Future of OSU Open Source Lab in Jeopardy

by Lance Albertson on Wed, Apr 30 2025 I am writing to inform you about a critical and time-sensitive situation facing the Open Source Lab. Over the past several years, we have been operating at a deficit due to a decline in corporate donations. While OSU’s College of Engineering (CoE) has generously filled this gap, recent changes in university funding have led to a significant reduction in CoE’s budget. As a result, our current funding model is no longer sustainable and CoE needs to find ways to cut programs. Earlier this week, I was informed that unless we secure $250,000 in committed funds, the OSL will be forced to shut down later this year. I have reached out to our largest corporate sponsor and they are working to increase their support as we update our contract, but that still may not be enough. For transparency, the $250,000 is broken down into the following roughly: Staff pay $150k (60%) (1 staff) Student pay $65k (26%) (8 students) Other expenses $35k (14%) Other expe ... Read full article.