bodner089

In this post, I want to share my perspective on the development of branch campuses at Ohio University. It draws on a piece I wrote a few years ago for a book celebrating our bicentennial, and it illustrates how the context in which a university views its mission can impact creation and development of branches. Our branches developed out of a long-standing commitment to serve a rural, under-educated region of Ohio. Founded in 1804, the University began outreach programs in a systematic way by creating an "extension division," in 1909. The division offered classes in scores of locations (more than 70) around rural Southeastern Ohio. My favorite story of those days is that we actually hired three faculty members in 1914, who spent their week (Monday morning through Saturday morning) traveling by train and street car to deliver courses in a number of towns. In 1924, we added to the live courses by becoming the only public university in Ohio to offer correspondence courses. Corres...

Within day-to-day operations, some say that a branch campus chief administrative officer (CAO) is in a role that is similar to that of a small college president. At the sort of branch that I described as an "idealized" branch, the CAO is probably overseeing faculty matters, student services, a physical plant operation, a meaningfully large budget, community relations, and some version of alumni affairs. In the communities I know best, the CAO is respected as a community leader, spending much of his or her time with business people who may well carry the title of president, as well as interacting routinely with political leaders in the community and, perhaps, at the state level. On the other hand, a branch CAO is not considered to be the equivalent of a president by people at the main campus. Trustees, executive officers (especially including the institutions president), and faculty leadership, not to mention college deans and (probably) academic department heads would more l...