Ohio State University’s Board of Trustees unanimously appointed E. Gordon Gee as the university’s next president this afternoon, signing him to an initial contract of seven years with an annual base salary of $775,000. An “appropriate” benefits package has yet to be negotiated, the board said.

Mr. Gee was introduced after a board meeting on Ohio State’s Columbus campus. He was both emotional and playful during his sixth acceptance speech for a university presidency.

“I thank all of you for letting me come home,” said Mr. Gee, who called himself the “prodigal son” whom “this institution has never forgotten.”

Trustees said the university had changed in the 10 years since Mr. Gee’s first tenure as president there, with the annual budget increasing to $3.7-billion from $1.7-billion. However, trustees and Mr. Gee said he had developed as a college leader in his time away from Ohio State.

“Gordon Gee is not the same president that led this institution a decade ago,” said Alex Shumate, a trustee and chairman of the presidential-search commitee, in a written statement. “We discovered that Gee is a more seasoned and mature leader and an incredibly successful university president.”

At Vanderbilt University, Mr. Gee is the highest paid university chief in the country, with a total compensation of more than $1.1-million, according to The Chronicle’s latest executive-compensation report. While it is unclear if the benefits at his new job will push his total compensation past $1-million, Mr. Gee said he was taking a pay cut.

“I was, until a few minutes ago, the most highly paid” college president, he said. —Paul Fain