Ohio State trustees approve presidential performance evaluation

The Ohio State University Board of Trustees today conducted President E. Gordon Gee’s annual evaluation and approved annual compensation based upon performance.

“Given the significant challenges facing our state and our nation, we are in greater need than ever before of strong, compassionate, and intelligent leaders to help us navigate through these difficult times. At Ohio State, we are very fortunate to have as our leader someone who fully understands these challenges and issues and is willing to roll up his sleeves to help solve them,” said Alex Shumate, chair of the committee on trusteeship, who presented the presidential evaluation and compensation report to the board of trustees.

Shumate said that Gee exceeded the annual performance expectations outlined by the board. Accomplishments highlighted by the board include improved retention and graduation rates; a record-setting academic profile for the new freshman class; an increase in research funding; the establishment of a new commercialization center; strengthened ties with Battelle and other partners; the university’s leadership in research on personalized medicine; and prudent fiscal management resulting in nearly $100 million in annual cost savings across the university.

The board approved a salary increase of 2 percent on his base pay of $802,125 ($16,042) and a performance compensation of 37 percent ($296,786). His new base salary will be $818,167.

Gee said that he intends to contribute his performance compensation to support his scholarship fund as well as other strategic university initiatives, yet to be determined.

Shumate also noted that Gee’s bonus is paid through private giving through the Academic Excellence Fund that was created for this purpose. The Academic Excellence Fund, established by the board in September 2007, is used to fund the additional total compensation to the president.

“In President Gee, we have a transformational leader who understands where we have been, where we are, and where we still need to go,” Shumate added.

This fall, Ohio State experienced record enrollment for all of its campuses (64,077) and welcomed its best and brightest freshman class to the Columbus campus with an average ACT score of 27.8 and more than 50 percent of the students graduating in the top 10 percent of their high school class. The university continues to exceed national averages for graduation rates and boasts a 93 percent retention rate. The university’s highly ranked medical center is home to one of the most comprehensive health sciences campuses in the United States and for18th consecutive year was named one of “America’s Best Hospitals” by U.S. News & World Report. The university has an annual operating budget of more than $4.5 billion and approximately 40,000 employees.