Raises for full-time faculty, administrative and classified staff were approved by Bowling Green State University trustees at last week’s meeting.

The raises are consistent with the approved Collective Bargaining Agreement with the BGSU-Faculty Association, according to university spokesperson Michael Bratten.

It calls for a 2.5 % pool to be provided for those faculty deemed to be performing at or above expectations as follows: 1.0 % across the board/fixed market, and 1.5 % merit/fixed market. Promotion and tenure funds have also been provided.

Compensation pools of 2.75% have also been provided for all other employee groups beginning in July. Associated budgeted benefits have also been increased reflecting the compensation increases.

Under the direction of new Chair Marilyn Eisele, the board also welcomed a new vice provost and dean of graduate and professional programs; and adopted general and operating budgets for fiscal year 2023, which include a 3.7% increase in share of state instruction by the State of Ohio.

Portions of funding will be used for continued investment in in-demand academic programs, including roughly $909,000 for the all-new Doctor of Physical Therapy program which will welcome an inaugural class of 90 students this fall. An additional $250,000 was also allocated for overall scholarship support.

The two-year accelerated and hybrid DPT program allows most coursework to be completed online outside of hands-on clinical practice held on campus twice per semester.

The university has noted that the launch of the DPT degree comes at a time when people are relying heavily on health care providers due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Meanwhile, demand for physical therapists is also set to grow 18% from 2019 through 2029, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In the midst of an ongoing national pilot shortage, the trustees celebrated the expansion of the BG Flight Center. The $5 million investment more than doubles the center’s flight operations, classroom and office space.

With nearly 400 students in the program, BGSU is now home to the largest aviation program in the state of Ohio, one of the largest in the U.S. and one of the few academic programs with an airport on the land of its campus.

From the 2014-15 to the 2021-22 academic years, the number of students and employees more than tripled and the fleet doubled.

The program is a public-private partnership between BGSU and North Star Aviation. After the trustees met, officials cut the ribbon on a new, expanded training facility.

North Star, which owns and operates the BG Flight Center, committed more than $5 million to upgrade the facility.

“This $5 million expansion certainly demonstrates our shared commitment to address a critical workforce need of today,” BGSU President Rodney Rogers said.

The expansion will more than double flight operations, classroom and office space and modernize its fleet with two new precision flight controls and the addition of a L3 Harris’ CRJ 900 jet simulator, which the program did not offer previously.

The simulator is the same one used by commercial airlines, while the other simulators are exact replicas of the Piper Archer and Piper Seminole planes used by BGSU Aviation.

The larger area will allow more room for flight prepping and flight planning, private spaces for exams, and three classrooms on site that allow students to take their classes and begin “pre-flighting” without having to traverse campus first.

Also at the meeting, trustees:

• Appointed Jennifer Waldron as the new vice provost and dean of graduate and professional programs. She will start at BGSU on July 11.

Currently, Waldron serves as associate vice president of research and innovation and dean of the Graduate College at the University of Northern Iowa, where her responsibilities include strengthening enrollment, recruitment and retention strategies, and advancing the university’s strategic plan for scholarship, research and creative activity. She also serves as interim dean of online and distance education.

“I look forward to working with Dr. Waldron to create a bold vision for the future of graduate and professional education,” said Joe Whitehead Jr., provost and senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs.

Waldron holds a Ph.D. in kinesiology from Michigan State University and is also a graduate of BGSU, earning her master’s in developmental kinesiology.

• Elected Eisele ‘79 of Shaker Heights as its new chair. She assumes her role after serving on the board under David O’Brien who was appointed chair in June 2021. She has served as a trustee since December 2015, after being appointed by former Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

Eisele is chief financial officer of Miller Tanner Associates, a global meeting planning company that provides comprehensive meeting planning services for the pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device industries and large corporations. Eisele earned a bachelor of science in business administration from BGSU in 1979 with a major in accounting.

Her term ends in 2023.