Ohio State University isn’t letting its former President E. Gordon Gee rest for long, after his departure as president of West Virginia University. They’ve asked him to return to Columbus for a one-year consulting role.

According to a report by The Columbus Dispatch, that role will include working with OSU’s new Salmon P. Chase Center to recruit faculty and increase the center’s presence on campus and nationally.

Chase was Abraham Lincoln’s secretary of the treasury and later the sixth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, serving in that role until his death in 1873. But his namesake center at Ohio State has drawn some criticism. It is billed as an “intellectual diversity” center, established through state Senate Bill 117, and, according to a news release from one of its sponsors, meant to promote civil discourse and prevent leftist ideology from “replacing the lessons of history” on college campuses.

Ohio State says the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society “was established by the State of Ohio in 2023 to research and teach the historical ideas, traditions, and texts that have shaped the American constitutional order and society.”

“We have an exciting vision for Ohio State to define the future of higher education, and we can only benefit from having experienced leadership voices around the table,” OSU President Ted Carter said, according to the Dispatch.

Surely Gee’s years of excellent service to higher education in our region will mean the insights he brings will allay the fears of those worried about how the Chase Center’s mission could be twisted. He has demonstrated how much he values education and critical thinking, and will no doubt devote his energies to ensuring the conversations — and the people having them — at Ohio State are geared toward moving the university and the state forward.