Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee waived his right to receive a salary bonus and a raise at a meeting of OSU’s Board of Trustees Thursday, choosing instead to direct that money to scholarship funds.
“In tumultuous times, I think it’s important for me to make a statement of my support for students,” Gee said.
With a strong performance review from the board’s Compensation and Talent Development working group, Gee was eligible for a bonus of $200,531, or 25 percent of his base salary of $802,125. The money will be donated to the E. Gordon Gee Ohio State Scholarship Fund, to which Gee pledged $1 million in January.
Gee’s bonus would have been worth 35 percent of his base salary, but the board reduced the target bonus level by 10 percent because of the recession.
“This is a generous bonus, but a well-deserved one,” said trustee Algenon L. Marbley.
The working group gave him high marks for recruiting his leadership team, engagement with faculty, staff and students, community building and his work with a $1 billion revamp of the OSU Medical Center and other university initiatives, said trustee Jo Ann Davidson, the board’s vice chair.
Gee was also eligible for a 2.5 percent raise, the same percentage as the aggregate raise received by OSU faculty and staff, according to the group’s report. Gee declined the raise, which amounted to $20,053. That money will go to the Students First, Students Now scholarship fund.
“This is such a generous gesture and a testament to how much he loves The Ohio State University and its students,” undergraduate student trustee Alex Swain said in an e-mail.
