Faculty reevaluate student population size at first meeting

Faculty met in Merrick Hall. Photo courtesy of owu.edu
Faculty met in Merrick Hall. Photo courtesy of owu.edu

Matt Cohen, Editor-in-Chief

On the evening of Jan. 25, the sun dove beneath Elliot Hall’s horizon and the remaining rays raced past the cold, naked trees and through Merrick Hall’s third floor windows, throwing their duplicates on the opposite wall.

The scene provided the backdrop for Ohio Wesleyan’s President Rock Jones to open the first official faculty meeting of 2016 by thanking faculty for “rolling up (their) sleeves and working together.”

After mentioning the struggles the university has faced with declining enrollment and number of applicants received, Jones posed a question.

“What is the appropriate size of OWU?”

He rhetorically asked if they were willing to take the time and put the appropriate money into the school to grow it back to where it once was. If not, OWU will become a smaller school.

Jones wants OWU to explore different programs and improve upon everything from parking to the process of applying for classes in order to reach potential students the school normally doesn’t reach.

Chris Wolverton, professor of botany-microbiology, addressed the room as a member of the university’s Governance Committee.

He echoed Jones’ push to put the OWU back in the right direction. He suggested leading marketing strategies based on the school’s academics.

When Mark Allison, an associate professor of English, confronted the faculty’s recent frustrations regarding new marketing techniques, he simply said, “What we dislike, the kids love.”

“They think Taylor Swift’s music is terrific.”

He also pointed out that faculty had input about the new marketing campaign at every level.

Additionally, a new computational neuroscience major was approved by a unanimous vote.