In reading posts, there doesn't seem to be much love for the job that either of these two men are doing. If you had the power of the purse, and could remove one from their role but keep the other around for the next five years, which would you choose?

I'd like Rod back. You don't know what you got till it's gone.

I’ve met Dr Nellis a couple times and find him a pleasant enough man, but have no idea about how he’s done at Ohio. There’s got to be some insider info about easy he is to get along with, his management style and overall effectiveness.

That's not the vibe on campus.

IMHO: On B.A., for too many posters, losing = anger at everything OHIO.

There's been very little positive comments about anything going on here and lots of piling on the AD, the President, coaches, the Athletic Dept in general, the students, the facilities, the basketball players, you name it. Build an indoor fieldhouse practice facility and BAers complain it wasn't built right and isn't being managed right. Build an athletic Academic Center and BAers want to know why the rest of the stadium wasn't improved. Put in a hanging scoreboard and BAers complain it isn't being used correctly. Lose games and suddenly we have no D1 players on our roster. Players get hurt? Oh, well they weren't that good anyway. BAers use former coaches and former presidents to wish for the "good old days" when they imagine we were winning at everything.

Give me Saul every day and twice on Sunday. I'd take Saul above Schaus at this point too.

Nellis is an empty suit that has torpedoed morale in many aspects of campus. The university is now more bureaucratic than ever, and various departments are left to pursue their own self-interest rather than the greater good. It comes down to vision and leadership, both of which he is sorely lacking.

Worst of all, his fundraising skills (or lack thereof) have a bigger impact than most realize. Rod was an outstanding fundraiser. Like it or not, that is a major role for any modern university president.

I don't consider myself a "fat cat" by any means, but I'm plugged in enough with those who might be called that. My feelings on Nellis are not just based on conjuncture - I've heard/seen/experienced more than enough to be confident in my assessments.

McDavis was a real leader with tremendous vision, and I don't think he got near the credit he deserved. Nellis is collecting a paycheck on the way to retirement (he'll be gone in 2-3 years at most). We're the suckers that brought him on. He belongs at Del Boca Vista riding on a golf cart and playing shuffleboard.

In general in my several decades around here you have some areas/people that always seem to be unhappy (Journalism anyone?) no matter who is in charge. Some where opinions are based on whether they were told yes or no and/or to change something they were doing. And some who base things on personality more than anything else. Nellis is more Glidden than McDavis. He doesn't appear to be an overly rah-rah guy. So if you are looking for that, you are not going to get that. But that doesn't mean someone is just sitting around collecting a pay check and doing nothing. The board gave him a huge bonus last Summer so they must think he's doing something right.

Do you have any idea what the bonus was for?

My mother-in-law works for Ohio University in the Honors Tutorial College and seems to have a much higher opinion of Nellis than she did of McDavis, though I have no idea why. I'll have to see why that is when I get a chance.

A couple photo ops doesn't impress me, sorry. It's a running joke amongst a few denizens of Cutler Hall to track what time he leaves the office. My knowledge is not based on rumor, but fact. Yours is based off of Twitter. Don't want to sound like some elitist journalist here, but my sources are better than yours.

He is perhaps more well liked by (some) faculty because he flatters them and will rarely make a tough decision against Faculty Senate. McDavis knew that typically if Faculty Senate wanted it, it was probably a bad idea.

BTW, McDavis had a house in Lancaster - not Dayton - so the rumor is partially true (no flights, though). But the amount of hours he put into the job makes Nellis look like a part-time Walmart greeter.

https://www.athensnews.com/news/campus/new-ou-president-b...

Nice place!

For $650k it should be.

Wonder how much he put down, and if his $60k per year stipend covers the mortgage ?

Nellis doesn't have the corporate mindset of the past couple of presidents and I think that was the BoT intent when they brought him on board, to bring in a more traditional liberal university president. On the fundraising the base for that was tapped hard in the last campaign so likely not a key focus in this hire. One of his first significant moves as president I thought was dropping plans for commercial development of The Ridges (housing, shops, hotel) all together and pursued a modest renovation of the main ridges building for auxiliary services. He's not pushing corporate research parks but is pushing industry co-ops for Ohio graduates instead. He is trying to help the campus heal on different social issues which is becoming serious dialog these days.

I do like the way the prez styles his locks.