Gordon Gee Quotes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Sitting on a corporate board is a hobby for me.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

I got all sorts of great Nebraska jokes.

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.

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

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

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.'

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

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.

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.

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.

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

You can't trust those damn Catholics.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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