Gordon Gee Quotes

#1. College graduates work in every sector of the American economy, and the research engines incubated within our universities generate a wealth of ideas and innovations that have an enormous impact on our lives.

Gordon Gee

#2. I believe that the future is determined by the great public universities. They educate 80 percent of the students and make the American Dream available.

Gordon Gee

#3. Continue to surprise those who would put you in a neat demographic. Be insistently curious.

Gordon Gee

#4. In a very complex world, you can no longer expect everyone to be great at everything.

Gordon Gee

#5. I believe we have the best football coach in the country in Urban Meyer. I had the privilege of hiring him, as you know, and I think he is doing fabulous work.

Gordon Gee

#6. What I should do is go over to the surgical suites and get my foot extricated from my mouth.

Gordon Gee

#7. I have a passion for academic life, a passion for students and for the ability and the narrative of a university to make a difference in the world in which they reside.

Gordon Gee

#8. Every time I get a lot of money, I cry, and I got a lot of tears left.

Gordon Gee

#9. I believe that it is higher education's purpose and calling to keep open the door to the American dream.

Gordon Gee

#10. When the fabric of the universe becomes unknown, it is the duty of the university to produce weavers.

Gordon Gee

#11. I think everyone needs to focus on the quality of the undergraduate experience.

Gordon Gee

#12. People look at me like I'm crazy when I say that our greatest partnership here at Ohio State should be with the community colleges.

Gordon Gee

#13. I did not want to go anywhere where I would be interim.

Gordon Gee

#14. The Ohio State University has a rich - if quiet - heritage of the arts.

Gordon Gee

#15. I tend to deal with most issues with humor ... always have and always will.

Gordon Gee

#16. What do I know about college football? I look like Orville Redenbacher. I have no business talking about college football.

Gordon Gee

#17. We play very fine schools on any given day.

Gordon Gee

#18. Jewish students, by culture and by ability and by the very nature of their liveliness, make a university a much more habitable place in terms of intellectual life.

Gordon Gee

#19. Sitting on a corporate board is a hobby for me.

Gordon Gee

#20. I believe everything learned in college is an answer to a question that someone has posed. Questions get posed differently and the answers that come back transport us to places we never knew existed.

Gordon Gee

#21. I spent the first 18 years of my life in the pastoral town of Vernal, Utah, in the shadows of the Book Cliffs and the Uinta Mountains.

Gordon Gee

#22. The arts, quite simply, nourish the soul. They sustain, comfort, inspire. There is nothing like that exquisite moment when you first discover the beauty of connecting with others in celebration of larger ideals and shared wisdom.

Gordon Gee

#23. Poland not only has a capable military but also is strong economically and does not need money being raised for it.

Gordon Gee

#24. Being president of a major public university is the most political nonpolitical office around.

Gordon Gee

#25. Online is ridiculous. Places like Ohio State bring people here together, and students teach each other.

Gordon Gee

#26. In tumultuous times, it's important to have a very mature leader.

Gordon Gee

#27. If we make a difference in Ohio, we can make a difference on a national scale.

Gordon Gee

#28. Intellectual curiosity drove Einstein to some of the world's most important discoveries.

Gordon Gee

#29. I got all sorts of great Nebraska jokes.

Gordon Gee

#30. I joke that being a university president is akin to being a pinata. But there are also notions of redemption.

Gordon Gee

#31. I think we can be competitive on and off the field and create a model where our athletes are scholars and learners, too.

Gordon Gee

#32. At least for me, I believe that one learns from one's mistakes. And I made significant mistakes, and I learned from them.

Gordon Gee

#33. So if a college education is indispensable, the challenge as I see it is how to make it more accessible.

Gordon Gee

#34. The universities of the 21st century are going to be the smokestacks of the century.

Gordon Gee

#35. As one of the country's largest land-grant universities, Ohio State must play a critical role in moving our country forward.

Gordon Gee

#36. I often have said that to be a college president, you need a thick skin, a good sense of humor, and nerves like sewer pipes.

Gordon Gee

#37. A truly great university is a nucleus of artistic expression. It fosters creative, critical thought, and serves as a platform for civil discourse.

Gordon Gee

#38. You can't trust those damn Catholics.

Gordon Gee

#39. If people want to pigeon hole you then just view it as an opportunity to prove them wrong and show that you are different to what they think you are.

Gordon Gee

#40. Everyone wrote our obituary but us and the coaches and the kids who stayed with us. The obit was, 'Vanderbilt will have to leave the Southeastern Conference. All the coaches are leaving, and all the students are transferring.'

Gordon Gee

#41. I've been president of Brown and chancellor of Vanderbilt, where they have very high completion rates.

Gordon Gee

#42. I'm the seventh chancellor at Vanderbilt; Bobby Johnson is the 25th head football coach. That shows a lack of commitment to attract and retain.

Gordon Gee

#43. Founded when Abraham Lincoln believed education could lead the nation out of its darkest days, Ohio State now provides a powerful platform of interdisciplinary academic programs, world-class scholars, outstanding students, and extensive research capabilities.

Gordon Gee

#44. Let me just be very clear: I'm just hopeful the coach doesn't dismiss me.

Gordon Gee

#45. I am not a scientist. I have never analyzed the far reaches of the solar system through the lens of a telescope nor scrutinized cancer cells under a microscope.

Gordon Gee

#46. We're going to make certain that we set a very high standard for ourselves.

Gordon Gee

#47. I am a bit odd. I am somewhat evangelical. But I am not crazy.

Gordon Gee

#48. The strength of the American higher education system is that it is a multifaceted, multi-layered system, and that is what makes us very strong.

Gordon Gee

#49. To be sure, American higher education is a diverse ecosystem, comprising institutions of all sizes, price tags, and mission statements.

Gordon Gee

#50. I am trying to prioritize and keep everything in balance, which for me is not easy.

Gordon Gee

#51. I simply take serious issues seriously, but I do not take myself seriously.

Gordon Gee

#52. I love this university, and although I might be retiring from the presidency, my work with Ohio State will continue.

Gordon Gee

#53. I'm probably one of most quotable guys in America.

Gordon Gee

#54. You have great athletic directors, you let them run it; you keep yourself informed, but I'm not the athletic director. I'm the president of the university.

Gordon Gee

#55. My mouth is sore from continually extracting my foot from it.

Gordon Gee

#56. The notion of the large, massive public university that can exist in isolated splendor is dead.

Gordon Gee

#57. I think what any student adds is the ideas they bring.

Gordon Gee

#58. I believe being president of a private institution is a remarkable experience, but at Ohio State, it's a calling.

Gordon Gee