Hess addressed his immediate priorities and perspective on accepting the new role during a faculty council meeting on Tuesday. He says his initial priorities are building a new veterinary medicine teaching hospital and focusing on private fundraising for student scholarships.
Hess is the CEO of the OSU Veterinary Medicine Authority and Trust and said one of his first tasks will be to start meeting with legislators to secure funding for a new hospital.
“There might be other things and places that the legislature may be interested in, but I need them to be interested in our needs,” Hess said.
The project would cost $295 million, and the university will request $15 million yearly from the legislature to pay for it over two decades. Hess’s initiative comes four months after OSU’s veterinary medicine school was put on probationary accreditation because of major and minor deficiencies, including clinical resources, physical facilities and equipment.
“You can be a mediocre medical school without a teaching hospital, but you cannot be a great medical school without one,” Hess said.
Hess said he would also prioritize private funding for student scholarships, a shift from former OSU President Dr. Kayse Shrum’s approach of requesting state funding to cover tuition waiver deficits. He did not share concrete plans but said the money used toward tuition waivers could go toward different university needs.
“We can get more money for scholarships and release the pressure we have on waivers,” Hess said. “The waivers are just discounts to our revenue. We need to be using real money instead of waving our tuition.”
In between talking about his long-term plans, Hess shared his surprise at being appointed to the job. He said he requested two things before accepting the offer: his wife needed to move with him to Stillwater, and he wanted the freedom to make a hard choice. Hess promised the faculty council he would do whatever needed to be done to offer stability, tranquility, peace and comfort to faculty, staff and students.
“I am not a political guy and I am going to make decisions based upon what I think is in the best interest for the university,” Hess said. “When you make hard decisions, you guarantee to make about 50% of people mad. You just have to say what's in the long-term best interest for the institution.”
When asked about the search for a permanent president, Hess said the Board of Regents did not give a timeline for the beginning of the search. He said he is looking at this moment as an opportunity to lay serious work to attract the right candidate for the job eventually.
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