President Johnson speaks on student wages, safety, previews university address

Ohio State president Kristina M. Johnson spoke with The Lantern Friday about safety, housing, student wages and more. Credit: Courtesy of Ohio State

With a prevailing concern over safety in the campus area, Buckeyes continue to track Ohio State’s progress in combating crime.

University President Kristina M. Johnson said university safety initiatives — including the installation of permanent lighting, cameras and license plate readers — have proven effective. Also, with the new crime map, the Ohio State community is able to track up-to-date, accurate data from the Columbus Division of Police on crime.

“Safety has been a big deal this year, but it’s always been my No. 1 priority,” Johnson said.

In addition to safety, Johnson sat down with Lantern reporters Friday to discuss student wages, her upcoming State of the University Address, debt-free education, the off-campus housing network and COVID-19. 

Student wages

Johnson said the university increased the minimum wage of dining hall undergraduate student employees to $12 minimum per hour, which could increase to $12.50 in the fall. 

Dining hall employees encompass the largest number of workers on campus, Johnson said, which is why their wages were the first to be examined by the university. 

University spokesperson Chris Booker said in an email the $12 minimum rate went into effect Sunday, and Ohio State hopes to announce further information about dining wages for the fall.

A flex payment process will be put into place for dining hall employees, which will pay some employees $15 an hour when the need and hours are high. 

Many student employees, including dining hall employees, have advocated for increased wages, asking for a $15 minimum wage. Student employees, along with other student organizations, have protested on campus for an increase. 

Recent changes to wage legislation in Ohio required that non-tipped employees must receive an increase in hourly pay from $8.80 to $9.30, while tipped employees must receive an increase from $4.40 to $4.65. 

Safety

In February, Ohio State released a review of the university’s approach to off-campus safety conducted by Security Risk Management Consultants, a third-party organization, which focused on the seven weeks prior and following the implementation of the university’s safety plan Aug. 27, 2021. The report found Ohio State’s safety response was on par with or exceeded that of its peers. 

Following the report, Ohio State installed surveillance cameras and 30 new license plate readers in and near parking garages on campus, starting with the Ohio Union North and South garages after students expressed concerns over car break-ins. 

Booker said the university is currently installing cameras in the parking garages at 9th East, 9th West and Safe Auto garages. 

Increased lighting off campus, cameras and distribution of safety lights decreased crime by 60 percent by Dec. 1, 2021, Johnson said during a December interview. 

Ohio State also replaced off-campus neighborhood safety notices with a community crime map March 10, which includes statistics and off-campus crime reports from Columbus Police. 

University spokesperson Ben Johnson said the crime map was an idea started by students who were looking for a more visual way to see crime off campus. 

“I think it aligns with what the external review recommended and aligns with what students told us they wanted,” Ben Johnson said. “Like the president said, I think the real key is that it’s information directly from the source, so it comes directly from CPD.”

State of the University Address 

With her State of the University Address approaching April 22, Johnson said she is excited to speak to the public in person and share the university’s progress on current initiatives and future goals.

Kristina Johnson said as part of the Race, Inclusion and Social Equity hiring initiative — which aims to hire 150 diverse tenure-track faculty in the coming years — the first 15 people have been approved for hire in numerous research areas. She said tenure-track faculty has reduced by about 220 over the past eight to 10 years, while the student body has increased by about 5,500.

“There’s a very incremental creep in both directions,” Kristina Johnson said. “Recognizing that, it’s critical that we put together a strategic plan, which the provost is doing the strategic hiring program.”

She said Executive Vice President and Provost Melissa L. Gilliam is working to increase the number of tenure-track faculty at the university. 

Ohio State funded $1.2 billion in research in 2021, a record-breaking amount for the university.

Johnson said one of her goals is to double the university’s research expenditure in the next 10 years to reach almost $2 billion. She said the university has grown by 7.7 percent in the last year — exceeding the rate needed to double research expenditures in 10 years.

Kristina Johnson said the university’s partnership with tech company Intel and the construction of two semiconductor plants in the Columbus area will create opportunities for students in all majors, beyond those that immediately come to mind, like engineering.

Debt-free education

The Scarlet & Gray Advantage program, which aims to eliminate student debt, will be made possible through fundraising and annual gifts, Kristina Johnson said. The university hopes to receive $800 million by 2030 to fund the program.

Kristina Johnson said the university set a goal to reach almost $60 million this school year but has already reached around $75 million.

Details about the upcoming fall pilot program and how to apply will be available once the upcoming school year nears, according to an Ohio State news release.

“I want every student that wants to graduate debt-free,” Kristina Johnson said. “You can’t make people do that, but you can provide pathways.”

Off-campus housing network

Ohio State announced the off-campus housing network program Thursday as a way to strengthen the university’s “collaboration with property owners while providing students with enhanced information to best meet their needs.” 

The program, which will begin in the fall, is working to gain a set of parameters for university-endorsed housing, which includes safety, security, comfort and sustainability, Kristina Johnson said. The Office of Student Life, in collaboration with landlords, will assess housing provided off campus to ensure all laws and city codes are being followed. 

“I think that’s important so that students will know if we put our, you know, seal of approval on it, that it’s going to have these certain things,” Kristina Johnson said. 

The university hired a community outreach and engagement manager to enforce the laws, she said.

COVID-19 and the omicron variant

Kristina Johnson said the COVID-19 vaccines made it possible for the  university to lift its mask mandate and other safety measures in the spring semester. 

At the start of the spring semester, Ohio State reached a 9.8 percent positivity rate. The rate has since dropped to 1.82 percent at the time of publication, according to the Safe and Healthy Buckeyes COVID-19 dashboard. 

According to the dashboard, the community has a 93.3 percent vaccination rate. 

Kristina Johnson said there is still a response team that meets twice a week and monitors new variants, including the two new omicron subvariants, that may contribute to an increase in cases. 

“I think the most important thing about the pandemic, for me, is that we continue to adjust as we get more information and appreciate what it means to be safe,” Kristina Johnson said. 

Update: This story previously incorrectly stated Ohio State’s progress toward its Scarlet & Gray Advantage program fundraising goal. It has been updated to reflect the correct figures.