Fresno State gifts probe sought
Fresno Bee 3/9/07
"Everyone seems very upset among the faculty, and nobody seems to be doing anything about it," said Chris Golston, one of the four. Golston and three other linguistics professors sent a letter last week asking the university's Academic Senate to pass a resolution supporting an independent committee.
On a campus with 1,100 full- and part-time faculty, Golston is but one of many professors worried about a donations problem that came to the public's attention in late January.
As much as $773,000 in corporate matches were misdirected from 1997 to 2003, according to a document provided by the university.
Fresno State officials say they have acted promptly each time problems -- which they attribute, in part, to human error -- were discovered.
The university also has brought in an outside lawyer and auditors to review the problem, and has promised to make the findings public.
Shigeko Okamoto, another linguistics professor who signed the letter, said: "We find that what's been reported is disturbing, and also the president's response to that wasn't clear or adequate."
But psychology professor Mike Botwin, who chairs the Academic Senate, a body of 68 professors who formulate university policy, said he's not sure whether the request for an independent committee is something the Senate should take up: "We have to see how this fits in with Senate issues."
Botwin said the Academic Senate's executive committee -- which includes Fresno State President John Welty as an ex-officio member -- will be the first group in the Senate to consider the request.
Botwin said the executive committee could delegate the issue to a subcommittee or take other action, but that a senator could bring it directly to the whole Senate at its next meeting, probably March 19.
Botwin said the review commissioned by Fresno State might answer the faculty's questions.
But Golston and other professors question how independent the lawyer and auditors doing the review can be.
English professor Chris Henson said there's a fundamental conflict of interest with the outside review. University officials shouldn't pick the investigators who are reviewing the actions of university officials, Henson said.
Faculty also should take part in helping untangle the problem, said associate professor Brian Agbayani, another of the linguistics teachers who called on the Academic Senate to act. "We need to play a role in making sure a crisis like this doesn't happen again."
Associate linguistics professor Terese Thonus also signed the letter.
How the donations problem plays out could affect nonathletic programs, said some professors who worry that donors now will be less willing to support academic programs.
"If people are giving money, they have a right to know their money is going to places they request it to go," Henson said. "If I were a donor, I would be reluctant to give any more money."
Rosco Vaughn, professor of agricultural education, shares the concern that donors could be hesitant to support Fresno State: "The institution needs to be held accountable for properly managing the resources that are available."
Vaughn added: "I don't understand all of how happened and why, but in terms of tight budget times, it's really unfortunate that something like this occurred while we're trying to stretch dollars to put on high-quality academic programs, which is supposed to be what we're all about."
Mass communication assistant professor Betsy Hays said she was disappointed initially, but now is satisfied with Welty's response to solving the problem and preventing its recurrence.
"We looked really foolish," she said. "Best-case scenario, we weren't really efficient. Worst case, it was malicious. Neither is good."
But Hays said she doesn't believe the worse case is what happened.
Hays said she trusts Welty and others when they say the misdirection wasn't intentional: "What I've seen is that when things were identified, they were fixed. Was that process perfect? I don't know if it was done perfectly, but it was done."
Assistant communication professor Kevin Ayotte said he's reserving judgment about who did what and for what reason in the misdirection of donations.
"I'm not particularly comfortable jumping to conclusions of people's motives without evidence, and I don't want to make more of it than it should be. The athletic department has a long and troubled history, and I think it's troubling that there was repeated incidence of this misallocation.
"This is an issue that needs to be addressed, but there's no basis yet for a new public worry about some new athletic scandal."
In February, Welty posted a letter on Fresno State's Web site addressing the problem.
"Mistakes do happen and it is our responsibility to fix problems when they are found," he wrote. "Fresno State has acted responsibly on this issue and will continue to do so in the future."
Aerospace studies professor Samuel Vandiver said he trusts Welty: "From the first day I got here, Dr. Welty seemed like a straight shooter."
Assistant political science professor David Schecter also voiced support for Welty's administration, saying he is "pretty receptive" to the president's explanation.
However, Schecter said, "I'm curious why it wasn't taken more seriously back in the 1990s and why steps weren't put in place to prevent this from happening again."