2008 Woodie Awards
Bogomolny at Town Hall Meeting: 'We Owe You'
Meredith Barr
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If this semester’s Town Hall meeting at the University of Baltimore had a theme, it would have been either “it’s just a phase” or “demand, but demand reasonably.” President Robert L. Bogomolny addressed issues surrounding parking, athletic facilities and incoming freshmen, with assurances that supply will match demand.
In the Student Center Performing Arts Theater, Bogomolny encouraged the small, but concerned, audience to “beat down the doors of deans’ offices” to ensure class scheduling needs are met, to bring scheduling needs for the Mt. Washington fields to the city through Student Affairs and to continue communicating through student leaders so the administration understands and can respond to student concerns.
The Bolton Yard project and the First-Year program were referred to as being “phased in” with on-going analyses designed to support the university’s anticipated growth from 5,000 to 6,000 students over the next five to eight years.
Even the campus food was called a “work in progress…directly related to demand,” Bogomolny said. “It’s better than it was, but not what it should be.”
Over the approximately hour-long meeting, 13 students asked 17 questions, seven questions of which involved apprehension about UB’s continued use of the Mt. Washington fields for sporting activities.
Bogomolny said that although details still needed to be worked out, “under the contract, UB retains the right to use fields on a priority basis for reasonable scheduling of appropriate sports.”
Jennifer Morrison, negotiation and conflict management student and vice president for liberal arts for the Graduate Student Senate, questioned whether the money generated from leasing the Mt. Washington property would benefit the Athletic Club. Bogomolny said those funds will be appropriated based on priority and an inventory of needs for student teaching space, faculty, administration and recreation.
When answering the request for longer Law Library hours by second-year law student Michael Crnovic, Bogomolny indicated low utilization issues made that prospect unfeasible from a financial standpoint.
Gilbert Holmes, dean of the School of Law, said that current 24-hour space in the Academic Center’s computer lab and student lounges were being investigated as possible options.
Other aspects of UB also scored low remarks. According to Bogomolny, high tuition costs, the lack of scholarships and inadequate scheduling of required courses were in need of improvement.
“In Maryland, students pay too much of the cost of their education,” Bogomolny said, adding that tuition increases were “a direct response to the fact the state cut subsidy to the university.”
When it comes to subsidizing public higher education, Bogomolny believes that “it is a direct failure of the state of Maryland to meet their obligations to the citizens.” While UB students are provided only about 28 percent of the cost of education through state subsidies, he said, “In a rational situation, state subsidies would be about 50 percent of the cost.”
When faced with the choice of increasing tuition or closing facilities and programs in the face of these cuts, tuition was increased for what the president says was “the right reason.” For the future, his “desire is that we’re able to keep the rate [of increase] reasonable so that we don’t see the massive increases in tuition [10 to 12 percent] that some of you experienced in 2001 and 2002.”
The new Student Center, UB’s parking (as compared to other University System of Maryland schools) and UB’s relationship with the city of Baltimore received good grades from Bogomolny.
He alluded to several preliminary discussions already underway with regards to future student housing, a new health club and capital campaigning for more scholarships.
Despite Bogomolny’s reassurance, the students, staff and faculty are most assuredly in for some growing pains.
His closing remarks included acknowledging that the students deserve quality in all facets of university life from elevators to parking to food and education. He said, “[I]t’s all part of what we owe you.”
Barr is a copy editor at The UB POST
meredith.barr@ubalt.edu
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