Where The Coin Goes Inwards The Uc System: Revisiting The Compensation Scandal
Sunday, June 15, 2025
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In 2006, a serial of stories broke inward the media documenting how the University of California regents were granting lavish compensation packages to tiptop administrators, in addition to many of the perks going along amongst the high salaries were non reported. After several articles inward the San Francisco Chronicle in addition to a legislative hearing, it was discovered that the regents were constantly breaking their ain rules inward gild to give people hidden compensation. According to one Chronicle article, “University auditors told the UC Board of Regents they had flora that 143 exceptions to the university's compensation policies had been made to give extra pay or benefits to 113 senior managers.” However, this uncovering of surreptitious deals in addition to broken rules was exclusively he tip of the iceberg. It turns out that for years, the academy was hiding from the populace its compensations deals past times exclusively reporting about of the coin that tiptop executives in addition to employees were getting. Thus, fifty-fifty though the UC is a populace institution, it failed to fully reveal many of its decisions in addition to policies.
In 2006, a state audit of the UC flora hundreds of examples of misspent populace funds in addition to surreptitious deals for tiptop administrators. Here are about highlights from The San Francisco Chronicle’s reporting on the auditor’s findings:
-- Thirty-nine people getting extra vacation.
-- Fourteen senior managers receiving honoraria from the academy -- $200 to $13,000 -- despite a policy against it.
-- Fourteen senior managers receiving incentive payments inward violation of UC policy or non approved past times the regents. Some are continuing awards of upwards to xv portion of base of operations salary.
-- Thirteen housing-related payments that violated policies;
-- Six sabbaticals granted to employees who didn't qualify for them or who were paid to a greater extent than than policy allowed.
-- Eleven stipends that either were non approved or were extended without approval.
-- Eleven cases of extra severance pay promised.
One of the things to complaint nigh all of these examples is that they work organization surreptitious deals of extra compensation; inward other words, none of this coin was listed inward the populace records of the employee’s salary.
To encounter how corrupt in addition to wasteful a academy tin terminate be, it is helpful to await at several other costly forms of surreptitious spending that depict coin away from vital instructional activities equally they enhance the compensation of the wealthiest employees:
The audit revealed that 1 executive who was paid good to displace inside California was Mitchell Creem, associate vice chancellor in addition to CFO of medical sciences at UCLA. Creem received a $150,000 relocation allowance in addition to xi weeks of temporary housing -- good beyond the bound of xxx days. The regents were never told.
In about other case, Thomas Jackiewicz, associate vice chancellor inward the UC San Diego medical school, received a $40,000 "relocation incentive" fifty-fifty though he lived inside California, which violates policy in addition to was non approved past times the regents. He likewise was promised a severance parcel that exceeded academy limits.
These examples present what happens when the administrative degree takes over a university, in addition to they are able to vantage each other without whatsoever bird of populace scrutiny.
In 1 of the most shocking findings of the auditor’s report, nosotros detect the next statement: “The University of California said it struck at to the lowest degree 700 separation agreements amongst employees over the past times v years -- worth nigh $23 million.” This finding actually got my attention, in addition to and then I looked for details for these costly separations, in addition to I flora these revelations:
When UC Berkeley Associate Athletic Director Mark Stephens was passed over for a advertisement at Cal final year, the academy promised to proceed him on the payroll, giving him $183,000 over 3 years spell letting him accept a full-time chore somewhere else.
Two years ago, UC Davis agreed to give a medical professor, Dr. Casey Daggett, $150,000 inward telephone substitution for his resignation in addition to a hope to drib all his legal claims against the university.
In 2002, the UC Berkeley athletic region forced administrator Kevin Reneau to measuring downward but agreed to proceed him on the payroll for 2 1/2 years at $86,000 per twelvemonth in addition to then he could accomplish retirement historic current in addition to his identify unit of measurement could qualify for wellness attention benefits.
The Chronicle reported the university's village pact amongst onetime UC Davis Vice Chancellor Celeste Rose. Under that agreement, UC Davis agreed to give Rose $50,000 in addition to proceed her on the payroll for about other 2 years, at $205,000 a twelvemonth -- without requiring her to produce whatsoever operate -- inward telephone substitution for her hope to drib whatsoever claims of race or sex discrimination against the university.
