The university says it needs more money to address increased cyber security concerns.
“It was $3 to $5 million. Now it’s $8 million. Will it be $10 million at the next meeting?” said trustee C.D. Moore.
Robert Sweeney, executive vice president for planning at Wright State, says the university experienced huge upticks in cyber-attacks when the debate was announced last fall, and improvements are needed to its internet infrastructure to guard against further attacks.
A university spokesman said that in past years most colleges spent around $3 million to $5 million in debate upgrades, however, those universities didn’t have the same cyber security concerns.
During the board meeting in the WSU Student Union, Sweeney said the school has already received around $200,000 from the state for the debate, and plans to raise additional funds from its foundation, the federal government, fundraising and corporate sponsorship.
But trustees questioned how the university would cover the remaining tab if other sources were to fall short. In that scenario, Sweeney said the school might have to turn to reserves.
Trustee William Montgomery didn’t like the idea of tapping reserves at a time when the university has an “expense issue.”
“I’m going to feel foolish if I vote for this resolution, and we fall $1 to $2 million short and we have to go back to the reserves,” he said.
The university said it will have a better idea of the debate costs in April after the Commission on Presidential Debates tours the Nutter Center.
WSU will host the first presidential debate on Sept. 26. Longwood University in Farmville, Va., will host the vice presidential debate Oct. 4, and the final two presidential debates will be at Washington University in St. Louis on Oct. 9 and the University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Oct. 19.
The increased expense comes as the Ohio Joint Legislative Ethics Committee examines whether Wright State crossed legal boundaries while seeking state funding for the debate.
Emails obtained by this newspaper showed that Wright State consultant Ron Wine advised WSU President David Hopkins to offer to “organize a major fundraiser” when talking to Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger about advocating for state money. University officials said the meeting never happened.
The trustees will vote on whether to approve the debate funds at their February 12 meeting.
The university tried to reassure the trustees that the debate was worth the increased cost.
A WSU spokesman told this newspaper that the university has already received more than a $1 million worth of “brand” advertising in the form of news stories about the debate. That figure, the spokesman said, will only climb as the debate nears.
Officials at other schools that have hosted debates have said that the return greatly outweighs the costs. However, those colleges also spent much less than what Wright State expects to spend.
Centre College in Danville, Ky., spent $3 million on hosting the 2012 vice presidential debate — an expense the college says it doesn’t regret.
“After the debate we had a few years of 10 to 15 percent increases in enrollment,” said Michael Strysick, spokesman for Centre College. “It inspired alumni to give more support.”
Bob Fischer, president of Belmont University in Nashville, said hosting a 2008 town hall debate between President Barack Obama and challenger John McCain was well worth the more than $1 million that it cost his school.
Belmont applied again this year but was not selected.
“Absolutely worth it,” Fisher said. “I can’t think of anything else that would bring as much attention to Wright State.”
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