussing the progress that was made during year two, Leo also noted the importance of connecting all of the initiatives back to the original focus of the dynamic strategy, ensuring alignment with the University’s needs.

Oliver spoke about the importance of storytelling and creating dialogue with the University community as the Dynamic Strategy progresses. She also provided a deeper look into some specific initiatives Leo reviewed, including working with the Gardner Institute to explore what it means to be a “T1” institution, highlighting new research faculty, identifying institutional strengths and areas for improvement based on results from OHIO’s PAWS Survey and emphasizing the University’s Carnegie Community Engagement Classification. 

Oliver also shared a timeline for year three of the dynamic strategy, noting that focus areas will be identified and finalized over the summer and proposed to the Board of Trustees during their August 2026 meeting.

Leo reiterated the importance of re-engaging the campus community as the University community progresses through years four, five and six. Additionally, he emphasized that these years will not be a total redirection of the strategy, but an evolution that concurrently builds on the Strategy’s ongoing progress and assesses opportunities to incorporate new goals and priorities.

Vice President for Finance and Administration David Moore provided an overview of OHIO’s Six Year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and highlighted sources that fund the University’s overall operating budget. Moore noted that the Six Year CIP provides a multi-year projection of investments for the University’s facilities portfolio and outlines the priorities and estimated timing of investments.

Moore discussed the way the University prioritizes programmatic, lifecycle renewal and deferred maintenance investments, and shared that the University CIP planning process is collaborative and includes units from across campus. He also shared how the CIP is funded and the various financial constraints of those different sources, specifically highlighting the importance of the state of Ohio’s capital funds.

Lastly, he shared how the University is integrating a long-term financial planning strategy focused on multi-year planning and proactive, long-term stewardship to help align resources and strengthen institutional resilience. 

Executive Director of Government Relations Eric Burchard briefed the 91ԭ�� community about two legislative items that are being considered within the Ohio Statehouse. Burchard also spoke about the importance of the state capital budget to OHIO and its Capital Improvement Plan, noting that the state’s capital budget funding can only be spent on building and equipment projects. The capital budget bill for fiscal years 2027 and 2028 is anticipated to be introduced in May and passed by the state legislature before it departs for its summer recess in mid-June.

Burchard also outlined the state’s ongoing discussions surrounding House Bill 698—dubbed the Senate Bill 1 Compliance Act. He said that HB 698 deals with three policy issues that could potentially impact the University, including Senate Bill 1 compliance, instructional workload policy and retrenchment. Burchard noted that the University will continue to monitor HB 698 as it works its way through the state’s legislative process and will continue to share relevant updates with the University community as needed. 

Additional details about OHIO's University Updates series are available online.