Dr. Daggett, an assistant professor of clinical surgery at UC Davis, was promised $150,000 inward telephone substitution for his resignation in addition to the unloose of whatsoever legal claims, according to a village understanding UC reached amongst him inward March 2004. UC likewise agreed to drib whatsoever claims against him, the understanding said.
These are but a few examples of the hundreds of cases of surreptitious wasteful spending, in addition to they enjoin us that when a academy says it has no coin to pay for things similar teachers in addition to smaller classes, the argue for the institution’s lack of coin may last due to the fact that it has learn taken over past times a degree of administrative employees who are bent on turning populace institutions into their ain someone piggy banks.
In 2006, a state audit of the UC flora hundreds of examples of misspent populace funds in addition to surreptitious deals for tiptop administrators. Here are about highlights from The San Francisco Chronicle’s reporting on the auditor’s findings:
-- Thirty-nine people getting extra vacation.
-- Fourteen senior managers receiving honoraria from the academy -- $200 to $13,000 -- despite a policy against it.
-- Fourteen senior managers receiving incentive payments inward violation of UC policy or non approved past times the regents. Some are continuing awards of upwards to xv portion of base of operations salary.
-- Thirteen housing-related payments that violated policies;
-- Six sabbaticals granted to employees who didn't qualify for them or who were paid to a greater extent than than policy allowed.
-- Eleven stipends that either were non approved or were extended without approval.
-- Eleven cases of extra severance pay promised.
One of the things to complaint nigh all of these examples is that they work organization surreptitious deals of extra compensation; inward other words, none of this coin was listed inward the populace records of the employee’s salary.
To encounter how corrupt in addition to wasteful a academy tin terminate be, it is helpful to await at several other costly forms of surreptitious spending that depict coin away from vital instructional activities equally they enhance the compensation of the wealthiest employees:
The audit revealed that 1 executive who was paid good to displace inside California was Mitchell Creem, associate vice chancellor in addition to CFO of medical sciences at UCLA. Creem received a $150,000 relocation allowance in addition to xi weeks of temporary housing -- good beyond the bound of xxx days. The regents were never told.
In about other case, Thomas Jackiewicz, associate vice chancellor inward the UC San Diego medical school, received a $40,000 "relocation incentive" fifty-fifty though he lived inside California, which violates policy in addition to was non approved past times the regents. He likewise was promised a severance parcel that exceeded academy limits.
These examples present what happens when the administrative degree takes over a university, in addition to they are able to vantage each other without whatsoever bird of populace scrutiny.
In 1 of the most shocking findings of the auditor’s report, nosotros detect the next statement: “The University of California said it struck at to the lowest degree 700 separation agreements amongst employees over the past times v years -- worth nigh $23 million.” This finding actually got my attention, in addition to and then I looked for details for these costly separations, in addition to I flora these revelations:
When UC Berkeley Associate Athletic Director Mark Stephens was passed over for a advertisement at Cal final year, the academy promised to proceed him on the payroll, giving him $183,000 over 3 years spell letting him accept a full-time chore somewhere else.
Two years ago, UC Davis agreed to give a medical professor, Dr. Casey Daggett, $150,000 inward telephone substitution for his resignation in addition to a hope to drib all his legal claims against the university.
In 2002, the UC Berkeley athletic region forced administrator Kevin Reneau to measuring downward but agreed to proceed him on the payroll for 2 1/2 years at $86,000 per twelvemonth in addition to then he could accomplish retirement historic current in addition to his identify unit of measurement could qualify for wellness attention benefits.
The Chronicle reported the university's village pact amongst onetime UC Davis Vice Chancellor Celeste Rose. Under that agreement, UC Davis agreed to give Rose $50,000 in addition to proceed her on the payroll for about other 2 years, at $205,000 a twelvemonth -- without requiring her to produce whatsoever operate -- inward telephone substitution for her hope to drib whatsoever claims of race or sex discrimination against the university.
Dr. Daggett, an assistant professor of clinical surgery at UC Davis, was promised $150,000 inward telephone substitution for his resignation in addition to the unloose of whatsoever legal claims, according to a village understanding UC reached amongst him inward March 2004. UC likewise agreed to drib whatsoever claims against him, the understanding said.
These are but a few examples of the hundreds of cases of surreptitious wasteful spending, in addition to they enjoin us that when a academy says it has no coin to pay for things similar teachers in addition to smaller classes, the argue for the institution’s lack of coin may last due to the fact that it has learn taken over past times a degree of administrative employees who are bent on turning populace institutions into their ain someone piggy banks.