Ohio University Board of Trustees has allowed President Roderick McDavis and his wife Deborah, to temporarily move out of their Park Place home while university gets rid of bats in their home.
Ohio University’s president and his wife are set to move out of their 29 Park Place residence after a bat infestation caused Deborah McDavis to break her right foot.
Citing an “environmental condition,” OU’s Board of Trustees unanimously agreed Friday to allow the McDavises to move out of their home.
“A bat was flying around the second floor of the house. (Mrs. McDavis) was there by herself and so she was startled,” OU President Roderick McDavis said Friday. “She came down from the third level to the second level and … unfortunately slipped and fell and her foot, hit a wall register and cracked two bones.”
Deborah underwent surgery Wednesday for the injury, which occurred in February, and has been living at the Ohio University Inn, 331 Richland Avenue, according to officials.
Exact details concerning that hotel stay, including whether Roderick is staying with her, how much it costs and who is picking up the tab, weren’t immediately available.
She will also need between six to eight weeks of rehab, Roderick McDavis said.
Stephen Golding, vice president for Finance and Administration, is currently tasked with finding the McDavises a temporary place to live while the issues are addressed.
University officials have asked local real estate brokers to search for a home that accommodates Deborah’s injury.
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“She is staying at the Inn right now because she is confined by the doctor to keep off of her feet until the healing takes place,” Golding said Friday. “So whatever facility we identify has to be able to accommodate somebody who has that challenge at this juncture.”
In the last 11 years, bats have been found in the home 16 times, according to a previous Post report.
University officials are unsure how long the Park Place residence will be vacant, as the home needs assessment and repairs.
“If there is a determination by the Campus Master Planning Process that there is a higher and better use for that house, then we will have to make a determination as to whether or not in affecting the repairs we actually make the house usable for a new purpose,” Golding said.
According to university documents, the president of OU is required to occupy 29 Park Place while the university is required to “make this house available for use by the president and to properly maintain it.”
The house is currently appraised at $931,120, according to the Athens County Auditor’s Office.
Built in 1899 and bought for $60,000 by the university in 1951, the building has been home to seven of OU’s presidents, according to a previous Post article.
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