Tustees praise retiring Ohio State president
Friday , June 07, 2013 - 11:02 AM
Ohio State University president Gordon Gee gives his retirement speech during the board of trustees...
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State University trustees have thanked and praised retiring President Gordon Gee (ghee) in a board meeting that Gee joked sounded like a funeral.
More than a dozen trustees broke from Friday’s agenda to address Gee during his final board meeting as president. They called him a peerless figure in higher education. Several said they loved him.
Gee, a Mormon, told them his job was challenging but he had viewed it as a calling.
Gee announced his July 1 retirement this week, days after the latest in a long line of his verbal gaffes became public. The December remarks jabbed Roman Catholics and the academic integrity of Southeastern Conference schools.
The 69-year-old Gee cited his age and family among reasons for retiring.
The board approved provost Joseph Alutto as interim president.
