In 1871 J.J. Rickly transferred the deed to his house and surrounding 10 acres on High Street to the new Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College, whose name later changed to The Ohio State University. The 18-room house, which stood where Mershon Auditorium is now located, served as the OSU president’s home for 55 years.

In 1926, OSU President George Rightmire and his family moved into the new President’s Residence on 12th Avenue, a building that served its residential function for 47 years before eventually becoming the Honors House. The president moved off-campus when the university purchased a 4,400 sq. ft. home near Whetstone Park in 1973, which housed four presidents until it was sold in 1991.

This history lesson on the cribs of OSU presidents was motivated by my recent realization that I have no idea where current president Karen A. Holbrook lives. I’m not alone: Not a single student or faculty member among the few dozen I asked on campus Friday knew either. This troubles me.

It’s highly unusual for a university president’s home to assume stealth mode. On many campuses, both big and small, the president’s mansion is a stately landmark that represents the university’s integrity and prestige, as well as the accessibility and visibility of its leader. Ship captains don’t sleep in yachts docked in the harbor.

In fact, OSU is the only Big Ten school whose presidential residence isn’t on or close to campus. The near-exception is Indiana University, whose president shuttles between homes on two campuses to avoid bias. The University of Minnesota’s Eastcliff Residence has its own Web site. The presidents of Miami University and Ohio University live in historic homes near the centers of their campuses.

Living on campus necessitates a better awareness of campus life and its many benefits and complexities, which certainly behooves a university’s leader. The essential message of an on-campus president is, “I’m here, I’m one of you, and my dogs like to play fetch with students.” The message conveyed by the commuting president instead is, “I’m on my riding lawn mower at the moment, can I call you back?”

The Michigan State University president’s home, across from the student union, is a first destination for concerned or angry students. When MSU tightened restrictions on student tailgates before football games several years ago, hundreds of students marched to the president’s front door. A potentially chaotic situation was calmed by the president’s presence and promise to listen that night.

At OSU, confrontations between the leader and her constituents are limited to scheduled appearances by Holbrook, partly because of the fact that we have no idea where she lives. A cynical reaction to this is that OSU gives the impression the campus area isn’t safe or pleasant enough for its president to reside.

After some research, I managed to learn that Holbrook and husband Jim live at 80 N. Drexel Ave. in Bexley, east of downtown Columbus and 9 miles from campus. The $1.6 million mansion was acquired by OSU in 2000 and includes dinner seating for 100, a swimming pool and tennis court. I bet you didn’t know that.

It’s appropriate that OSU provides resplendent room and board to its president, who somehow must juggle fund-raising, state lobbying, public relations and alumni events, in addition to her countless duties on campus. But I feel Holbrook might be a better informed president if she walked across campus each day on her way to the office.

Although it’s unrealistic to expect that Holbrook will start looking at apartment ads in today’s Lantern, I implore the OSU Board of Trustees to initiate a discussion on whether to build our president a new house on campus, perhaps near the river. The sale of the Bexley house would cover much of the cost, and everyone would benefit, most of all Holbrook.

Dan Magestro is a postdoctoral research associate in the physics department. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].