Stephen Golding will not ask OU's Board of Trustees to purchase the new presidential home.
Ohio University’s top finance administrator doesn’t think 31 Coventry Lane should be purchased as the next home for the university’s president.
Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding said Monday he wouldn’t ask OU’s Board of Trustees, the university’s governing body, or the OU Foundation, its nonprofit entity, to buy the property.
The prospect of buying the home, owned by John Wharton, a significant university donor and prominent local real estate broker, created a “problematic” situation for the university, Golding said.
It’s not immediately clear whether the home could be purchased without Golding’s recommendation. But the university is not currently looking for another residence for its president, Golding said.
OU documents showed Wharton verbally agreed to Director of Athletics Jim Schaus that he would pay the rest of the money he pledged to the Walter Fieldhouse and an additional $100,000 — as a part of the lease-to-buy settlement.
That information was not shared with Golding and others tasked with securing a new home for OU President Roderick McDavis before they signed the lease-to-buy contract, Golding said.
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“I believe that all those involved with the verbal communication concerning the gift in question acted in good faith and without any improper intent,” Golding said.
Schaus told Ryan White, senior associate athletic director for development, of the conversation he had with Wharton.
A couple weeks later White relayed that conversation to McDavis at a women’s basketball pre-game event.
“I was not aware of any conversations that had occurred between Mr. Wharton and anyone in the athletics department,” McDavis said of his discussion with White. “I simply indicated at that point in time that I really wasn't sure that (the agreement) was going to go forward.”
John Biancamano, OU’s general counsel, said he didn’t believe actions taken by OU or Wharton were illegal.
The situation was only revealed once university officials examined documents that were compiled for a public records request. Biancamano said he wouldn’t speculate on whether university officials would’ve realized this if the requests were not filed.
Wharton and his affiliated businesses, O.U. Real Estate III Inc, and Broneys Alumni Grill, 7 W. Carpenter St., have donated or pledged more than $322,000 to the university, according to documents obtained through a records request.
Of that, about $284,000 was donated or pledged to Intercollegiate Athletics.
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Wharton made his first donation of $25 in 1977 and has been a consistent donor since.
“We have shared with him our thoughts on the situation and (Wharton has) been notified of the announcement that Stephen Golding made this morning,” Biancamano said. “Suffice it to say he understood the conversation.”
A receptionist at Ohio Realty said Wharton, who owns the company, did not want to comment.
The lease agreement and the possible purchase of the home on Coventry Lane for $1.2 million caused students and faculty members to stage protests, including the “Bat Rally,” which took place in front of 29 Park Place in late March.
“I think with that coming to light it just kind of further highlights how ridiculous the university has been spending money lately,” Student Senate Vice President Caitlyn McDaniel said. “I’m really glad, and proud of Steve Golding for encouraging this decision.”
But Golding said the protests did not affect the decision.
“The decision was directly related to the knowledge of the contract form and our response to it,” Golding said.
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The lease on 31 Coventry Lane lasts until June 30, 2017.
Student dollars have been used to pay the $4,318 monthly rent to house McDavis and his wife, Deborah, at Coventry Lane.
“By my employment agreement I am obligated to live at 29 Park Place and have done so for the better part of my 11 years, and so from my vantage point everyone acted in good faith,” McDavis said. “Deborah and I enjoyed every moment that we lived in 29 Park Place. We will continue to abide by the terms of our employment agreement and we will live where the board directs us to live.”
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