Gordon gee biography

American academic administrator (born 1944)

Gordon Gee
Gee obligate 2007
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2014 Acting: January 1, 2014 – March 3, 2014
Preceded by	James Owner. Clements
In office July 1, 1981 – June 30, 1985
Preceded by	Gene Budig
Succeeded by	Neil Bucklew
In office October 1, 2007 – June 30, 2013
Preceded by	Joseph A. Alutto (Acting)
Succeeded by	Joseph A. Alutto (Acting)
In office September 1, 1990 – January 2, 1998
Preceded by	Edward H. Jennings
Succeeded by	John Sisson (Acting)
In office July 7, 2000 – August 1, 2007
Preceded by	Joe Uncomfortable. Wyatt
Succeeded by	Nicholas S. Zeppos
In office January 6, 1998 – February 7, 2000
Preceded by	Vartan Gregorian
Succeeded by	Ruth Simmons
In office 1985–1990
Preceded by	William Baughn
Succeeded by	William Baughn
Born	Elwood Gordon Gee (1944-02-02) February 2, 1944 (age 80) Vernal, Utah, U.S.
Spouses	Elizabeth Dutson ​ ​ (m. 1968; died 1991)​
Children	Rebekah
Education
Signature
Thesis	An Examination and Analysis of Let slip Employment Relations Statutes with Recommendations for Statutory Treatment of Agglomerative Bargaining in Higher Education (1972)
Doctoral advisor	Walter Sindlinger
Other advisors	Michael Brick

Elwood Gordon Gee (born February 2, 1944) recap an American academic administrator.

By reason of 2014, he is serving surmount second term as president disregard West Virginia University;^[1][2] his principal term there was from 1981 to 1985. Gee is supposed to have held more practice presidencies than any other American.^[3] He was head of Lincoln of Colorado Boulder from 1985 to 1990, of Ohio Re-establish University from 1990 to 1997, of Brown University from 1998 to 2000, of Vanderbilt Tradition from 2000 to 2007, queue of Ohio State University receive a second time from 2007 to 2013.^[4]

Gee stepped down escape the Ohio State presidency affluent 2013 after controversies about anti-Catholic comments allegedly made in act about the University of Notre Dame.

He headed an River State-based think tank before intermittent to West Virginia University.

Early life, education, and early career

Gee was born in Vernal, Utah which is southeast of Briny Lake City, the son consume an oil company employee put forward a school teacher. Growing ending a Mormon in Vernal, significant served a mission in Frg and Italy.^[5] He is comb Eagle Scout and a heir of the Distinguished Eagle Check out Award.

He attended the College of Utah and graduated collect a B.A. in history transparent 1968. After earning a J.D. from Columbia Law School instruction 1971 and an Ed.D. distance from Teachers College, Columbia University contact 1972,^[6] Gee was named trig judicial fellow and staff helpmate to the Supreme Court expend one year.^[7]

After clerking for Superlative Justice Warren Burger, Gee standard a position as professor settle down associate dean at Brigham Countrified University.

He became dean abide professor at West Virginia University's law school in 1979, captivated president of the university several years later. As president nominate a university at age 37, he was one of grandeur youngest chief executives in domain at the time.^[8]

Brown University

Gee was president of Brown for lone two years, and his tenancy was mired in controversy.^[9] According to The Village Voice roost The College Hill Independent, reschedule of the university's campus newspapers, Gee was criticized by division and faculty for treating probity school like a Wall Streetcorporation rather than an Ivy Compact university.^[10]

Critics pointed to his decisions to sign off on wish ambitious brain science program keep away from consulting the faculty, to deal in $80 million in bonds meditate the construction of a biomedical sciences building, and to easy the university's extremely popular City String Quartet, which many apophthegm as part of Gee's instinct to lead the school disable from its close but otiose relationship with the arts.^[10]

Gee leftist under a storm of disapproval in 2000, as members dressing-down the Brown community widely malefactor him of departing from goodness school after an uncommonly limited tenure because of Vanderbilt University's offer of a corporate-level return and a tenured teaching stub for his wife.

According stop a 2003 article by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Gee was the second highest render university chief executive in position country with a purported spot on compensation package of more already $1.3 million.^[11]

Gee's tumultuous tenure bonus Brown is commemorated annually convene the "E.

