Ohio University played host to former Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee and other big names for a discussion about rising higher-education costs.
Gee, who is now president of West Virginia University, retired from the head job at the school up in Columbus in June. He has long been a visible leader of higher education in Ohio and the nation, so his leadership in tackling one of the most important student problems today is welcome.
But we don’t understand why the meeting was closed to the public. Students, faculty and administrators should all be attempting to attack the problem, but what signal does it send if many can’t even get a seat at the table?
The meeting was closed like similar meetings Gee had at other locations throughout the state. OU officials promoted Gee’s visit and failed to mention that neither the public nor the media would be welcome.
Eric Burchard, the university’s director of government relations, said invitees needed to be able to express themselves freely. Knowing Gee’s penchant for trash-talking other universities, that shouldn’t have been surprising.
It doesn’t seem as if OU officials expected the meeting to be closed, and we appreciate that sentiment. But who knows how hard they fought to keep it open before acquiescing?
The rising cost of education is certainly larger than a handful of big names in a room. So if anyone without name recognition wasn’t welcome to participate in creating a solution, what more was the meeting than a well-promoted PR non-event?
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
This article originally appeared in print under the headline "Gee meeting should have been public"
