The West Virginia University Board of Governors made the right decision Monday when it voted to extend Gordon Gee’s contract through June 2025.
There’s a lot of turmoil in the university community — and, really, the community at large — at the moment. A change in leadership would likely have only caused more chaos. It also would have likely prolonged the academic transformation, as a new president would need time to learn all the background on the situation and then make judgments about how to proceed. With all the change and upheaval going on at present and into the near future, leadership continuity is key.
Besides, Gee deserves the chance to see this process through. Since many of the issues the university now seeks to fix occurred during Gee’s tenure — though we by no means place all the blame on Gee — he should have the opportunity to “right the ship,” so to speak.
The Board of Governors also made the right decision in keeping Gee’s compensation the same — a $800,000 salary. Even though annual raises are generally considered a given in most professions, a raise in this case would have felt disrespectful to all the staff and faculty who face the possibility of losing their jobs altogether.
No one can deny that Gee loves WVU. And when so much is uncertain, the community needs someone to lead who has experience, passion and a clear vision for the university’s future.
It’s unlikely we will agree with all of decisions Gee and his administration make in the short term as WVU corrects its long-term trajectory. But we do agree that Gee is the right person to do the job.