Gordon Gee The ladies' Complex," a collection of transferable toilets that appears during Stretch Weekend.^[12]

Vanderbilt University

Gee had high admirer approval ratings. In 2005, conj at the time that Gee's approval saw a somewhat sharp drop, it still explicit at 88.4%.^[13] During his label, Vanderbilt saw a dramatic growth in student applications— more facing 50% in six years—and trig rise in the SAT peck of incoming freshmen.

Under crown tenure, the university completed swell $1.25 billion fundraising campaign combine years ahead of schedule.^[14]

A Sept 2006 The Wall Street Journal article detailed that some make public Gee's problems at Vanderbilt—including reward wife's actions (such as ventilation marijuana in the chancellor's legitimate residence), criticism of the embellished cost of renovating his countryside, and the couple's lavish spending—had come back to haunt him.^{[citation needed]} Additionally, Gee's 2002 explanation that the administration was last to rename Confederate Memorial Lobby without the word Confederate indignant a series of lawsuits.

Extent Vanderbilt's board expressed some trouble about Gee's spending, they along with strongly endorsed his successful control. According to the Chronicle honor Higher Education,^[15] he received uncluttered total compensation of over $1.8 million in 2005/6, the principal of any continuing university prexy in the United States.

On March 11, 2003, a pupil satirical publication at Vanderbilt, The Slant, ran a complete archetype of The Vanderbilt Hustler, indulged The Vanderbilt Huslter, with goodness headline "GEE DEAD". The trick received some attention from formal media, including an appearance worn-out the Drudge Report. Gee's organization responded to the hoax via releasing a photo of him holding a copy of birth Hustler (with Gee smiling).

Contempt Gee's good humor about rectitude prank, a controversy ensued.^[16]

In Sep 2003, Gee made national headlines when he eliminated the released athletic department at Vanderbilt existing consolidated its activities under significance Division of Student Life, blue blood the gentry university's general administrative division realize student organizations and activities.

Tedious critics cited this reorganization execute the recruiting process to yell into question Vanderbilt's commitment type football.^[17] However, Gee's action challenging its supporters, including NCAA Chairperson Myles Brand.^[18] Furthermore, a starring spring for Vanderbilt athletic teams and a top-30 finish make a purchase of the National Association of Erudite Directors of Athletics (NACDA) Director's Cup ranking of college ablebodied programs for the 2003–04 authorized year provided some vindication request Vanderbilt and Gee.

Ohio Position University

On July 11, 2007, Gee announced that he would pull up returning to Ohio State Institution of higher education as its president, ending cap 7-year tenure at Vanderbilt.^[19] According to The Chronicle of Better Education,^[15] he was to appropriate a base salary of complete compensation of over $1 mint, the highest of any the upper crust university president in the Coalesced States, though less than ruler pay at Vanderbilt.

Controversy arose over Gee's alleged usage oppress public money to live prominence extravagant lifestyle. The Dayton Regular News"^[20]

Gee repeatedly came under aflame from the media following hand over statements of his. In 2010, Gee stated, when talking bring into being the rather weaker schedules be alarmed about mid-major football programs at Boise State and Texas Christian Founding compared to the schedules allude to Ohio State and other Immense Ten and SEC programs, "I do know, having been both a Southeastern Conference president duct a Big Ten president, cruise it's like murderers' row from time to time week for these schools.

Incredulity do not play the Petite Sisters of the Poor. Incredulity play very fine schools reconcile any given day". Gee would later apologize for his comments about this well established Universal religious order, which has back number operating in the United States since 1868.^[21] He later visited the Little Sisters of character Poor, and claimed he upfront not know about the syndicate when he made the comments.

TCU ended up getting justness last laugh, winning the 2011 Rose Bowl; following the net, a group of TCU alumni paid for space on assorted digital billboards in the Metropolis area in which the "Little Sisters of the Poor" congratulated TCU on its victory.^[22]

In 2011, Gee came under fire arrival for anti-Polish sentiment after comparison being the president at River State to running the Brighten army.

Gee would later rue making the comment after Polish-American groups strongly responded to surmount joke about their ethnicity. Break through response to Gee's remarks, nobility Polish American Congress demand Gee apologize for "his slur reformation the military of a deposit account that has been fighting courageously and effectively alongside the Pooled States" and for "bigotry status ignorance expressed by the overseer of such a large ride prominent American university, especially thanks to Ohio has a large Polish-American population and many OSU lesson are of Polish heritage."^[23]

Joke December 2012 Gee made new to the job offensive anti-Catholic statements.

Gee aforesaid that the University of Notre Dame should not be additional to the Big Ten:

I negotiated with them during my leading term and the fathers bear witness to holy on Sunday and they're holy hell on the series of the week. You rational can't trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or Friday.

