COLUMBUS, Ohio—Gordon Gee returned Thursday to Ohio State University to take back his old job of president, likening himself to the prodigal son as he gives up the top post at Vanderbilt University, one of the highest-paying college jobs in the United States.
Gee, wearing one of his signature bow ties in the scarlet and gray colors of Ohio State, was offered a 7-year contract paying $775,000 annually, with an additional $225,000 in deferred annual compensation that he would receive if he stays five years.
He would be eligible for additional compensation through bonuses and unspecified benefits. The details still have to be negotiated. He starts by Nov. 1.
Gee said Ohio State had gone from good to excellent since 1990 and now aspired to eminence.
“I am returning to be part of one of the most exciting academic environments in American higher education,” he said. “This, ladies and gentlemen, is Ohio State’s time.”
Gee, known for his ability to rake in donations, called himself a prodigal son who had experienced the world in the 10 years since he left Ohio State in 1997, when he earned a $232,000 salary.
“I’m following my heart and returning home,” he said, his voice quivering with emotion.
Trustees praised the private school experience he gained while he was away and said he returns to a vastly changed Ohio State, the nation’s largest university. The school has tightened its admission policies and increased its fundraising in recent years.
Gee “is one of the most experienced and highly skilled university presidents in the nation,” said trustee Alex Shumate, head of the board’s search committee. “He is the best person for our job and for the challenges and the opportunities that lie ahead for Ohio’s flagship public university.”
It’s the sixth president’s job for Gee, an unusually high number of jobs in schools’ top posts. He also ran West Virginia University, the University of Colorado from 1985 to 1990, Brown University and Vanderbilt, where he was chancellor. He was Ohio State president from 1990 to 1997.
Vanderbilt professors were surprised when Gee announced Wednesday that he was leaving because Gee had so strongly denied the possibility that first came up a few weeks ago. Surprise has turned to disappointment, said Vanderbilt sociology professor Bruce Barry.
“He has a forceful presence on campus that’s hard to miss and unmistakable,” Barry said. “Most faculty members and students in their time here encountered him personally.”
Gee said his return to Ohio State had nothing to do with Vanderbilt and nothing to do with money.
“Simply, my heart told me what to do,” he said, adding that his first wife, Elizabeth, died during his prior stint at Ohio State and the community embraced him and his daughter.
“This was pure and simple a spiritual decision.”
He also promised this would be his last job. “I’ve probably said three times, ‘This is it,'” Gee said. “This one really is it.”
Trustees said they weighed the wisdom of rehiring Gee but decided his strengths overcame any negative perceptions.
“Gordon’s enthusiasm, his leadership, his vision and his goals for this university far outweighed any baggage that he may have had with him,” said trustee Douglas Borror.
Gee has a reputation as a prolific fundraiser to keep up at Ohio State, which has 51,818 students. At Vanderbilt, he raised record amounts of money—including $1.75 billion in construction dollars. He increased the endowment by almost 50 percent, to more than $3 billion.
“Open your wallets, I’m here,” he said Thursday.
College presidents such as Gee must now serve as a university’s chief fundraiser, a change from the past, said Sheldon Steinbach, a veteran Washington, D.C.-based higher education lawyer.
In September, Vanderbilt’s governing board tightened financial oversight of its chancellor after lavish spending at Gee’s school-owned historic mansion detailed by The Wall Street Journal.
Gee has asked for similar scrutiny of any renovations he makes to his Ohio State residence.
“I want to make sure that there’s no question about whatever we’re doing, that we’re doing it in the right way, under the right procedure, in the right context,” he said.
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