OSU’s Gee hires pricey advisers

The president defended his actions by saying it was an investment in the future.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Ohio State University President Gordon Gee has assembled a larger and higher paid team of senior advisers than his predecessors, costing the nation’s largest public university at least $5.7 million a year.

Gee, who earns a $1 million annual salary, added five vice presidents to his cabinet and more than doubled the group’s cost. By January, Gee will have 14 senior advisers, all making more than $200,000 a year.

“Sure, it is a lot of money,” Gee said. “But in the end, it is not about the money. It’s about making an investment in this institution and in our future.”

Gee’s predecessor, Karen Holbrook, relied on nine executives who earned a little more than $2.8 million a year in base salaries.

When Gee returned to Ohio State last year from the top post at Vanderbilt University, he told trustees that he needed to hire the best people to improve the school — and that it would not be cheap.

“This is a great institution, and its greatness has been created despite underperforming in several areas,” said Gee, who was president of Ohio State from 1990 to 1998.

OSU board Chairman G. Gilbert Cloyd said Gee was upfront about new positions.

“One person can’t do it alone,” Cloyd said. “It gets overwhelming.”

Gee said that if he and his cabinet haven’t reached their goals in five years, “I will pump gas in Vernal, Utah.”

Gee enjoys a reputation in academic circles for spending top dollar for talent, arguing it helps recruit and retain better staff and students. At Vanderbilt, he raised $1.75 billion two years ahead of schedule, increased the school’s endowment by almost 50 percent and almost doubled the funding for academic research.

Gee’s latest hires are outgoing Ohio House Minority Leader Joyce Beatty — whose $320,000 base salary is almost four times what she makes at the Statehouse — and Caroline Whitacre, a medical school professor appointed to vice president for research who also will make more than $300,000 a year.

Most of Gee’s top administrators also have potential to earn millions more in bonuses or deferred compensation if they stay at least five years.

Critics question if the pay is realistic.

“The president of the United States makes $400,000 and arguably has the most difficult job in the country,” said state Rep. Jay Hottinger, a Newark Republican who is chairman of the House Finance Committee. “How many $300,000, $400,000 and $500,000 salaried administrators does one single university need?”

University officials say the salaries are based on what other colleges and major nonprofits offer.

“We didn’t invent this,” said Larry Lewellen, associate vice president for human resources.

And, he said, it deserves some comparison across the market. “We pay far less than the private market, where leaders can make multimillions of dollars.”

State Senate President Bill Harris said Gee can hire anyway he wants, as long as he holds them accountable.

“I’m more than willing to be patient to see if Dr. Gee can reach his goal of pushing Ohio State into the Top 10 — and hopefully make it the No. 1 university in the nation,” said Harris, an Ashland Republican.

Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland’s higher education chancellor, Eric Fingerhut, said there should be results.

“We’re concerned about how every dime is spent,” Fingerhut said.