Feds Close Title VI Investigation in Ohio

Black Issues in Higher Education, March 19, 1998 by Mark Fisher

"Two-thirds of our dorms are still shut down [by state building inspectors], our buildings are still in deplorable condition.... Why now?" the official asks.

Pierce acknowledged that other states that have submitted plans to resolve their Title VI complaints have furnished more detailed plans than Ohio did. But Ohio passed legislation designed to strengthen CSU and invited the OCR's input into a new mission statement for the university, he said.

According to Pierce, OCR officials analyzed very carefully a September 24, 1997 report to his office from Ohio Budget Director R. Gregory Browning that outlined the state's commitment. Pierce cited a passage in which Browning wrote that state officials had built into CSU "a mission and focus which will not only make it strong, but attractive to a diverse student body, and which gives it not only a strong core curriculum but unique programs which will allow the university to find its market niche in Ohio public higher education."

Pierce said, "We will monitor the implementation of the plan, and at an appropriate time, we will determine if it has eliminated the vestiges of discrimination" that formed the basis of the 1981 complaint.

He would not, however, estimate when that analysis will take place. He did note that most other states have taken five years to put into effect their remedial plans.

And if the state legislature or state officials take action against CSU before then?

"We'll have to revisit [the issue]," Pierce said.

Mark Fisher covers higher education for the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News.

RELATED ARTICLE: Central State Regains Financial Control

DAYTON, Ohio -- Central State University took another key step in its renewal efforts February 27 when it assumed greater control over its financial affairs.

That Friday was the last day on campus for financial officials from the state of Ohio's Office of Budget and Management (OBM), which had worked with newly hired CSU financial officers to install tighter fiscal controls and accountability at the university. The OBM stepped in nearly a year ago at the request of Ohio's governor and legislators when the university fell into a financial crisis.

For much of 1997, an OBM deputy director served as CSU's chief financial officer. Additionally, from four to seven OBM employees worked on campus nearly every day while CSU searched for, hired, and trained fiscal specialists to replace them.

"This is a significant step forward," CSU President John Garland said. "It shows we are directly on track in the rebuilding of the university and in regaining the complete confidence of the OBM and the governor's office."

And, Garland said, it shows "that we have people in place who know what they're doing."

OBM Director Greg Browning called the decision to end his agency's daily on-site activities "a milestone" and said he had confidence in CSU's administration to "carry forward the work we've done." But Browning also said an as-yet-unnamed financial supervisor, required by the Ohio General Assembly, will continue to monitor CSU's fiscal practices and health.