This time, the office requested the records under a section of the Ohio Revised Code about cooperating in investigations, though it’s not clear whether the university is actually being investigated.
Nearly three months after Ohio University fulfilled a second request for records from the Ohio Office of the Inspector General, the office is once again requesting more records related to OU’s presidential housing and connections with Athens realtor John Wharton.
Ohio Inspector General Randall Meyer requested the new records in a Nov. 13 letter addressed to John Biancamano, OU’s general counsel, under a section of the Ohio Revised Code about cooperating in investigations. The office cannot confirm whether it is conducting an investigation, however, until an investigation is complete, according to a previous Post report.
The office reviewed the records the university provided Sept. 11 and found that some requested records were not provided, according to the letter. The letter requested those records be submitted no later than Dec. 1 and additional records be supplied by Dec. 15.
“The university is cooperating with the Inspector General to provide the information requested, and we are not in violation of a deadline,” OU spokesman Dan Pittman said in an email Friday.
It is unclear whether the university has provided those records to the Inspector General yet. Pittman said the university will not have any further comment on the matter.
What led up to the Inspector General’s records requests
On March 19, the Ohio University Foundation entered into a $1.2 million lease-purchase agreement for a new presidential residence for OU President Roderick McDavis at 31 Coventry Lane.
The decision came after a bat infestation in the president’s home at 29 Park Place caused McDavis’ wife, Deborah, to break her foot. Many students and faculty reacted against the move by the university through a letter signed by more than 100 faculty and a protest dubbed the “Bat Rally.”
Wharton, the owner of the Coventry Lane property, verbally agreed with Director of Athletics Jim Schaus that — as part of the lease-purchase agreement — he would pay the remaining money he pledged to the Walter Fieldhouse and donate an additional $100,000.
As a result, Vice President for Finance and Administration Stephen Golding said on April 13 he wouldn’t ask OU’s Board of Trustees or the OU Foundation to buy the property because Wharton’s agreement created a “problematic” situation for the university.
The information about Wharton was not shared with those tasked to find a new home for McDavis and his wife before they signed the lease-to-buy contract, Golding said.
The McDavises still live at 31 Coventry Lane.
Since the lease-purchase agreement was made in March, the university has paid $4,318 each month in rent, according to a previous Post report. The lease for the property is set to expire June 30, 2017, according to the original lease-purchase agreement.
The Inspector General’s office first requested all OU records pertaining to the lease-purchase agreement of 31 Coventry Lane in a letter received by the university May 4. The office requested additional records in August that “far exceeded” the first request to be provided by Sept. 4, but the university missed the deadline and submitted them Sept. 11.
The most recent records request includes previously missing information.
In November, the office requested OU and the OU Foundation, the university’s fundraising arm, provide several sets of records by Dec. 1:
Documentation attached to and referenced in the OU Foundation trustees meeting agendas provided by OU in the August request
An un-redacted copy of the OU Foundation trustees and executive committee agendas previously provided and redacted on various dates from February 2014 to June 2015
Procedures, directives, manuals, interoffice communication and other correspondence provided to OU and OU Foundation employees regarding donor information
A list of all real-estate purchases and copies of lease agreements entered into by the OU Foundation in instances Wharton acted as a real estate agent on behalf of the owner or involving one of his known real estate companies from Jan. 1, 2014 until the present
Documents contained in Exhibit A of the original Coventry Lane lease agreement between OU and the Wharton family dated March 19
The final lease agreement between OU and the OU Foundation with the Wharton family. The letter notes that the Inspector General’s office was unable to determine which copy of the agreement is the final version.
An updated spreadsheet showing all payments in connection with 31 Coventry Lane from March 19 until present identifying the funding source used to pay those expenses. The letter notes that the Sept. 11 records referenced payments not included in a spreadsheet of costs.
All supporting documentation for payments listed by OU and the OU Foundation for expenses pertaining to the lease agreement from March 19 until the present
Copies of all interoffice communication between 13 OU officials regarding presidential housing or Wharton and any of his related businesses. The officials include McDavis, Golding and Schaus, as well as J. Bryan Benchoff, vice president for the Division of University Advancement, among others.
Copies of all communication from Jan. 1 through the present regarding donations or pledges by Wharton or any of his businesses
Email account activity of the aforementioned 13 officials, including their inboxes and sent items, from July 1, 2014 until present
The same letter also requested the following additional records be provided to the Inspector General by Dec. 15:
All records maintained by the Office of Real Estate Management, Community Engagement and Economic Development referenced during an Aug. 3 meeting for the lease entered into with the Wharton family
Any operating agreements or other agreements between Ohio University, the OU Foundation and the vendors for the operation and maintenance of 31 Coventry Lane as referenced in emails provided in the Sept. 11 records
Documentation related to information in a Donor Contact Report Summary provided to the Office of the Ohio Inspector General in the May records
Communication documents identifying donor information and payments received by or on behalf of the Whartons in 2014
An updated list of donations or pledges that Wharton or his businesses have made to OU and the OU Foundation from Feb. 1 to the present
A payment history from OU and the OU Foundation identifying all payments made from Jan. 1, 2013 through the present to Wharton’s companies
The McDavises’ expense reports with supporting receipts, meeting agendas and other documentation supporting the purpose of a Feb. 6 meeting among Wharton, McDavis’ wife Deborah, McDavis’ Chief of Staff Jennifer Kirksey and Presidential Assistant Kellie Tackett, in addition to another gathering on March 4
Organizational charts for OU’s administrative staff, including the President’s Office, Finance and Administration, University Advancement, Office of Real Estate Operations and the OU Foundation to identify employees and their positions in March
Copies of insurance coverage maintained by OU for the period of March 19 through the present
In the letter, Meyer also asks the university to specify if any requested records do not exist or cannot be found.
@AlxMeyer
am095013@ohio.edu
