The Board of Trustees met Thursday and Friday to discuss a range of issues, including faculty promotions, renovations to residence halls, faculty workloads and the new arena at Cook Field.
The board unanimously approved the committee's decision to build the arena on Cook Field.
Before the meeting, Stephen Gordon, McGuffey House and Museum's Executive Director, made a public comment about the plan to build a new arena on Cook Field. He drew attention to the historic nature of Miami’s green spaces on campus.
“This is an inheritance of 200 years,” Gordon said, “This campus is remarkable because of the scale and open space and the wonderful planning we’ve had over so many years.”
Gordon said he wasn’t trying to persuade the board to vote a certain way, but wanted the board to carefully consider the ramifications of building an arena on Cook Field. He also asked the board to think about its position on maintaining green spaces across the campus.
“I would just ask the board, as they move forward with plans for the arena, to be very mindful of the wonderful, fragile, beautiful campus that we have,” Gordon said.
The arena site selection committee recommended the Cook Field site to the board.
The committee said they chose Cook Field because it was relatively central to student dorms, unlike the current Millett Hall location, and would not require the removal of existing buildings.
“This is a new, vibrant space for people to come together,” said David Saylor, athletics director and committee member. “Sports brings people together.”
Cook Field is currently used by intramural teams for an array of sports, including soccer, softball and flag football.
David Creamer, senior vice president for finance and business services and treasurer, presented the finances of the arena project. Creamer said they estimate the project will cost about $187.7 million.
“We don’t have a design yet, so we’ve had to build that estimate from just some square footage numbers and a cost per square foot that we believe a facility like this will take,” Creamer said.
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One potential factor for the arena project is parking. The committee said it hopes to be able to use the north parking garage, but it may have to build new parking depending on turnout rates. The amount needed for parking for the arena is estimated to be $3 million to $18.5 million. (This money is in addition to the $187.7 million needed for facility construction.)
“As the only board member that served on the site selection committee, I just wanted to assure everyone that the committe really did its due diligence, took our time, went through, extensively, the community survey we received, looked at the pros and cons of each site,” Ande Durojaiye, the inaugural vice president for strategy and partnerships, said.
A student survey, which was sent out on Feb. 3, showed that out of the 1,500 responses, less than 300 said they preferred Cook Field as the site of the new arena.
The committee said a new arena is necessary since Millett is outdated and does not have enough room for the three varsity teams that currently use the facilities. The committee also said they hope the new facilities will provide a better student experience during games. The Millett Hall location has a track running around the outside of the court, which distances the spectators from the game. Additionally, Millett is designed to hold 10,000 people but has not seen full capacity in years.
Another public comment was made at the board meeting. Heidi McKee, an English professor, said she was concerned about the new workload policy scheduled to start next semester.
“I recognize the budget and enrollment crises that are facing the university, and I think revision to the workload policy is certainly necessary, but the current one is going to have impacts that I think will harm Miami long term,” McKee said.
Rosemary Pennington, Chair of the University Senate Executive Committee, presented the board with three senate resolutions, which asked the board to pause implementing the new workload requirements and work with faculty in order to negotiate an alternative.
“A number of staff, student and faculty senators have raised concerns about the new workload policy that’s being put into place for fall 2025,” Pennington said. “They’re concerned with the speed with which it has been developed and how these changes are going to impact the high-touch, personalized undergraduate learning experience that is central to Miami’s mission.”
The board heard recommendations for faculty and staff promotions. Eighteen faculty members were candidates for associate professor, 22 were candidates for full professor and six librarians were candidates for associate librarian with continuing contract. The board voted to accept all 46 candidates for promotion.
The board also approved a multi-year renovation of Morris, Emerson and Tappan halls. The project will cost $15.2 million and is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2025 and continue over the following two summers.
Additionally, the board approved the construction of two solar arrays on Western campus. The project will cost $4.25 million and is scheduled to be completed by the beginning of fall semester.
The Knightsbridge building at Miami’s Hamilton campus also received board approval for renovations. The cost of the renovations will be covered by a $5 million grant from Butler County. The space will be used by Ohio Means Jobs.
The board’s next meeting will take place on May 15 and 16.
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