U Weekly. Serving The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio

E. Gordon Gee retires from controversial company

By Kate Liebers

Environmental activist groups, after months of pressuring Gee to resign, seem to have gotten what they wanted.

The Ohio State University President E. Gordon Gee stepped down from the Massey Energy Board last Friday, May 29 - 10 days after he was re-elected. Gee had served on the Board for nine years.

"Dr. Gee's public relations nightmare is over," Ohio Citizen Action Executive Director Sandy Buchanan released in a statement.

Yet despite the headlines that he resigned, Gee, 65, said he instead retired.

"I wanted to be able to do it outside of the notion of people calling for my resignation," Gee said in response to his timing. "I wanted to make the decision myself."

OSU senior Ben Becker said he suspected the student voice influenced Gee's decision. Becker was one of several who posted messages on OSU's Facebook page condemning coal extraction. Becker said he even tried talking to Gee personally about his involvement at Massey.

The sentiment was even echoed through Massey Energy spokesperson, Jeff Gillenwater.

"[Gee said] his first priority had to be to OSU and to Ohio," said Gillenwater of Gee's retirement.

As Gee advocated "green" sustainability initiatives on campus, his association with the nation's fourth largest coal producer was criticized as a conflict of interest. However, Gee pointed out that he chaired the company's Safety, Environmental and Public Policy Committee.

"It's better to be inside the tent making a difference than it is outside complaining," Gee had told students in April.

Nevertheless, environmental groups have welcomed Gee's decision to step down.

"Even though [Gee] spoke of his ability to affect change, I don't think he did affect change while he was on the board," said Mattie Reitman, coordinator of Ohio Student Environmental Coalition.

"People are so worried about losing an ally," added Becker. "But what kind of ally was he? He has nothing to show for it."

"Massey, as an energy company, has come a long way. The company, in terms of its environmental record and in terms of the safety record, now is an industry leader," said Gee. "And I chaired that, so hopefully I had something to do with that."

Yet while Gee chaired the committee, Massey paid the largest penalty for water permit violations in Environmental Protection Agency history.

"I disagreed with him when he said that the best way for him to make a difference was to serve on the board of this company," said Becker. "You can do a lot better when you're not receiving a paycheck from them."

According to Massey's SEC filings, Gee was awarded $200,000 a year to serve on Massey's Board.

"I think that overall this has renewed a lot of people's faith in President Gee," said Reitman.

Becker agreed. "In general, he's a great president for the school and the students love him. As far as environmental changes, my impression is that he's making very good positive initial steps."

"It's fortunate that Dr. Gee has separated himself from Massey Energy and Don Blankenship, their CEO," said Reitman. "It doesn't really fit with the rest of Gee's personality."

Yet Gee does not seem to have burned any bridges with Massey.

"I was reelected with a substantial number of votes," Gee said. "The shareholders of the company thought that I was doing a good job."

In Massey's news release, Blankenship stated, "Gee brought an important quality to the Massey board that is made up of a significant cross-section of opinions on the important issues facing American energy producers today."

"His wisdom, advice and experience will be greatly missed," Blankenship said.

ProgressOhio's Executive Director, Brian Rothenberg, has high expectations of Gee now that he is off the Massey's Board.

"I believe that he can be a national leader in green energy," Rothenberg said. "I think that he failed to recognize how his service on Massey Energy Board hurt his ability to do that."

Though Gillenwater said there is "not a record that we keep and publish," regarding specific improvements Gee made while on the board, Gee did mention the environmental accomplishment he was most proud of: the two million trees Massey plants a year.

Originally Published: June 3, 2009

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