As he approaches his first anniversary as the 16th president of Ohio Wesleyan University, Rockwell "Rock" Jones said the past year has included achievements and emerging opportunities, in addition to economic challenges.

Jones -- who had been executive vice president and dean of advancement at Hendrix College in Conway, Ark. -- took over the OWU post last July.

"Certainly the economy is the biggest challenge any of us has faced in the past year," Jones said. "It has created challenges for institutions, for families, for businesses, for organizations and certainly for colleges and universities. For us the challenges of the economy have been reflected in our endowment, that has lost some of its value. Our annual giving is strong but not quite at the level of last year."

He said many students and their families have suffered financial distress. "We have devoted more of our budget to financial aid to assist our students so that means we've had to cut other parts of the budget to ensure that students had the assistance that they would need."

When Jones was hired, OWU cited his ability to raise money.

He said he has made progress on that front during the past year.

"We're very fortunate to receive the commitments about a year ago for funds that led to the groundbreaking of the Meek Aquatics and Recreation Center," he said.

He also encourages donors to think of OWU as part of their estate planning.

"This is, because of the economy, not the easiest time to be securing outright gifts but as I've reminded our donors and alumni friends across the country, it's always a good time to be thinking about your estate plan and those organizations and individuals that are most important to you and the role or place they might occupy in your estate."

OWU also has developed some new annual giving initiatives.

"The President's Circle is for individuals who give $10,000 a year beyond their normal giving and we've had about 45 members make commitments to the President's Circle. Those funds are available for me to use at my discretion to benefit the university. I've provided additional financial resources to students whose families have lost jobs. I've been able to develop enhancements to our first year program that will roll out in the fall and we are developing some off-campus learning experiences for students."

OWU was founded in 1842, and keeping some of its aging buildings in top shape remains a challenge.

"We have extraordinary facility needs," Jones said. "Our residence halls are tired and in some cases they are deteriorating and need substantial upgrades. Our small living units are our most popular housing option but some of those facilities are in very poor condition and need to be upgraded or replaced."

Merrick Hall, more than 130 years old, has been vacant for about 30 years, Jones said.

"I would love to be the person who watches as that building is brought back to life," he said. "University Hall is a great historic building. It would be the landmark building on virtually any campus. It is magnificent on the outside but has increasing needs on the inside. Some of our other academic buildings have classrooms that were designed for pedagogies of a different era when classes were larger and technology was not important. We need fewer large classrooms and more seminar space."

Another task will be keeping pace with developing technology, he said.

"Ohio Wesleyan has particular needs related to technology. We have developed a task force to give us assistance, to bring us into the 21st century in our technology systems both for administrative support and for academic support."

Jones emphasizes his enthusiasm for his job. He calls OWU students "just fabulous."

He said the OWU board of trustees recently developed a strategic plan, "a 10-year vision."

The school's "goal for next year will be to begin the implementation of that vision and to begin acquiring the resources that will be needed to do so." OWU plans to add more off-campus learning, international programs for students and faculty positions, he said.

Jones said he, his wife, Melissa, and their daughter, Anna, have quickly come to feel at home in Delaware.

"None of us would have realized how smooth the move would go and how comfortable would we feel so quickly. This feels like home."

He praised the city of Delaware, including mayor Windell Wheeler and city manager Tom Homan, for the cooperation shown to OWU, and said he supports the revival of downtown Delaware and the work of Main Street Delaware.