At the end of every President’s Report at Board of Trustee meetings, Ohio University President Roderick McDavis lists “points of pride” that should be celebrated.
OU’s trustees felt that McDavis himself should be featured on that list. The board unanimously approved his second pay raise in 11 months during its meeting Thursday. Their votes brought McDavis a 2 percent bump in base salary and a $62,250 bonus.
Trustees have noted that McDavis’ compensation ranks ninth of 10 Ohio public university presidents. Within that context, the raise is not unreasonable, especially for the state’s longest-standing public university president.
But when other factors are brought into the discussion, things quickly become murky. OU students have seen tuition hikes in three of the past four years, and student debt in the United States now exceeds credit card debt.
In the same meeting, trustees recommended taking on $100 million in debt to cover deferred maintenance, while also offering McDavis a bonus that exceeds the median household income in Ohio of $46,093 by more than a third.
We’re not sure the math adds up.
The way in which the raise and bonus were approved is also concerning. The decision was assuredly discussed for some time before Thursday’s retreat, but there was no mention of it in the meeting’s agenda.
We’re not sure why the university’s top officials feel the need to hide behind the ever-growing shroud of Ohio’s public record laws. If McDavis truly deserves the additional compensation, why hide the discussion in an executive session and keep it off the agenda?
OU administrators, faculty, staff and students deserve a rigorous debate about how the university’s funds are spent, especially in the current financial climate.
We urge OU’s Board of Trustees to strive to remain open in its deliberations and to welcome the input and questions of those affected by its decisions.
We think that would be a true point of pride.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
