None of the buildings at Ohio State University have contracts tying Les Wexner's name to any donations by the Ohio billionaire.
Meanwhile, multiple groups are trying to get Wexner's name removed from the medical center and football complex following the release of the Epstein files.
Multiple buildings at Ohio State bear Wexner's name, including the entire Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center system and the Les Wexner Football Complex at the Woody Hayes Athletics Center.
Wexner's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have prompted multiple groups to submit requests to rename buildings at the university.
A public records request by WOSU yielded only honorific resolutions the Ohio State University Board of Trustees that were passed years ago.
WOSU requested any contracts or agreements that govern the naming of buildings for Wexner to see if the naming of these buildings was tied to any of the millions of dollars Wexner has donated to the university over the years.
Wexner has come under scrutiny for his ties to Epstein. He was named as a co-conspirator in documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding the FBI's 2019 investigation into Epstein for sex trafficking.
Wexner was never charged with a crime. He was deposed by the U.S. House Oversight Committee at his New Albany estate on Wednesday and continues to deny any wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing by Epstein.
Survivors of sexual abuse by Ohio State team doctor Richard Strauss and now the Ohio Nurses Association are calling on OSU to rename the buildings. The university has received dozens of requests to do so.
Renaming buildings goes through an official process by a university committee. The committee already rejected one request by Strauss survivors to rename the football complex.
The university did send an agreement that governs the naming of the Wexner Center for the Arts and the creation of a "Wexner Fund." The center was named for Les Wexner's father.
The agreement, from 1987, outlines how Wexner paid more than $1 million to the fund and transferred approximately 100,000 shares of his company, The Limited, to the OSU Foundation. The agreement stipulates that if the total value didn't equal $15 million by 1997, Wexner would have to make up the difference.
The agreement also outlines how Wexner would have to contribute $5 million to the OSU Foundation that was earmarked for the visual arts center. The agreement said Wexner would have to make up the difference if that amount wasn't given by 1997 or that Wexner's estate would have to contribute the difference if he died.
