Ohio University Parts Ways With Former Fox News CEO and Alumnus Roger Ailes, Removes Name from Newsroom

ATHENS, OH — Ohio University has chosen to distance itself from one of its more notorious alumni, former Fox News CEO Roger Ailes.

Last week, a $20 million settlement was reached with former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson, who sued Ailes for sexual harassment in July.

The Ailes sex scandal was also a topic of conversation at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in July, shortly after Carlson filed the lawsuit.

In a Faculty Senate meeting on Monday, Ohio University President Roderick McDavis announced that Ailes' name and plaque would be removed from the entrance to a WOUB Public Media newsroom. McDavis called the removal an "appropriate decision" in line with OU's "principle beliefs" as a university, according to AthensNews.com.

"In recent weeks our campus community has been disrupted by the indirect impact of the Roger Ailes controversy," McDavis said in his prepared statement. "I have listened to the various viewpoints and perspectives of our faculty, staff, students and alumni. I have consulted with the dean of the college and other senior leadership. The distraction from the teaching and academic mission of the Scripps College of Communication has weighed heavily on my mind as I deliberated over the sustained effect on our university community should we continue to have our newsroom named for Mr. Ailes.

"Given the allegations against Mr. Ailes and the circumstances surrounding his departure from Fox News, I have decided that the most appropriate action is to return Mr. Ailes' gift and to remove his name from the WOUB newsroom."

By Monday evening, the signage outside of the newsroom was removed; some traces of the lettering and plaque were still visible on the wall.

The Athens News also reports that McDavis said the university will return a $500,000 donation that Ailes gave to the university. The money was originally earmarked for renovation of the WOUB Public Media newsroom in the Radio-Technology Communication Building. The Roger E. Ailes Newsroom was dedicated to Ailes as a result of this 2007 donation.

Photo by Ottawa80 [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons