E. Gordon Gee (President West Virginia U.)

[Mike80]

The comments saying universities should be "public and free" are fucking hilarious. And that one guy basically posted the Communist manifesto blaming everything on capitalism

Time to go take a Campos....brb

 

[Bucklion]

The comments saying universities should be "public and free" are [censored]ing hilarious. And that one guy basically posted the Communist manifesto blaming everything on capitalism

Time to go take a Campos....brb

That was pretty cool

 

[BIATCHabutuka]

Gee also increased the size of the university?s senior staff by 30% and raised their average salaries by 63%, to $539,390 in 2011. To get a sense of how out of control university-administrator compensation has become, consider that a year before Gee began his first tenure as Ohio State?s president, the president of Harvard was paid $138,044 ($256,000 in 2012 dollars), and only eight university presidents in the entire nation made more than $200,000. Now, thanks to Gee and his ilk, there are dozens of administrators at Ohio State University alone who would consider that sum an insult.

Outside of the golden goose hospital system, I am not sure what university administrator deserves this type of money honestly.

 

[Mike80]

Outside of the golden goose hospital system, I am not sure what university administrator deserves this type of money honestly.

Answer two questions:

1. do you want talented people leading the organization?

2. given the size of Ohio State and it's economic impact to Columbus as a whole, would you not agree that if Ohio State was a corporation that Gee would likely be making more - not to mention stock options/pension benefits/etc etc.

 

[BayBuck]

FYI, Campos is a M*ch*gan Man, three times over.

I might be more interested in considering his criticisms if he mentioned any specific administrative shortcomings in pursuing the university mission, but since all he seems to be doing is whining about ALL THAT MONEY!! it's hard to read it as any more than another anti-capitalist rant.

Also: OSU Law > Colorado Law

 

[BIATCHabutuka]

1. at the right cost, yes. 600k for the average admin position is way above market rate for real world businesses.

2. not complaining on Gee's cost, just the rest of the cronies. they shouldn't make more than $250,000 on average and even that is overpaid for their contribution to the success of the organization.


I used to work for the University while in school for the registrar, the main one not some assistant or sub level registrar. That dude never worked. Had at least three offices that he would sleep in. Had zero skills. To him cut and paste involved a bottle of rubber cement and scissors. Total figurehead position.

Very nice man though. When I had my BS tasks done, he would order me to go to one of his offices and take a nap or go to the storage floor in the tower and lock it out so nobody could catch me taking a nap.

 

[BayBuck]

Including Gee, there are only a few dozen employees making over $500K base at OSU this year. That includes a handful from the Athletic Department, 20-some physicians and other Med Center admins, and just a few university administrators: Alutto, CFO Chatas, CIO Hook, and Fisher dean Poon. Expand the range to $400+ and it also includes the Development VP Kaplan, Planning VP Kasey, General Counsel/VP, Psychology chair, Engineering dean, Dentistry dean, Nursing dean, one Fisher faculty, and a whole lot more doctors. These are not your "average" administrative positions, and these folks could (and often have) made more out in the real world.


Good resource:
http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/datacenter/datacenter-osu-salaries-2012.html

 

[BIATCHabutuka]

good link and bad research on the article above. you don't start to see waste until you get below 200k generally (though I can pick a few out that I would question above that too).

we have nearly 300 people making $250,000 a year at OSU. most of them are hospital related.

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

just out of curiousity, what is the the top score now?
when i took it, a score of 33 was not possible.

Top score has always been 36.

 

[cincibuck]

Outside of the golden goose hospital system, I am not sure what university administrator deserves this type of money honestly.

But a football coach deserves $4.3 + expenses, + TV money + incentives + a shoe contract?

Realize that OSU's research, the academic side of the campus, brought $652 M into the state last year compared to $93 M for all athletic programs. In short, if we measure a person's worth by the amount of money he is accountable for and the number of people under his command, then Gee was responsible for $6.50 for every $1 Myer was accountable for. Gee was responsible for the work of thousands and the education of approximately 40,000 students. Myer was responsible for 85 players, perhaps another 30 counting walk ons, injuries etc and a coaching staff of maybe another 30.

Not that I don't agree with your position - but I'd point to more than just the president and I'd throw in a shipload of CEO's in American corps that are paid compensations that far surpass that of CEOs in Europe and Japan.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/47565818/...american-ceos-hauled-record-pay/#.Ubk5wZXvITM

or as the Houston Chronicle states it: CEO Pay Ratio
The ratio of CEO pay to the median salary for all other employees in the company provides a reference of how high CEO pay is. It's often used to compare CEO pay across countries. U.S. CEOs earn from 400 to 500 times the median salary for workers. For CEOs in the U.K., the ratio is 22; in France, it's 15; and in Germany it's 12.

In short, given the level of funds and personnel that Gee was held accountable for, his income seems to be on the low side when compared to people of similar responsibilities.

My question would be: is anyone worth that kind of money?

 

[Mike80]

But a football coach deserves $4.3 + expenses, + TV money + incentives + a shoe contract?

Realize that OSU's research, the academic side of the campus, brought $652 M into the state last year compared to $93 M for all athletic programs. In short, if we measure a person's worth by the amount of money he is accountable for and the number of people under his command, then Gee was responsible for $6.50 for every $1 Myer was accountable for. Gee was responsible for the work of thousands and the education of approximately 40,000 students. Myer was responsible for 85 players, perhaps another 30 counting walk ons, injuries etc and a coaching staff of maybe another 30.

