$1.64 Billion Budget Gets The Approval Of Oregon State Board Of Trustees
The Oregon State University Board of Trustees on Friday approved a $1.64 billion budget to support university operations for the 2023-24 fiscal year and advanced to the construction phase a research complex in Corvallis and a housing project in Newport to serve the university’s Hatfield Marine Science Center.
The $213 million, 145,000-square-foot Jen-Hsun and Lori Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex will advance team-based, transdisciplinary research and learning, while harnessing artificial intelligence, computation and materials science to tackle challenges in climate science, sustainability and health.
The complex will include a next-generation supercomputer, state-of-the-art clean room and other specialized signature research facilities to facilitate team-based research.
OSU is seeking $75 million in state-paid bonds from the 2023 Oregon Legislature to help pay for the complex. More than $100 million in gifts to the OSU Foundation have been made in support of this project, including $50 million from Jen-Hsun Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA, and his wife Lori, who both graduated from Oregon State’s College of Engineering. OSU also will contribute university funds to round out funding for the $213 million project forecasted to be completed in winter 2026.
The $16.5 million, 34,000-square-foot Newport housing project will accommodate primarily upper division and graduate students as well as Oregon State staff, faculty and other professionals. The housing complex will consist of 77 units, mostly studio-style apartments with a small number of two-bedroom apartments. The site is about three-quarters of a mile from the Hatfield Marine Science Center.
The board heard that the university’s self-support units, such as housing and dining services, athletics and other departments, are returning to pre-pandemic levels, with housing at full occupancy and athletics nearing balanced operating budgets.
Also on Friday, the board:
Approved allocating up to $50 million in university revenue bonds to support the cost of OSU implementing an administrative modernization program, which will provide new university technology systems, data management practices and policies to streamline administrative processes and reduce costs. The program will lead to the university replacing 34-year-old administrative technology systems used in data management, human resources and finance.
Heard reports from student leaders from the university’s Corvallis and Bend campuses, and updates from leaders within the OSU Faculty Senate, the OSU Foundation, the trustees’ presidential transition committee and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission.
Approved resolutions recognizing and applauding the service of five retiring trustees: Rani Borkar, Darry Callahan, Lamar Hurd, Preston Pulliams and Jax Richards, and recognizing the 12 years of service of Vice President of University Relations and Marketing Steve Clark upon his retirement at the end of June.
Received updates on federal legislation, university strategic planning, the 2023 Oregon legislative session and university cooperation with requests by the State of Oregon in its creation of an Elliott State Research Forest that OSU may manage.
On Thursday, three board committees met:
The Executive, Audit and Governance Committee heard a progress report from the Office of Audit, Risk and Compliance and reports on campus safety, and trustee orientation and onboarding.
The Academic Strategies Committee heard briefings on student life, mental health wellness, and conduct; student athletics, with a focus on student-athlete’s academic and competitive success, as well as on athletics fundraising and facilities, to support student-athletes.
The Finance and Administration Committee discussed the fiscal year 2024 operating budget, the administrative modernization program, the Collaborative Innovation Complex and the housing project in Newport and heard a risk management report.