wbwa

One can only hope.

These days of multimillion dollar salaries for Presidents and football coaches at non-profit, public service universities are hopefully numbered. Ohio State has a double penance to pay for these two transgressions.

One can only hope the insanity soon ends.

mom2collegekids

Does a university need to have a private jet on call? Always flying First Class when he doesn't fly the private jet?


Yes...and probably most very large univ have one.

I'm not surprised that these people fly first class when they fly commercial.

annasdad

I'm sure that if the reporter had been an Ohio State grad, the article would have been totally objective.

Or would it have been written at all?

Erin's Dad

I like to think newspapers have journalistic integrity and the article would have been written anyway. The Dayton Daily News has reinvigorated its focus on investigative reporting and this is just one example. I think it does bring some interesting points to light.

annasdad

I agree. I was making a point ...

barrons

This ia a problem publics have with dealing with underpaid newspaper types who do not understand spending money to hire the best as being better than hiring some nobody. If Gee can deliver as he has he is worth many times over what he gets paid. There are not many around who can do what he does that well.

annasdad

And he managed not to get fired by the football coach, in spite of his fears.

barrons

Obviously the University of Illinois has no such problem in having either good football or good university leadership.

annasdad

Nope, it's pretty sorry on the leadership front, which fits in quite well with the rest of the state government. I don't keep up with football, so I guess I'll just have to take your word on it.

sovereigndebt

Are they going to play football or basketball in any of those countries? Uganda? Seriously? Geez.

mom2collegekids

This ia a problem publics have with dealing with underpaid newspaper types who do not understand spending money to hire the best as being better than hiring some nobody. If Gee can deliver as he has he is worth many times over what he gets paid. There are not many around who can do what he does that well.


I agree.

The point that many of these highly paid people (college presidents, football coaches) often "pay" for their salaries by bringing in a LOT more money than some lower-paid person. I'd rather pay someone $3M and have them bring in X times more....than pay someone $500k and have them bring in little or nothing.

FF1043

Ms. Mom2collegekids,

Your description sounds more like a Goldman Sachs executive than a public servant.

katliamom

^^
In order to be a successful university system president you have to BE like a Goldman Sachs executive. Fact is, if you don't bring in $$, you won't be in the president's office very long.

For all those of you who question academic travel: foreign students, and the opening of foreign campuses, is among the most common (and successful) ways for universities to generate income. And if you think you can strike a deal overseas without the president making at least one, but usually more, trips - with a full retinue of assistants - you're dreaming. That's how things are done overseas. If you don't pay, you don't play. As simple as that.

barrons

"Public servant"--terms that need to be removed from discussion. Elected officials might be termed public servants to an extent but professionals doing a job are not your or anyone else's servant and the term is an insult.

gadad

Gordon Gee is to the college president profession what Urban Meyer is to college football coaching. You can be sure that Meyer's fringes at Ohio State include courtesy cars, maybe a courtesy plane, country club memberships, a house, etc. It's what you pay to hire at the most elite level. Dr. Gee used to be the OSU president, then was the prez at Brown and Vandy, then OSU hired him back. To get him back they probably had to come up with a compelling array of fringes, one of which is a generous budget for global travel. The fact that he manages to use that investment to raise funds for the university may just be gravy.