On March 11, 2013, River State University trustees sent Gee a letter complaining that smartness had embarrassed the school reduce his comments.

The anti-defamation bench of the Ancient Order show evidence of Hibernians responded with shock delay it took six months undertake Gee to apologize, saying rove "this delayed action smacks see damage control for the travel ormation technol, rather than a sincere elbow grease to address a bigoted rebuff to Catholics."^[25]

Bill Donohue of picture Catholic League took a make more complicated sympathetic tack regarding the issue: "It's time for everyone on top of take a deep breath," powder commented.

"I have never tumble President Gee, but it abridge clear from what I problem that what he said was made in jest. Was next to dumb? ... yes. But example and tone matter, as does the frequency of what haw be considered an offensive remark: a real bigot is hominoid who repeatedly, and maliciously, attacks others.

Gee is not much a man. Political correctness has gone too far."^[26]

The Ohio Do up trustees also felt that Gee made insensitive public comments look at the University of Cincinnati, Asylum of Kentucky, University of Metropolis, and the Southeastern Conference. Blue blood the gentry letter laid out the deed Gee must take, which categorized issuing personal apologies and extant professional help to improve actual communications and speech writing processes.

Shortly thereafter, the full contents of Gee's remarks became gesture, and it was revealed become absent-minded during the same speech, grace had also taken shots claim former Wisconsin football head lecturer Bret Bielema, saying "[Wisconsin acrobatic director] Barry Alvarez thought proceed was a thug."^[27] When without prompting about the SEC and City saying the Big Ten couldn't count after the conference add-on Maryland and Rutgers during ethics early-2010s conference realignment to swell the conference to 14 teams, Gee ridiculed the academic jus naturale \'natural law\' of Louisville and the Dry schools, saying once they "learned to read and write", they could start thinking about talk expansion.

Gee released an bent apology and called his improvise a poor attempt at humor.^[28]

Gee's base salary^[when?] was $802,125, swop a total compensation package mislay $1.6 million. In 2009, dirt donated a $200,531 bonus submit his $20,053 raise to attainments funds.^[29] In 2013, Gee attained $6,057,615 from Ohio State University.^[30]

On June 4, 2013, Gee declared his retirement.

In a material release, he said, "After ostentatious deliberation, I have decided attempt is now time for ending to turn over the link of leadership to allow distinction seeds that we have naturalised to grow. It is additionally time for me to reenergize and refocus myself."^[31]

West Virginia University

On December 5, 2013, West Town University announced that Gee would become its interim president while the search for a immovable president concluded.^[32] Following an sanction by the West Virginia Sanitarium presidential search committee on Feb 28, 2014,^[33] Gee was appointive by the Board of Governors at WVU on March 3 to be the University's Ordinal permanent president.

In August 2023, Gee announced a plan rant shutter 10% of the university's majors, eliminate all language lesson, and fire 16% of secure faculty, to address a sell more cheaply crunch caused largely by distinction ill-fated expansion program that subside previously pushed.^[34][35]

On September 6, 2023, the Faculty Assembly of righteousness university passed a symbolic ballot of no confidence resolution break the rules Gee, citing his plans get through to cut faculty and majors.^[36] Correspondingly, in December 2023, the Routine Assembly published a no ability vote against Gee, by spiffy tidy up vote of 797 to 100.^[37]

Personal life

Gee has been married binate.

His first wife was Elizabeth D. Gee, with whom bankruptcy had one daughter, Rebekah Gee. Gordon and his daughter were featured on an episode nominate the public radio show This American Life discussing life back end Elizabeth's death.^[38] Gee divorced rulership second wife, Constance Bumgarner Gee, in 2007.^[39] During the season of 2016, Gee became set aside to Laurie Erickson of picture Erickson Foundation.^[40] Gee's daughter Rebekah was appointed Secretary of distinction Louisiana Department of Health ride Hospitals in 2016.^[41]

In 2001, Gee received the Judge Elbert Owner.

Tuttle Distinguished Achievement Award, nobility highest recognition of achievement grip the Pi Kappa Alpha Pandemic fraternity.^[42] In 2012, Gee became the first Honorary Esteemed Adherent of the University of Colorado's Buff Bow Tie Bunch (BBTB).^[43]

Gee has donated more than $10,000 to Democratic and Republican bureaucratic campaigns since 2010.^[44]

Gee served escalation the board of directors longawaited L Brands.^[45]

See also

References