Wednesday May 30, 2012 year: 132 No. 77
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thelantern OSU reacts to Gee’s almost $2M salary
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AMANDA PIERCE Senior Lantern reporter pierce.343@osu.edu
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Athletes forced to shift gears With the semester switch less than a month away, student-athletes will be affected in a number of ways.
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President E. Gordon Gee sits at the top of the newly released list of the nation’s highest paid public university presidents, earning a salary shy of $2 million in the 2011 fiscal year. Recently published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, the list includes 199 of the nation’s highest paid public university presidents. Gee’s total compensation of $1,992,221 is comprised of a base pay of $814,157, $881,278 in deferred compensation and $296,786 of bonus pay, which the university says is paid out of non-public funds. Second on the list is Texas A&M President Michael McKinney who, despite serving a partial year, would have earned $1,966,347 for one year’s salary. Ohio State and Texas A&M are comparable in rank, one factor that some say is important in determining salary. OSU and Texas A&M were ranked 17th and 19th in the nation, respectively, on U.S. News and World Report’s 2012 top public schools ranking. Alex Fischer, president and CEO of the Columbus Partnership, a nonprofit
Presidential purses President E. Gordon Gee topped a newly released list of the country’s highest paid public university presidents. Here’s a breakdown of the salaries, base pays and bonuses of Gee and the other presidents and chancellors.
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E. GORDON GEE The Ohio State University – $1,992,221
6 7 8 9
FRANCISCO G. CIGARROA University of Texas – $751,680
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GRAHAM B. SPANIER Penn State University – $1,068,763 LEE T. TODD JR. University of Kentucky – $972,106 MARY SUE COLEMAN University of Michigan – $845,105 KENT R. HANCE Texas Tech University – $757,740
ROBERT H. BRUININKS University of Minnesota – $747,955 JOHN C. HITT University of Central Florida – $741,500 CHARLES W. STEGER Virginia Tech – $738,603 PATRICK T. HARKER University of Delaware – $728,329 source: chronicle.com
organization of Columbus-area CEOs, said that considering OSU’s reputation, Gee is deserving of such a salary. “I think it would hold true that if you take one of the best recognized and highly-held university presidents at one of the world’s greatest institutions that the salary would be commensurate,” Fischer said.
Base Salary Overall Bonus CHRIS POCHE / Design editor
Fischer said OSU’s leadership, Gee in particular, draws students to the university. Jim Lynch, OSU spokesman, said the average ACT score of incoming freshman was 28 out of a possible 36, with about 55 percent of the incoming students graduating within the top 10 percent of their high school class.
Additionally, the university’s firstyear retention rate stands at a record level of 92.8 percent, Lynch said. Requests for comment from Gee directly were not returned. Taylor Stepp, Undergraduate Student Government president-elect, said Gee “absolutely deserves that salary.” “President Gee is a fantastic president,” Stepp said. “In my opinion, he is the best university president in the country.” Fischer said the enrollment and size of OSU are also important when considering Gee’s salary. Though OSU sits high on the list of the largest public universities in the country with a total enrollment of about 64,435, including branch campuses. Arizona State University takes the No. 1 spot with a total enrollment of about 72,250. Despite having a larger enrollment by more than 7,000, Arizona State University President Michael Crow received a base pay of $566,200 with a total compensation of $651,700 in 2011, a fraction of Gee’s salary. Luke McPherson, a first-year in architecture, said Gee has a large responsibility but wonders whether his salary is warranted.
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What will Jim Tressel’s legacy be?
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Bluegrass visits Woodlands
Virginia bluegrass band Larry Keel and Natural Bridge is scheduled to perform at Woodlands Tavern Thursday.
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Tandem skydiving classes cut weather
Jim Tressel coached at Ohio State for 10 years. For 10 years he made his case as one of the greatest coaches in the history of an illustrious football program. He spent a decade building his legacy — a legacy that came to an end exactly one year ago. Months after news broke that Tressel knowingly played ineligible players, OSU athletic director Gene Smith asked Tressel to resign from his post as football coach. An NCAA investigation found that six players had received improper benefits in the form of tattoos and money in exchange for memorabilia. All of those players, including former quarterback Terrelle Pryor, have either graduated, transferred or left the university. Pryor, running back Daniel “Boom” Herron, wide receiver DeVier Posey, lineman Solomon Thomas, lineman Mike Adams all received 5-game suspensions as a result of the December 2010 scandal. Linebacker Jordan Whiting received a one-game suspension and has since transferred to Louisville. One year ago — on May 30, 2011, Tressel officially submitted his resignation to Smith. “I am sorry and disappointed this happened.
Lantern file photo
Jim Tressel officially resigned from his position as football coach 1 year ago May 30, 2011. He is pictured above coaching the 2011 Spring Game, April 23, 2011. At the time the situation occurred, I thought I was doing the right thing,” Tressel said. “I understand my responsibility to represent Ohio State and the game of football. I apologize to any and all of the people I have let down. I will grow from this experience.” One year removed from the largest football scandal in school history and OSU has a new coach, Urban Meyer. With the semi-crazed OSU fanbase
looking forward to 2012 and putting the scandal behind them, what will Tressel’s legacy be? Tressel won seven Big Ten Championships during his time at OSU. His 9-1 (8-1 after one was vacated) record against the University of Michigan is the best percentage in school history. But so often in the
2A OSU employee’s car sparks to ‘inferno’ in garage
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ALLY MAROTTI Copy chief marotti.5@osu.edu
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EVAN SPEYER Lantern reporter speyer.10@osu.edu
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When Susan Blakely left for work Tuesday morning, she had no idea she wouldn’t be driving the car she had owned for seven years home that evening. Blakely, an Ohio State human resources generalist who works in Campbell Hall at 1787 Neil Ave., said she drove over some debris near Summit Street on her way to work, but is not sure if that’s what caused her car to suddenly burst into flames. “Just as I was coming in the garage, I thought I got behind a stinky vehicle, then as I was coming around a ramp, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, it’s my vehicle,” Blakely said. Blakely made it to the third floor, got out of her tan Buick Park Avenue when
she saw smoke coming out of the vents and called emergency services. “I saw the underneath side on fire as I was getting out of the car,” Blakely said. Chuck Scheerle, OSU’s Emergency Management and Fire Prevention inspector, said he was the first to arrive to the scene at the parking garage behind the RPAC at 1801 Neil Drive. “I got here and smoke was rolling out of the third floor,” Scheerle said. Lt. Doug Mack of the Columbus Division of Fire said they received the call at 9:29 a.m. “What we had was an inferno,” Mack said. “Car’s burnt up, total loss.” Just more than an hour later, the fire was extinguished, Engine 25 from the Fire Department was pulling away and Blakely was on the phone with her insurance agents and looking for the nearest junkyard.
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ALLY MAROTTI / Copy chief
The car of an OSU employee caught fire and burned in a campus parking garage near the RPAC. “It’s totaled, absolutely totaled,” Blakely said. “It (was) a great car.” Despite the loss of her car, Blakely said she was just glad the fire department responded so quickly.
“It could’ve been so much worse. I’m just so thankful. Praise God,” Blakely said after the fact. “The fire people were able to get here quickly,
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