Top leaders of the beleaguered University of the District of Columbia requested staff changes in the city’s budget agency as part of an effort to clean up years of mismanagement and abuse at the university.
In an exclusive interview with The Examiner, acting university President Stanley Jackson and board of trustees Chairman James Dyke Jr. said the 5,700-student, $63.5 million college will undergo a top-to-bottom review.
“I’m embarrassed to say to you that people have gone for years without beingappraised,” Jackson said. “We have to all understand that we’re here for the students.”
The Examiner reported last week that university officials had uncovered up to $18 million in unspent local and federal funds. The discovery came after the school, claiming it was cash-strapped, announced a 40 percent tuition increase.
Jackson, who took office in June after Dyke and the board forced out then-President William Pollard, said it was “premature” to discuss a figure, but acknowledged there had been under spending.
D.C. and U.S. Department of Education inspectors general have opened investigations into how the university handled the public’s money.
Jackson told The Examiner one of his first acts was to ask city Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi, whose agency is charged with monitoring the university’s purse strings, to overhaul the staff dealing with the school’s budget.
“The people that were here obviously didn’t have the skill sets to get me the kind of data that I needed to make reasonable decisions,” Jackson said. “I needed a sense of urgency.”
Gandhi, one of D.C.’s most powerful figures, is known for guarding the prerogatives of his office – but the shakeup has the support of the board of trustees, Dyke said.
“That’s exactly what needs to be done,” Dyke added.
Natalie Wilson, Gandhi’s spokeswoman, declined to address questions about the staff issue.
Dyke also defended himself from suggestions that he missed warnings about abuse and mismanagement under Pollard.
“The board, obviously, was relying [on Pollard] and looking at the operations of the university,” Dyke said. “When we found out that things were not being done the way they should have been done, we took steps.”
Jackson said that he is already organizing regular “budget calls” that will require department heads to explain their spendingevery quarter.
Tensions over the money and tuition increase remain high on the Northwest campus, and students have written political leaders, including Mayor Adrian Fenty and D.C.’s non-voting congressional delegate, Eleanor Holmes Norton, asking them to intervene.
“I feel like the students are entitled to a rebate,” said Latia Dukes, 24, a clinical psychology graduate student.
Examiner columnist Jonetta Rose Barras contributed to this report.
