<p>“I for one am glad that Gee’s gone. Sure, he raised a ton of money … in the form of tuition increases.”</p>
<p>Please don’t let reality get in the way of a good rant. If I remember correctly he held tuition steady for the first three years after the economic crash. Then did a one year raise followed by another tuition freeze for next year that was just approved.</p>
<p>Not to mention mandating that all of his (and his top administrators’) bonuses go into a fund for undergraduate scholarships and faculty retention. His contribution alone since 2009 was over a million dollars.</p>
<p>Um hello LennyPepperidge, do you go to OSU? How do you know what the average OSU student is paying? My friends and I all work two jobs so that we won’t be drowning in student debt when we’re done, all the while Gee was making more money than any college president in the US. And yes, tuition went up several times while I was there. Not to mention fees. We all had to put up with an increase in fees to pay for the new union. Did you read the article? “(Ohio residents now pay 150% more in real inflation-adjusted dollars to attend OSU than they did when Gee first became president of the school in 1990” - not to mention the fact that he privatized parking.</p>
<p>I’m glad he did a lot for the medical center, but the average O. State student is paying for it. So while you and all the other people who graduated back in the 70s enjoy it remember whose footing the bill.</p>
<p>I appreciate that OSU is expensive, but it is about in the middle of the group of Ohio colleges when it comes to tuition costs <a href=“http://www.opuac.org/pdf/thinkpublic.pdf[/url]”>http://www.opuac.org/pdf/thinkpublic.pdf</a>, well below Miami (and Miami president Hodge makes 1/3 what Gee does, and costs have increased faster at Miami than at OSU [Cost</a> of Colleges in Ohio](<a href=“Cost of Colleges in”>Cost of Colleges in Ohio)). Yes college is expensive, but to single out OSU without comparing to other offerings is short sighted.</p>
<p>OSU has to put money into resources such as the Student Union, RPAC… because that is what students are judging potential universities based on. OSU students may pay 150% more than in 1990, but I daresay that is true of every university in Ohio. Ohio government has cut funding for public universities while inflation has continued, and students are demanding more amenities for their tuition, benefit costs for staff is increasing. Yes, Gee did make a lot of money, but to base your opinion on the amount of money he made, and not the return on the investment is short sided. Based on salary alone, Hodge is doing a better job at Miami than Gee does at OSU, even though Miami tuition is 3K more.</p>
<p>Obviously you based your decision to go to OSU on more than tuition costs alone because you would have chosen Youngstown state based on that criteria alone. Or started at a community college to save $$$ before transferring to a state University. So many of those tangible and intangibles that went into your decision are part of the return on investment of the administrative salary. If it wasn’t worth it, you should have transferred, but I don’t think anywhere you transfer to would have been less expensive.</p>
<p>My son currently attends OSU and I subsidize his tuition. Based on a comparison to other universities in Ohio weighting cost to benefit of his OSU major and tuition costs as well as other intangibles, OSU is at the top of the list. I don’t think there is better value for money in Ohio. If that is a result of Gee’s tenure he deserves every penny he made.</p>
<p>Yeah, all tuition has gone up all over the place but OSU is one now of the most expensive public universities in the country, and that’s AFTER Gee came in and raised so much money. [25</a> most expensive public universities - CBS News](<a href=“http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_162-57452026/25-most-expensive-public-universities/]25”>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505145_162-57452026/25-most-expensive-public-universities/)
Despite the fact that everyone worships the ground Gee walks on, he didn’t stop that from happening. And that’s my point. The guy doesn’t deserve such a standing ovation on his way out the door. He obviously padded the pockets of his favorite administrators more than he cared about OSU students. And I could financed my entire education on his bow tie allowance alone.</p>
<p>So please just stop the hero worship of the guy. It’s embarrassing. Here’s to hoping we get someone who actually cares about students (and not just in the sense that he showed up to a party for them once in a while. Big deal)</p>
<p>Again, Ohio State tuition is in the middle of Ohio public colleges. It isn’t an OSU issue or a Gee issue, it is an Ohio government issue. If you want to change things start with where the problem is: the governor and the statehouse.</p>
<p>But, Gee did head up a committee to reallocate funding of colleges based on multiple criteria <a href=“http://jobsbudget.ohio.gov/documents/HigherEducation-Report.pdf[/url]”>http://jobsbudget.ohio.gov/documents/HigherEducation-Report.pdf</a> in an effort to reward colleges for being successful. OSU is already successful in many of the criteria cited in the report, so their share will likely increase, but the recommendations were passed in November of 2012 so it is too early to tell what will actually happen.</p>
<p>Tuition has gone up at every state school in Ohio. Students here are seeing the same thing at Kent, Akron, take your pick. The tuition costs are not grossly different between Ohio public schools. It’s gotten out of control everywhere, not just OSU. </p>
<p>One of my kids chose OSU because he liked it, and the program he was interested in, better than the several local state schools nearby. But would not have considered it if the tuition had been so much more - it was basically the same. The other chose a local school and is paying close to the same amount (one just graduated and one due to graduate shortly). </p>
<p>What they are seeing happening now, and what we anticipated, is that the OSU student is benefiting far more from the alumni network in job hunting, internships, and in other ways, than the other state school student. And both are equally good students. OSU kid has gotten his foot in the door far more easily than the other one, with employers being quite open about it, than the one who attended a school where the alumni just don’t have the attachment or fan base that OSU does. </p>
<p>As far as Gee, well, regardless of what anyone thinks of him, he made himself visible to the students and the majority like him. Mine included. Most students could not name the president of their local schools here (I asked, they didn’t know), let alone know what they look like or what they might have done for the school. Gee made himself visible, likeable to and attracted students there, and was a master fundraiser. I had to look up the name of the president who was there in the years that he left between. </p>
<p>All the schools need to reign in the costs, whether it’s a state responsibility and/or the schools’.</p>