President James V. Koch spoke at the Nov. 17 meeting of the Faculty Senate, addressing issues ranging from shared governance to peer group comparisons.

On the subject of Old Dominion’s peer group, he passed out a chart (below) showing the latest data available, and pointed out that the university’s allocation of 61 percent of its budget to instruction – highest among the 24 institutions – was even five to six points above the school’s percentage in 1990.

“Generally speaking, we’re spending our money the way most citizens would like us to,” he said. “This suggests we are reasonably efficient and spending money in an intelligent fashion.”

The down side to the chart, he added, is indicated by Old Dominion’s 23rd ranking for state appropriations in student support. He suggested senators could use the chart to show others the university’s emphasis on financing instruction even with comparatively low state support.

President Koch also announced that Old Dominion will hire six employees with information technology backgrounds who will help faculty develop Web pages to support courses delivered on campus and via TELETECHNET.

On the issue of governance, the president noted that while the Board of Visitors is charged with handling matters of university policy, it traditionally defers to faculty expertise on issues of academic standards and curricula. He added, however, that the senate’s advice on other issues relating to the university community is always welcome by the administration.