One UCLA dean competes in grueling triathlons, but has a doctor’s note excusing her from flying coach, so the university foots the bill for first class.
Another dean stayed at a $675-per-night room at the Four Seasons to attend a conference in New York.
A third top UCLA official was reimbursed for a week’s stay in a hotel for a conference – held in Los Angeles.
These are just three examples of many along those lines uncovered by the Center for Investigative Reporting, which recently published its findings under the headline “UCLA officials bend travel rules with first-class flights, luxury hotels.” The probe detailed “a pattern of lavish spending at the public university, which routinely bends its rules for its top academic officials, according to an analysis by The Center for Investigative Reporting of documents obtained through the state Public Records Act.”
“Top leaders expensed nearly $2 million for premium travel and entertainment, while undergraduate tuition and fees jumped 70 percent,” the center reported.
The UCLA officials added luxury and comfort to their travels while the UC system underwent one of the worst funding crises in its history. Undergraduates have seen tuition and fees increase nearly 70 percent since the 2008 school year.
Overall, Chancellor Gene Block and 17 deans who oversee the schools of business, film and theater, law, medicine and others spent about $2 million on travel and entertainment from 2008 to 2012. About half a million went to first- or business-class airfare for the six deans with medical exemptions, according to documents.
…UCLA could have saved at least $234,000 by purchasing economy-class tickets based on an analysis of typical fares from the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the Airline Tariff Publishing Co., which provides fare data. …
UCLA spokesman Phil Hampton said in a written statement that travel is an essential component of campus leaders’ efforts to cultivate relationships and engage alumni around the world. He said unforeseen circumstances and practical considerations sometimes warrant exceptions to travel policy.
No wonder the University of California system felt comfortable in hiring a Washington bureaucrat like Janet Napolitano, it would seem its leadership is willing to waste taxpayer dollars without remorse. The Center for Investigative Reporting notes:
UCLA is not the only place within the state’s public university system with liberal spending on executives. The UC Board of Regents this month approved an annual car allowance of $8,916 and a “relocation” bonus of $142,500 for incoming President Janet Napolitano, the departing Department of Homeland Security chief.
This article also prompts thoughts of another recent illustration of the ongoing waste in the UC system, as its central office in Oakland employs a whopping 2,358 full-time employees.
Just like in Washington, the spending is out of control. And the accountability? It’s the foxes guarding the hen houses.
Click here to read the Center for Investigative Reporting’s full report.
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