Protesters gathered in front of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center to protest Les Wexner’s name on the building on Dec. 17. The next day, Steve Snyder-Hill formally requested to remove Wexner’s name from the building. Credit: Trevor Voigt | Campus Senior Writer
Ohio State denied a request to remove Les Wexner’s name from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center after a prominent survivor of Dr. Richard Strauss formally requested it.
Through the university’s naming review procedure, Steve Snyder-Hill, a Strauss survivor and one of the lead plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit filed over the university’s handling of the sex abuse case, requested Ohio State to remove Wexner’s name from the practice facility on Dec. 18. It was denied by the university a month later, in emails obtained by the Lantern.
“OSU’s decision to continue associating with Les Wexner is not surprising,” Snyder-Hill said in a statement. “For eight years, the university has chosen to fight the survivors of sexual assault it harmed rather than accept accountability. That is not caution—it is arrogance.”
Ben Johnson, a university spokesperson, attached the university’s denial email to Snyder-Hill in his response to The Lantern but did not comment further.
Wexner is the founder of L Brands and a current chairman of the Wexner Medical Center Board.
Strauss sexually abused at least 177 students, mostly male athletes, while he was a physician from 1978-98 at Ohio State. He voluntarily retired in 1998 and died by suicide in 2005.
The Les Wexner Football Complex, a training facility within the athletic center, was named after him in 2007 following a $2.5 million donation from sex offender Jeffery Epstein’s private foundation — C.U.O.Q. Foundation — and another $2.5 million gift from Leslie H. Wexner Charitable Fund, per prior Lantern reporting.
Ohio State President, Ted “Walter” Carter Jr., said in a Jan. 20 interview with The Lantern that the university gave back the money donated from Epstein’s foundation.
This month, the U.S. House Committee on Oversight Reform served Wexner a subpoena for his ties with Epstein, per prior Lantern reporting. A judge has also allowed plaintiffs of the Strauss lawsuit to serve Wexner a subpoena for the fifth time, seeking to question him over his time on the Ohio State Board of Trustees during Strauss’ tenure.
In December, Strauss survivors, including Snyder-Hill, gathered outside the practice facility to call for Wexner’s name to be removed, per prior Lantern reporting.
When asked about the current status of keeping Wexner’s name on campus, including buildings such as the medical center and the Wexner Center for the Arts, Carter said he is not concerned about the university’s reputation and currently has no plans to change any building names.
Snyder-Hill did not receive an acknowledgement that his naming review request was received for review and sent a follow-up email on Jan. 7, 20 days later, asking for a status update. The next day, Jessica Eveland, secretary of the Board of Trustees, confirmed receipt of Snyder-Hill’s renaming request.
On Jan. 22, Kevin Leonardi, associate vice president for operations, formally denied the name removal in an email, writing that Snyder-Hill did not provide enough information for the Naming Review Committee to review.
“You seek the removal of Mr. Wexner’s name from a university space, but most of your request focuses on allegations concerning other individuals, and none of the documents that you provided refer to Mr. Wexner whatsoever; rather, they all relate to actions taken by Dr. Richard Strauss,” Leonardi said in the email.
In his request, the email said Snyder-Hill provided allegations against Wexner, including Wexner’s charitable fund donated money to the center, Wexner is “‘associated with multiple sexual assault scandals’” and Wexner was on the Board of Trustees while Strauss was at Ohio State.
Leonardi said in the email the information and documentation Snyder-Hill submitted did not detail misconduct or improper action by Wexner.
In his Jan. 25 response, Snyder-Hill attached three documents: two checks Ohio State accepted to add Wexner’s name to the athletic center, the acceptance agreement for the name addition and a Vanity Fair article detailing Wexner and Epstein’s relationship.
“So please spell out to me exactly what connections you need me to make with Wexner short of a written confession from himself,” Snyder-Hill wrote. “Also please submit these additional documents to our request. We won’t let this go, if I need to resubmit 1000x over I will do it.”
