Vanderbilt Chancellor to Ohio State

Gordon Gee, presently Chancellor at Vanderbilt University, is leaving to become President of The Ohio State University.

This is worth mentioning in this forum because Gee became famous and infamous in 2003 for eliminating Vanderbilt's athletic department and placing intercollegiate athletics under the control of the office of student life. Gee's stated purpose was to "declar[] war on a culture that has isolated athletics from what the college experience is supposed to be about." Good discussions here and here; the latter argues that the move has worked and Vanderbilt's teams recently have enjoyed on-field success, including NCAA appearances in men's and women's basketball, an outstanding baseball team, and a national championship in women's bowling.

Might Gee try to do the same thing at Ohio State? This is much more powerful school in intercollegiate athletics than Vanderbilt with a stronger, more deeply ingrained history and booster base. But it also is one that has seen its fair share of recent athletics-related scandals. Stay tuned.

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