Students gathered to discuss the “excessive compensation” of Ohio University administration Tuesday afternoon during the open office hours of President Roderick McDavis.
Students gathered to discuss the “excessive compensation” of Ohio University administration Tuesday afternoon during the open office hours of President Roderick McDavis.
The event was organized on Facebook by Josh Baron, a junior studying ceramics art, to extend an invitation to students to talk to McDavis about his compensation.
Students described McDavis as “hostile” to their views, and said he yelled at them. Others in the room disagreed.
Vice President of Student Affairs Ryan Lombardi and Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones were both present at the meeting and somewhat disagreed with the student assessment of the meeting.
“Unfortunately, a negative tone was established from the onset when the very first question directed to the president was very personal, accusatory and non-factual,” Lombardi said in an email. “While these questions were not appreciated, there was certainly not any yelling.”
Hall-Jones echoed Lombardi’s sentiment in an email, saying that while there was not any yelling, the atmosphere was “tense” when “very personal questions” were directed at McDavis.
“When the discussion was less personal and more about university level policy or leadership, there was a more engaged dialogue,” Hall-Jones said.
Baron said he felt prompted to organize the event after seeing The Post’s coverage of McDavis’ pay raise. McDavis received a 7.8 percent pay raise — increasing his base pay to $465,000 — and an $85,000 bonus in August.
OU’s Board of Trustees, who approved the pay increases, said OU’s fundraising success, record enrollment and widespread construction were key reasons he deserved an increase in compensation.
“When you hear things like that, you start to wonder what the values of the president are, and if they truly represent the values of our school,” Baron said.
Baron said that the democratic position of students was also discussed within the meeting, saying that McDavis seemed “very convinced” that decision making is only the responsibility of executive administrators.
Will Klatt, Governmental Affairs commissioner of OU Student Senate, was also in attendance at the office hours. He noted McDavis turned the meeting into a “hostile environment.”
Klatt said McDavis “yelled at” and “interrupted students.” Other students confirmed Klatt’s account of the meeting.
“We need to have a university president that is willing to listen to all students, and be able to take criticism without yelling at students,” Klatt said.
Graduate students Chris Diltz and Brian Muccioli learned about the meeting through Graduate Student Senate and echoed Klatt’s sentiments about McDavis’ “hostility.”
“The students were perfectly respectful,” said Diltz, explaining that McDavis often interrupted the students without “hearing what they had to say.”
“He was very defensive about the amount of money that he makes,” Muccioli said.
Diltz said that McDavis justified his compensation by saying that this is a “typical American university situation where the president should be making much larger pay than the faculty and graduate students.”
McDavis was open to attending a senate meeting sometime in the next few weeks, Klatt said.
Director of External Communications Stephanie Filson said in an email that McDavis did not yell at the students over the course of the meeting and treated them with “respect and dignity.”
“It is the President’s intention to continue making himself available to engage in dialogue with students about issues of importance to them,” Filson said.
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