Mediaroger ailesOhio University

Ohio University Rejects Roger Ailes' Name And Money

The school is distancing itself from the former Fox News chief.
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By 

Senior Editor, HuffPost

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Fred Prouser / Reuters

Ohio University is wiping Roger Ailes’ name from its campus newsroom.

Amid growing pressure from student groups on campus, Ohio University president Roderick McDavis announced Monday that the school would be making some imminent changes to its newsroom. 

McDavis said during a faculty senate meeting that it “weighed heavily” on him as he wondered if the newsroom should still be named for Ailes, one of the university’s most infamous  alumnus, according to OU’s newspaper, The Post.

“Given the allegations against Mr. Ailes, the circumstances surrounding his departure from Fox News, I’ve decided to return his gift and remove his name,” McDavis said. Ailes’ gift came in the form of a $500,000 donation to the school in 2007.

McDavis wasted little time after making his decision public. The Post reported that the letters bearing Ailes’ name in the newsroom were removed before the meeting even ended.

Longtime Fox News host Gretchen Carlson sued Ailes earlier this summer for sexual harassment. Since Carlson filed her suit, her lawyers said more than 20 women came forward with more sexual harassment allegations. Fox News’ parent company, Century 21st Fox, severed ties with Ailes, who denies all allegations, within weeks. It gave him a $40 million golden parachute and later settled Carlson’s suit for $20 million.

Although Ohio University will return Ailes’ gift and rename its newsroom. The Posted reported that the school would continue to give out scholarships with his name.

Ohio University said in a statement issued to The Huffington Post Thursday that it is “evaluating how to proceed in a manner that does not disadvantage students currently receiving the scholarship.”

This article has been updated to include comment from Ohio University on scholarships it gives out with Ailes’ name.

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Before You Go

Roger Ailes' Accusers
Gretchen Carlson(01 of08)
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Gretchen Carlson said in her July 2016 lawsuit against Ailes that the onetime Fox News chief retaliated against her for speaking up about sexist treatment. According to the lawsuit, he later told her, "I think you and I should have had a sexual relationship a long time ago and then you’d be good and better and I’d be good and better." (credit:Rich Polk/Getty Images)
Megyn Kelly(02 of08)
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Following Carlson's accusations, Fox News star Megyn Kelly remained conspicuously silent even as female colleagues spoke out in support of Ailes. New York Magazine, citing two Fox News sources, soon reported that Kelly had talked to the law firm investigating the Ailes situation and told them the former chief had sexually harassed her 10 years ago when she was a young correspondent. (credit:Associated Press)
Laurie Luhn(03 of08)
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Laurie Luhn, a former booker for Fox News, told New York Magazine in a devastating interview that Ailes had sexually harassed and "psychologically tortured" her for 20 years. She was among the few women who said she had acquiesced to Ailes' demands, knowing he could help her career.

Ailes eventually directed her to recruit young staffers for him, she said. “You’re going to find me ‘Roger’s Angels.’ You’re going to find me whores," Luhn accused him of saying. (credit:Paul Morigi/Getty Images)
Andrea Tantaros(04 of08)
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Former Fox News host Andrea Tantaros said that Ailes asked her to twirl for him, requested she hug him and made comments about her body. After she complained, she said she was demoted and taken off the air. She remains on Fox's payroll.

Fox News said Tantaros was not retaliated against for her complaints but rather disciplined for breaking company policy by not letting the network vet a book she wrote. (credit:Joe Kohen/Getty Images)
Kellie Boyle(05 of08)
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Kellie Boyle, a former Republican National Committee field adviser, told New York Magazine that Ailes propositioned her in 1989 shortly after he'd helped George H.W. Bush win the presidency. “You know if you want to play with the big boys, you have to lay with the big boys,” Ailes allegedly told Boyle, who was 29 and married at the time. (credit:Boyle Public Affiars)
Rudi Bakhtiar(06 of08)
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Rudi Bakhtiar, a former Fox News correspondent, said she was fired for complaining about sexual harassment by then-Washington bureau chief Brian Wilson. She said Ailes also behaved inappropriately, asking her to stand during a job interview so he could see her legs and sending her miniskirts to wear at work.

Bakhtiar, who previously took legal action against Fox, said she is speaking out now because she believes the network's culture of sexual harassment is not limited to Ailes. (credit:Mark Sullivan/Getty Images)
Shelley Ross(07 of08)
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Three decades ago, Shelley Ross worked on "The Tomorrow Show," which followed Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show," with Roger Ailes. She recently wrote an Daily Beast essay describing sexual harassment in the media industry, including her encounter with Ailes.

"Roger was very persistent as he continued to explain how much he believed in loyalty and how much he believed the best expression of that loyalty comes in the form of a 'sexual alliance,'" she wrote. (credit:M. Von Holden/Getty Images)
Marsha Callahan(08 of08)
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Marsha Callahan (left) said that in the 1960s, Ailes told the then-aspiring model she could advance her career by sleeping with him. As a producer on "The Mike Douglas Show," Ailes allegedly asked Callahan to wear a garter belt and stockings and lift up her skirt for him. (credit:Nick Valinote/Getty Images)
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