Ohio State reaches $5.8 million deal with retired president

Columbus, Ohio • Former Ohio State University president Gordon Gee, who retired under a cloud after remarks jabbing Roman Catholics and Southeastern Conference schools, will receive a $5.8 million package over the next five years, along with an office, a secretary and a premium parking pass, the university said Monday.

The contract with Gee includes a one-time payment of $1.5 million, an annual salary of $410,000 and a $300,000 annual grant for research on 21st-century education policy. It also retains him as a full professor in the university's College of Law.

Gee, 69, retired July 1, shortly after The Associated Press first reported remarks he made to the university's Athletic Council in December. Those comments included remarks critical of Notre Dame, the Big Ten, the University of Wisconsin athletic director and the University of Arkansas football coach.

Gee apologized for the remarks following a March 11 letter from university trustees requiring such apologies and warning that future misstatements could lead to his firing.

"It was my great calling to have led Ohio State for fourteen years, and I am proud to be able to continue my work for Ohio and Ohio State," Gee said in a statement released by the university on Monday.

Gee, who was Ohio State president from 1990 to 1997 and from 2007 until he retired, declined an AP request for additional comment Monday.