COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) -- The president of Ohio State University has far outpaced the state's governors in travel costs since 2007, with bills that total at least $844,000 and include trips to China and Europe.

The Dayton Daily News ( http://bit.ly/JDh8jc ) reports it tallied the travel expenses for President E. Gordon Gee's (geez) travel using financial disclosure statements and limited information from the university.

By comparison, state plane flights for Govs. Ted Strickland and John Kasich (KAY'-sik) and their entourages cost taxpayers about $188,000 since 2007.

The university says Gee's travel costs are paid with unrestricted endowment funds, not tax or tuition money. It says extensive travel is a key to Gee's successful fundraising despite the recession and to his efforts to build relationships with academic leaders, donors and others.

---

Information from: Dayton Daily News, http://www.daytondailynews.com