Education Is Still the Best Bet on the Future
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About the Leader
Gordon Gee
President of West Virginia University
- Intellection®
- Learner®
- Achiever®
- Arranger®
- Woo®
Learn how West Virginia University connects strengths to students' purpose.
E. Gordon Gee, Ph.D., has led major universities for over four decades, including West Virginia University, The Ohio State University (twice), Vanderbilt University, Brown University and the University of Colorado. Named one of America’s top university presidents by Time and Great Value Colleges, Gee is known for his long-standing influence in higher education. He holds an honors degree in history from the University of Utah and a J.D. and Ed.D. from Columbia University. Before entering academia, he clerked for Chief Justice David T. Lewis and worked at the U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice Warren Burger. Gee has coauthored over a dozen books and published widely on law and education. He serves on the boards of the National 4-H Council and Boy Scouts of America and has leadership roles in the Big 12 and College Football Playoff. He also serves on national education and civic task forces focused on equity and public policy.
"I just want to see people in their place."
Gee goes to where his students are. From attending their birthday parties to inviting them out for a slice of pizza, Gee always finds ways to surround himself with the people he serves. Lively social interaction, especially with his constituents, energizes him.
"I can see pathways for hope."
Gee uses his Learner to create hope for his constituents. He knows that the more he learns — the more he reads and converses with people — the more solutions and hope he will find. He absorbs information and creates tangible opportunities, like the creation of a renowned university hospital system.
"I read all the time."
In his effort to be well-informed and to have a positive impact on the students at his university, Gee reads incessantly. He consumes four to five newspapers a day along with a steady diet of books — both serious and lighthearted — which further stokes one of his primary driving forces: curiosity.
"I want to get things done, and I want to get them done fast."
When it comes to making decisions and taking action, Gee believes in speed. He says that given the chance, “the perfect squeezes out the good,” which is unacceptable to him. His Arranger talent leads him to see the large-scale harm slow decision-making has on organizations, so he prefers rapidity over painstaking deliberation.