Not that I don't agree with your position - but I'd point to more than just the president and I'd throw in a shipload of CEO's in American corps that are paid compensations that far surpass that of CEOs in Europe and Japan.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/47565818/...american-ceos-hauled-record-pay/#.Ubk5wZXvITM

or as the Houston Chronicle states it: CEO Pay Ratio
The ratio of CEO pay to the median salary for all other employees in the company provides a reference of how high CEO pay is. It's often used to compare CEO pay across countries. U.S. CEOs earn from 400 to 500 times the median salary for workers. For CEOs in the U.K., the ratio is 22; in France, it's 15; and in Germany it's 12.

In short, given the level of funds and personnel that Gee was held accountable for, his income seems to be on the low side when compared to people of similar responsibilities.

My question would be: is anyone worth that kind of money?

If someone or something is willing to pay a person a certain amount, why the hell not? That's what I don't get. Money talks and bullshit walks and talent will always follow the money. That's just the way it is.

BTW when your football coach is responsible for the one sport above all that provides revenue for the ENTIRE athletic department, you ensure that individual is handsomely rewarded...

 

[ORD_Buckeye]

But a football coach deserves $4.3 + expenses, + TV money + incentives + a shoe contract?

Realize that OSU's research, the academic side of the campus, brought $652 M into the state last year compared to $93 M for all athletic programs. In short, if we measure a person's worth by the amount of money he is accountable for and the number of people under his command, then Gee was responsible for $6.50 for every $1 Myer was accountable for. Gee was responsible for the work of thousands and the education of approximately 40,000 students. Myer was responsible for 85 players, perhaps another 30 counting walk ons, injuries etc and a coaching staff of maybe another 30.

Not that I don't agree with your position - but I'd point to more than just the president and I'd throw in a shipload of CEO's in American corps that are paid compensations that far surpass that of CEOs in Europe and Japan.
http://www.nbcnews.com/id/47565818/...american-ceos-hauled-record-pay/#.Ubk5wZXvITM

or as the Houston Chronicle states it: CEO Pay Ratio
The ratio of CEO pay to the median salary for all other employees in the company provides a reference of how high CEO pay is. It's often used to compare CEO pay across countries. U.S. CEOs earn from 400 to 500 times the median salary for workers. For CEOs in the U.K., the ratio is 22; in France, it's 15; and in Germany it's 12.

In short, given the level of funds and personnel that Gee was held accountable for, his income seems to be on the low side when compared to people of similar responsibilities.

My question would be: is anyone worth that kind of money?

Outdated figures, we broke $900M last year. The total economic impact to the state based on standard multipliers was around 33,000 jobs and 12 billion dollars.

Also, I hate this notion that because the hospital turns a profit, it's somehow more important than the the core functions of the university. Ohio State University is not a for-profit corporation. It's a non-profit public, flagship university. The hospital is a nice public function, but it's really simply an ancillary aspect of the medical school/medical research which is a core function of the university. The history department might not turn a profit, but it's far more vital to the core mission of the university than many aspects that do. We're not [censored]ing DeVry.

 

[jwinslow]

Also, I cannot even imagine the actual financial impact of Ohio state football on the state economy. Ludicrous is the closest I can come.

All of the memorabilia, the sports bars, the food, the room board and beer, some of the undergrad decisions , etc.

 

[buckeyefool]

Also, I cannot even imagine the actual financial impact of Ohio state football on the state economy. Ludicrous is the closest I can come.

All of the memorabilia, the sports bars, the food, the room board and beer, some of the undergrad decisions , etc.

You have to figure it is easily into the millions. When the University pays UC a million dollars to move the game here you know the University is making that 10 times over. I would also be interested to see how far out the impact goes. You figure the part right around campus sees the biggest impact obviously. But there are plenty of people coming in from out of town who stay and eat in the Polaris, Hilliard, Grove City area

 

[AKAK]

But a football coach deserves $4.3 + expenses, + TV money + incentives + a shoe contract?

The quick answer is "absolutely."

Cinci, this isn't directed so much at you as it is this ludicrous... ridiculous... idiocy that for some reason we continue to countenance this discussion. (Especially from other administrators/employees/professors within the University)

There... is... no... argument past a pathetic sense of fairness. I emphasize... pathetic.

Because the reality is, there are markets for jobs... well, maybe not in fiscally bankrupted societies like the UK, France and Germany... but, in the United States, there is. And for guys like Urban Meyer or The Great Satan, when paired with football programs that have the critical mass to profit from these levels of compensation, there's not even a question.

Further, the argument requires, in view of the market, that if you want to pay a football coach, the same as say, a history professor, then you basically say, "Hey its not important for us to do football right" -- but in reality, the argument from some is this idea that because meyer makes, the package you mention above, we're valuing football more than history. This is patently untrue. Its just the market. I'm all for paying the best history professors the going rate to have the best history department.

(On the flip side of this, I think its ridiculous to pay bad/unproven football coaches ridiculous money... say what you will about him, but, they announced Tressel without a contract, and his response in his opening presser was, "I'm sure whatever it is will be fine" - ok, I'm paraphrasing there to the best of my recollection, but, the point remains, I think it was 800K, which while more than a history professor isn't 5 million either)

So the quick answer to that question is, yes, a football coach, when you're in the top 5 of a multibillion dollar industry probably "deserves" quite a bit more than that.

And so it is with Gee... he has the track record and resume, if that's what he costs, its a bargain. And much like Campos and the breathtakingly stupid commetors in that article... yeah, this ISN'T a communist (we're not in Russia, are we Russ?) country just because we're talking about academia... we can have the income disparity, living wage, "what the morons in Europe are doing" argument any time, but, its no more valid in this context than it is in the Walmart one.

So... dear History profs... Engineering instructors, Physicists, and even Doctors at the James.... Paul Campos, and Time website commentators... Gordon Gee and Urban Meyer are not more important than you, their skill sets are simply more rare (and profitable) please chill the fuck out.