Gordon Gee likely to become permanent president of West Virginia

We already knew that Gordon Gee had gone back to his old job, president of West Virginia University (his first university president job, from 1981-1985) on an interim basis. However, per multiple reports, Gee has been recommended to become the full time president of West Virginia, in an emergency meeting Friday afternoon.

Gee is replacing Jim Clements, who previously announced he was going to Clemson.

After stepping down from Ohio State, Gee had previously said that he would not seek another university presidency. He was on unpaid leave from Ohio State and had previously indicated he wished to eventually return to Columbus.

The iconic and beloved Gee vacated his position at Ohio State after his controversial remarks on Notre Dame, southern colleges, and Catholics, on December 5th of 2012. Ohio State recently hired former UC Irvine president Michael Drake as their president.

Gee was slated to make $450,000 at West Virginia, a steep cut from his salary in Columbus.

While we wish Gee would have returned to Columbus to help fundraise and strengthen the university, we wish him all the best in his new position.