Bowling Green State University trustees used the May meeting on Friday for faculty promotions, continued construction and the naming of an athletic field.

The annual recognition of promotions and tenure is one of the most popularly attended meetings, peppered with tears and smiles from faculty who have often worked for years to achieve their recognition.

The trustees recognized 49 faculty members. The board voted to promote 17 faculty to full professor status, with 11 awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor and one other awarded tenure.

Five faculty were also promoted to teaching professor, 11 to associate teaching professor, one to associate practitioner professor, two to clinical professor and one to associate clinical professor.

Bowling Green State University Director of Rugby and former head coach Roger Mazzarella speaks in appreciation of the naming of the Roger Mazzarella Rugby Field.

Emeritus status was approved for 16 faculty members.

Trustees approved one building project, with $1.15 million in funding from Parking Services Renewal and Replacement Reserves for upgrades and the combining of Parking Lot 15 and a portion of Parking Lot P into a single dedicated on-campus residential parking lot.

The project will include milling, resurfacing and sidewalk improvements to accommodate parking for the increased faculty/staff/visitor needs of the Tucker Telecommunication Center. ;

The project includes the demolition of Lot B which was next the now-demolished Social Philosophy Building. Lot P sits to the north of Lot 15, with Clough Street on the north, Troup Avenue to the west, South College Drive on the east and Scott Hamilton Avenue on the South

Trustees renewed the limited authority to invest in real property through June 30, 2025, including an increase of purchasing ability from $1 million to $2 million.

Director of Rugby and former head coach Roger Mazzarella has been honored with the naming of the Roger Mazzarella Rugby Field.

Mazzarella is the director of rugby for BGSU, after a 20-year career as the head coach for the BGSU Rugby Football Club, a role he began in 1985. In his 23 years as coach, the team posted a 1,285 – 216 – 47 record for an .856 winning percentage. He also captained or coached the club to twenty-six straight Mid-American Conference championships, eight national championship appearances and sixteen Ohio or Michigan Collegiate Conference titles.

“Thank you very much. This is beyond something that I could have imagined. I just wish my mom and dad were here,” Mazzarella said.

Mazzarella has also worked on behalf of fundraising for enhancements of the field and the rugby program.

Board of Trustees Chair Marilyn Eiselle, whose term expires May 17, will be replaced by board member Drew Forhan, whose term runs through 2026.

“I follow in the footsteps of a dedicated board member and chairwoman, Marilyn Eisele. She has been an invaluable member of the board of trustees for the past nine years. Her contributions have been numerous and her love for BGSU is endless. She will be missed,” Forhan said.

Trustees also named Dr. Thomas Shehab, of Dexter, Michigan, as a new national trustee to serve a three-year term. Shehab is a medical doctor who earned a biology degree from BGSU in 1990 and now works in medical investing. He most recently served as chief of staff at S. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Ann Arbor and chair of medicine for Integrated Health Associates.