COLUMN: Ohio University naming a residence hall after a president who didn't want to live on campus!?

Things that make you want go hmmm...

Last week the Ohio University Board of Trustees approved a resolution to name the new multi-million dollar residence hall to be built on South Green as the Roderick J. McDavis Residence Hall in honor of the University’s 20th president.

Like many folks with long memories, I have mixed feelings about this.

McDavis was the University’s first African American president and only the second alumnus to lead the institution in its 220-year history.

McDavis was instrumental in developing and implementing Ohio’s technology commercialization plan and the state’s first guaranteed tuition plan, the Ohio Guarantee. Additionally, he led the development of Ohio University’s comprehensive strategic plan — Vision Ohio and was instrumental in the success of The Promise Lives Campaign, which raised over half a billion dollars to support students and programs. McDavis was also vital in the implementation of groundbreaking programs like the Urban Scholar and Appalachian Scholar programs. His efforts extended beyond fundraising and academic innovation, continually advocating to enhance the student experience.

That’s all from the University’s press release — that’s one view of McDavis.

That’s OK to say, but that’s not the only part of McDavis’ legacy.

What the University didn’t mention — if a conversation about McDavis comes up, be it at Tony’s Tavern with a townie or OU administrator, someone always mentions “Batgate” — a term of derision arising from the controversy surrounding McDavis’ move from Park Place, which had served as the historic home to OU presidents since 1952 until there was … bats.

Let’s recap — McDavis and his wife, Deborah, were the final First Couple to live at in the president’s home located behind Alden Library.

McDavis began his tenure at OU in 2004 and lived there until Deborah fell and broke her foot while dodging a bat on the upper floor of the presidential residence in 2015.

The University rushed to find “accessible” housing for her in a series of controversial events that culminated in the university inking a $1.2 million lease-purchase agreement for a large, donor-owned home at 31 Coventry Lane on Athens’ South Side.

After the McDavis’s left, no one lived in the presidential home between 2015 and 2017. Because Park Place had underlying maintenance issues outside of the issue of bats’ incursion into the structure, the OU Board of Trustees was considering demolishing the historic structure, however, they decided to repurpose the building into the Academic Engagement Center.

And then there’s this aspect of McDavis’ legacy — OU’s faculty twice voted “no confidence” in his abilities to lead the university, once in 2006 and again in 2007 .

During a rally in 2015, protesters spoke out about their discontent with the university , McDavis, the Board of Trustees, and those entities’ financial priorities after McDavis and his wife, Deborah, decided to flee from the bats instead of hiring an exterminator, perhaps like King of the Hill’s Dale Gribble , to move to that multi-million dollar home two miles from campus on Athens’ southeast side.

Later that year during the Ohio Student Senate elections , 41.6 percent of voting students (1,223) voted that they had no confidence in McDavis, OU’s vice presidents, deans and provosts to represent their needs, while 40.3 percent said they did have confidence in those individuals.

In the waning days of McDavis’ presidency in 2017, he spoke to the Faculty Senate where he defended the police chief who authorized the arrest of 70 students for criminal trespassing after a protest to President Donald Trump’s executive immigration order and seeking OU to become a “sanctuary campus.”

The Faculty Senate passed a resolution asking that the criminal charges against the students be dropped.

Truthfully, there are more than enough stories in the Athens News’ archives that I could go on and on about McDavis — what he did and didn’t do during his tenure as president.

Fast forward to April when the Ohio University Board of Trustees broke ground on the Roderick J. McDavis Residence Hall, the largest residence hall on campus with 591-beds.

My first thought — did the Trustees really name a residence hall after a president that didn’t want to live on campus!?

Also — how that changeover of presidents no longer living at Park Place has been expensive as subsequent presidents Duane Nellis and Lori Stewart Gonzalez too have opted to live off campus in homes at the University’s expense — both leaders collecting big salaries too like McDavis. As I’ve said before in stories about the high cost and perks of university governance, don’t hate the player, hate the game .

Meanwhile, Park Place seems to have solved its bat problem because folks are working there, but it’s not considered by some as a palatial enough of a mansion for a top administrator to live and entertain donors.

And then there are the thoughts about McDavis that range from the protests, methods of administration, but he did have some success too during his long tenure in office.

“McDavis’ leadership over his 13 years serving as president was transformative, championing initiatives that reshaped the University’s approach to education and community engagement,” the University said in its press release.

At the end of the day, maybe it’s OK to name the new residence hall after a president with a complex legacy because the measure of anyone’s life can’t be distilled into one or two headlines.

Leaders like Richard Nixon, LBJ, Bill Clinton and certainly Donald Trump have enjoyed a renaissance of favorable public opinion among some people.

McDavis accomplished a lot for the University and he was a trailblazer by being OU’s first African-American president, but he was also a controversial leader at the time, to say the least.

To end this column on a positive note, the last word goes to President Gonzalez about McDavis.

“This honor is well deserved, and the naming of our new residence hall is a strong reflection of President Emeritus McDavis’ commitment to Ohio University, his uncompromising vision for student success, and his dedication to providing equitable access to higher education for all. I am grateful to Rod and Deborah for their kindness and unwavering support of our world-class University. I am thrilled to honor the McDavis legacy in this meaningful way.”