Each fall, many Ohio University students move off-campus into residential neighborhoods. But OU has created a plan that might keep them closer to College Green.

President Robert Glidden has appointed Thomas Hodson, a former member of the OU Board of Trustees, to head a task force that will seek to improve neighborhoods adjacent to campus and make them more attractive to students.

Hodson also is a partner in the law firm of Eslocker, Hodson, Oremus, L.P.A., Inc., and a part-time faculty member at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism.

President Glidden said in an e-mail message that the student housing surrounding campus is unsafe and unattractive and makes poor use of space.

"If we can somehow provide better, more attractive housing close to campus, at a reasonable cost to students, perhaps we can halt the spread of student housing throughout the entire Athens community," Glidden said.

The project is the result of housing studies conducted by OU during the past two years, including a study of OU's residence halls and the possibility of on-campus apartments conducted by planning consultant Ira Fink and Associates.

The study found there is a need to improve off-campus housing for OU students and Athens residents because many homes in neighborhoods surrounding OU are old, dilapidated and not in sanitary condition, Hodson said.

Rhett Van Voorhis, a junior management information systems and finance major, said he believes off-campus housing could use improvements.

"Off-campus housing at OU is pretty poor and overpriced compared to other campuses I have been to," Van Voorhis said.

Junior Erin McCloy, a marketing major, also said she sees the majority of off-campus housing as an area of concern.

Although McCloy said she is satisfied with her house because her landlord completed many renovations on her North Congress Street house, she knows many of her friends were not as lucky.

"I am very pleased with the house we are in right now, but I know other people have difficulty finding this," McCloy said.

The task force's project will be aimed at improving the houses' condition, trash collection, security and infrastructure, Hodson said.

Hodson said he is in the process of putting together the task force that will be made up of OU students, local residents and city officials. When this task force is appointed, they will decide which neighborhoods need repairs and what the community would like to see done first.

Although he has not yet invited people to the task force, he will do so soon because he hopes to have the task force up and running by the end of Fall Quarter.

Glidden said he appointed Hodson because OU currently did not have a faculty member available to accept the responsibility.

"Because this issue is complex, we need someone to manage it - we don't have people on staff with the time to handle this in addition to their other duties," he said.

Glidden said Hodson is an excellent person for the job because of his broad range of experience and involvement in the Athens community.

"One of the things we want to do is be sensitive to all the concerns of property owners, the community, and city government, and Mr. Hodson has the knowledge and experience to conduct this study with that sensitivity," Glidden said.