Jun 05, 2013 10:16 AM EDT
Ohio State University President Gordon Gee declared his retirement Tuesday amid controversy surrounding his comments criticizing Notre Dame, Roman Catholics and the Southeastern Conference. The university has appointed Provost Joseph Alutto as the interim president.
"Without question, the university has achieved remarkable success, and it has been my honor and calling to lead it," Gee's said. "Ohio State is well-positioned for the future. I love this university, and my relationship with it will continue."
Gee, 69, was ordered to undergo a 'remediation plan' in an attempt to change his behavior after he jokingly referred to "those damn Catholics" at Notre Dame and its priests in an athletics department meeting last December.
"During my days away, I also spent some time in self-reflection," Gee said. "And after much deliberation, I have decided it is now time for me to turn over the reins of leadership to allow the seeds that we have planted to grow. It is also time for me to re-energize and refocus myself."
At the Dec. 5 meeting, Gee alleged that Notre Dame was never invited to join the Big Ten conference because 'you just can't trust those damn Catholics.' And the responsibility of Big Ten presidents is to "make certain that we have institutions of like-minded academic integrity. So you won't see us adding Louisville." He also criticized the schools in the Southeastern Conference and the University of Louisville.
The Associated Press got access to the recording of the December meeting through a public information request.
"The fathers are holy on Sunday, and they're holy hell on the rest of the week," Gee said at the meeting with attendees such as athletic director Gene Smith, several other athletic department members, professors and students. "You just can't trust those damn Catholics on a Thursday or a Friday, and so, literally, I can say that."
"You tell the SEC when they learn to read or write, then they can figure out what we're doing,"
Gee said on Thursday that he was sorry for the comments, saying that they were 'a poor attempt at humor and entirely inappropriate.'
"The comments I made were just plain wrong, and in no way do they reflect what the university stands for," Gee said.
Robert Schottenstein, chairman of the university's board of trustees said that the remarks were "wholly unacceptable' and 'not presidential in nature.'
Ohio State trustees came to know about Gee's remarks in January and ordered him to apologize to the concerned groups.
This is not the first time Gee is facing trouble due to his remarks. Last year, Gee apologized after he compared operating the school's many divisions to running the Polish army, a comment that offended a Polish-American group. In 1992, frustrated over higher-education funding, Gee referred to then-Gov. George Voinovich as 'a damn dummy.'
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