MANSFIELD – Ohio State Mansfield Dean Jason Opal wants growth at the campus on the city’s north side – enough for people to start considering Mansfield a college town.
More than $4 million allotted to OSU Mansfield and North Central State College in a recent state capital grant will help.
The money comes from the state capital budget as part of the Regionally Aligned Priorities in Developing Skills program in the Department of Higher Education.
Ohio State Mansfield received $2 million total for upgrades, as part of a $76.5 million package to Ohio State in total.
Locally, $1.4 million will go to campus-wide upgrades, with an additional $600,000 to Eisenhower Memorial Center upgrades.
“It’s really important for us to have a really good on-site, high-touch, in-person experience,” Opal said. “That’s our thing: to be Ohio State’s small college and bring people to the campus.
“The money will be used for three things. The first is non-glamorous, but it’s crucial … the cooling tower for Ovalwood Complex, which is our main academic space.”
The Ovalwood Complex is a 400,000-square-foot, five-story area packed full with classrooms, academic offices and labs. The complex gives students direct access to professors outside of class, as well as ample study space. This makes a controlled environment crucial to Ovalwood’s desired function.
“Number two, which I’m very excited about, is about $600,000 or thereabouts for the student union,” Opal said. “This is … a full do-over of a very large space for students. About half our students are residents living on campus, and they need places to hang out and socialize … so we need the space to be nice.”
The student union refers to the Eisenhower Memorial Center, another primary spot on the OSU Mansfield campus for students to congregate.
“The third is … things we can’t otherwise raise private funds for,” Opal said. “Tuck pointing, some brickwork, some of the walkways that go through the 640 acres of woods. All that needs to be redone; it’s cracked and not up to snuff, so it is needed renovations and maintenance.”
North Central State College, which shares the campus with OSU-Mansfield, received more spread-out funding.
Seven hundred fifty thousand dollars will go to renovating Kee Hall; $876,221 will go to basic renovations for Fallerius Center and $400,000 will go to boiler and pump replacements in the Health Sciences Building, coming to a $2,026,221 total.
“The Byron Kee project will replace the building’s original 1989 roof and skylights, protecting the facility from structural deterioration and preserving its long-term integrity,” North Central State College Vice President of business and CFO Lori McKee said.
The Fallerius Hall renovations are phase two of a much larger-scale project. The recent funding will go towards revitalizing the hall’s student support infrastructure dating back to 1976. The funding will “consolidate two buildings to improve student services while reducing energy costs,” McKee said.
The Health Science building boiler and pump replacements are straightforward. The original ones, implemented in 1997, need upgraded to ensure consistent heating and cooling for students and staff.
“The capital funding allows us to invest in the future of our college by modernizing our facilities, improving the student experience, and ensuring our campus remains a safe, efficient, and welcoming place to learn,” McKee said.
“These projects reflect our commitment to providing the best possible environment for student success.”
